CREATING POSITIVE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES A Collaborative Approach

Presenters  Middle School Counselor, North Pines Middle School  Eleven years of experience as a middle school counselor  Supervised six interns, working with two different university programs  Lecturer, Gonzaga University, School Counseling Program  23 years as a high school counselor  Supervised sixteen interns during that time from three different universities Lisa ClevelandMona Griffin

Audience Questions  How many of you have had an intern?  How many of you feel that you are veterans as supervisors of interns?  Were your experiences as a supervisor positive...?  Negative...?  Neutral...?  What do you hope to gain from your time with us?

Why have an intern?  Pay it forward concept  Requires the supervisor to be more reflective  Benefits to the school  Can accomplish more  Interns can help with data  Collaboration opportunities if the counselor works in isolation  Making connections with university personnel and programs

Why have an intern?  High quality placement experiences are scarce  Benefits to the university  Making connections with schools and school districts  Collaboration with school personnel in the field, doing the work

Key Players  University supervisor  Building supervisor  Intern  Building principal  In some cases, central office personnel  In some cases, counselor colleagues

Certification requirements  State (WAC A-315)  Practicum—no specific time stated (Gonzaga—100 hours)  Internship—400 hours (Gonzaga—600 hours)  CACREP

Process  The university typically has some type of memorandum of understanding about their relationship with the district allowing interns to be placed  Some districts require central office approval and some allow university personnel to go directly to school counselor supervisors  Document that reflects a formal agreement should exist somewhere  Supervisor can create an interview process for the prospective intern; this is essential when multiple institutions are vying for placement options

Supervisor Training  University personnel can partner with veteran/experienced school supervisors to provide a workshop for potential new supervisors and those who want to be better supervisors—offer clock hours!  Increase the number and quality of supervisors that interns have access to!

Realities of School Culture  Examples  Group work  Classroom management issues  Relationships with other educational professionals

Potential Issues/Barriers  Competing interests—how many university programs in the geographical area are placing students in school setting?  Highly qualified supervisors  Current economic climate—who is hiring?

Potential Issues/Barriers  Work space  Lack of understanding on the student’s part of school culture  Supervisor feeling intimidated by university expectations and state requirements  Technology  Hardware  Access  “Letting go...”

Bumps in the Road  What happens if it isn’t working?  Examples Lisa Mona  Intern should be the FIRST to know—then communication must occur between the university supervisor and the school supervisor  Plan of improvement can be developed, if necessary  Final consideration should be given to removal of the student from the school placement

Activity

Summary  Are there any questions/concerns that we didn’t address?  Thinking back to the beginning of the session, did we meet your expectations of this presentation?  Contact information:  Mona Griffin Lisa Cleveland 

Closing  Thanks to all of you today who came to this session—we encourage you to “pay it forward” so that others can join this exciting and rewarding profession!