1. Local School District Implementation of the Maine K-12 Comprehensive School Counseling Program Shelley Reed Maine Department of Education 207-624-6637 shelley.reed@maine.gov Elena Perrello SAD #63 Eddington & Holden Schools 207-843-6010 elena_perrello@yahoo.com

2. Overview The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has collaborated to create a National Model for School Counseling Programs to connect school counseling with current educational reform movements that emphasize student achievement and success.

3. Defining School Counseling A profession that focuses on the relations and interactions between students and their school environment with the expressed purpose of reducing the effect of environmental and institutional barriers that impede student academic success. The Education Trust

4. Rationale By aligning a counseling program with the school’s mission and school improvement plan, professional school counselors: partner as leaders in systemic change ensure equity and access promote academic, career and personal/ social development for every student

5. Historical Problems in School Counseling Programs Lack of legitimization Lack of consistent identity Limited or no involvement in reform movements Variation in roles from state to state and site to site Non-school counselor responsibilities

6. Historical Problems Have Continued Lack of basic philosophy Poor integration Insufficient student access Inadequate guidance for some students Lack of counselor accountability Failure to utilize other resources Source: From Gatekeeper to Advocate. Transforming the Role of the School Counselor, Hart, P.J. & M. Jacobi (1992)

7. School administrators, parents with special interests, teachers or others may feel their agenda ought to be the school counseling program’s priority. The results often lead to confusion and criticisms when they are disappointed. (Carolyn Maddy Bernstein, 1995) When schools fail to clearly define the counselor’s role...

8. Trends in Education Education reform movement Accountability Standards-based movement High-stakes testing Achievement gap – equity and access Block grants Emphasis on improving school safety Vouchers Performance, not entitlement

9. Current School Counseling Trends ASCA’s Nt’l Standards for SC Programs Transforming SC Initiative (Education Trust – Dewitt Wallace) Increased number of state models Results-based school counseling Legislation for SC programs ASCA’s National Model

10. Chapter 125 Section 9.02 Checklist General Requirements The District has a K-12 Comprehensive Guidance Program The delivery and development of the program has been a coordinated effort of unit staff The Comprehensive Guidance Program is included in the Comprehensive Education Plan The program met the implementation date of 2006-2007

11. Focus of Barrier Removal Student-focused System-focused

12. CONTENT AREAS Academic Development Career Development Personal/Social Development STUDENT-FOCUSED SCHOOL COUNSELING

13. Academic Development “Learning to Learn” Develop skills for learning Achieve school success Relate academics to life success

14. Career Development “Learning to Earn” Develop career awareness Identify career goals Relate school to work

15. Personal/Social Development “Learning to Live” Acquire self-knowledge Acquire interpersonal skills Acquire personal safety skills

16. Services to be provided to all students Structured developmental experiences presented systematically through classroom and group activities to enhance the ability of students to meet the PEI content standards A program of activities and planned strategies to help students manage their career development consistent with Career content standards and performance indicators.

17. GUIDANCE The help all students receive from parents, teachers, counselors, community members and others to assist with educational and career development. COUNSELING The help some students receive from credentialed professionals to overcome personal and social problems that interfere with learning. Student-Focused School Counseling:

18. Traditional vs. Comprehensive School Counseling Program Traditional Reactive Remediation Unstructured Individual counseling What counselors do Some students Comprehensive Proactive Prevention Structured Individual & group What students learn All students

19. Why Student Focused Activities? SOUND SCHOOL COUNSELING DIFFERENT CHOICES ACHIEVEMENT IMPROVES

20. How do you create a school counseling program that is: Connected to the mission of the school? Aligned with the student achievement goals? Guiding All Kids: SYSTEMIC SCHOOL COUNSELING

21. ASCA National Standards and Local Indicators Academic Development All 4 th graders will describe their personal learning style. All 8 th graders will develop a 4-yr high school course plan. All 10 th graders will describe postsecondary education options. Career Development All 5 th graders will describe their career interest areas. All 8 th graders will describe the career majors offered at the HS. All 9 th graders will conduct an information interview. Personal-Social Development All 3 th graders will demonstrate a conflict mediation skills. All 6 th graders will demonstrate anger management techniques. All 11 th graders will demonstrate consensus building skills. ASCA Standards + Local Indicators

22. Making the Transition to a Comprehensive Program 1. Planning the program & building the foundation  Where are we now?  Where do we want to be? 2. Designing the delivery system  How do we get to where we want to be? 3. Implementing & evaluating the program  How will we know when we get there?

23. Goals to Address Encourage parental involvement Remove barriers which impede academic and life success Provide information and appropriate referral sources Provide management activities that establish, maintain and enhance the program including: research, evaluation, programming, supervision, staff training and development and communication

24. ASCA National Model

25. Comprehensive SC Program Components Section 1. Foundation Cover Beliefs Mission K-12 Group identified standards- local, state, national School Board signed approval letter

26. Section 2. Delivery of Services Create narrative statements of how services will be delivered to: Individuals Groups And classrooms

27. Time Task Analysis Pie Chart

28. Sample Distribution of Time Delivery System Components Guidance Curriculum Individual Student Planning Responsive Services System Support Elem.% MS % HS% 35-45 25-35 15-25 5-10 15-25 25-35 30-40 30-40 25-35 10-15 10-15 15-20

29. Section 3. Management Action Plan-organization that manages the program Calendar overview of activities Agreement of counselor activities Evaluation of student success Advisory Council

30. Local Needs Assessment Activity Counselor group selects standards for K-12 program in each of the 3 domains Create survey for students, parents, and staff to help identify the level of importance of those standards for them Plan the method of processing the results

31. Action Plan Guidance lesson content Domain and Parameter of Essential Instruction Standard Description of activity Grade and timeline for completion of activity Person (s) responsible for delivery Evaluation methods: pre-post tests, demonstration of competency or product

32. Section 4. Accountability Identify data to be collected and the purpose it will serve Results Reports Program audit-determine strengths of program and items in need of strengthening

33. School Counselor Accountability: A MEASURE of student success MEASURE developed by Carol Dahir, Ed.D Mission-connect your mission to the school’s mission Element-What critical element are you trying to impact? Analyze-the data element(%, raw scores, aggregate, disaggregate)

34. A MEASURE of Student Success Stakeholders-unite to develop strategies to impact the data element Results-Restate you baseline data. State where your data is now. Did you meet your goal? What strategies has a positive effect? Which strategies should be changed? Educate-Educate others to your efforts. Show how the work of the school counselor is connected to the school mission.

35. Appendix Include items the K-12 group will use such as Code of ethics Confidentiality Forms Resources

36. Benefits for Students Guarantees every student receives the benefit of guidance services. Ensures equitable access to educational opportunities. Increases the opportunity for counselor-student interaction.

37. Benefits for Counselors Provides a clearly defined role that is related to student achievement. Supports guidance as an integral component of the total school program. Provides a tool for program management and accountability.

38. Benefit to Teachers Promotes teaming to increase student achievement Supports the learning environment Increases collaboration with counselors and teachers

39. Benefits for Administrators Creates a structured program with specific guidance content. Provides a means for measuring effectiveness of guidance programs. Enhances community image of the guidance program.