Collaborative Closing the Gap Action Plans: School Counselors, School Social Workers and School Psychologists Working to Close the Gaps

What are the Gaps Attendance Academics On-time Graduation Rate Behavior 1

2 Outcomes Review progress of collaborative action plans after one year of implementation in PWCS.

3 We all operate under the same PWCS Strategic Goals and objectives, particularly: Goal 1: All students meet high standards of performance. Objective 1.4: Increase the percent of students who attend school regularly and graduate from high school in a timely manner.

4 Why is Full Collaborative Closing the Gap Action Plans Important Identifies the needs of students to attain a world class education. Is delivered to all identified students in a systematic way. Is based on data-driven decision making. Is provided by a state-credentialed school counselor, school social worker, school nurse school psychologist with support from attendance officers as appropriate. Reflects tier 2 and possibly tier 3 of our response to intervention.

School Counselors, School Social Workers and School Psychologists RTI

Predictors Aggression toward 1 st grade teacher Attendance 3 rd grade Behavior, academics Retention Failing Math Failing English 6 th graders who do not attend school regularly. Declined parent involvement. Loss of credits Suspensions, expulsions, office referrals. 6

Factors, student community & family Boredom Resiliency Relationships Life events Climate Poverty Language and literacy Expectations Abuse Mobility Neighborhood violence Drugs Health care Employment 7

8 Why is Closing the Gap Important? Schools and school systems are no longer judged by the accomplishments of their brightest students; we are held accountable for every student’s progress. School counselors, social workers and school psychologists know that not all students come to school with equal academic and personal/social resources. School counselors, school social workers and school psychologists closing the gap action plans help remove barriers that hinder academic success.

Results of School Counselors, School Social Workers and School Psychologists Collaborative Closing the Gap Action Plans in Prince William County Elementary Schools Schools that have collaboratively worked on a Closing the Gap Action Plan report: *An increase in attendance *A decrease in tardiness *A decrease in discipline referrals *A decrease in bullying behaviors *Improved SOL scores and test taking skills

So what happened? All schools that worked with the school social worker, school psychologists and school nurses on any area identified as a gap reported a significant improvement. Schools reported learning from working with others. 10

So what happened? One school reported 24% decrease in tardies, 78% decrease in the number of absences. One school reported 80% decrease in absences One school 50% decrease in discipline referrals from the previous year. One school student absences dropped from 14.4% to 9.5%. One school reported a 15.18% increase in students feeling that the other students respect them. One school reported absence decrease in K and 3 rd. 11

12 Benefits of a Collaborative Closing the Gap Action Plan for Parents Provides support for parents in advocating for their child’s academic, career, and personal/social development. Increases opportunities for parent/school interaction. Enables parents to access school and community resources. Provides training and informational workshops.

13 Benefits for Administrators Integrates school counseling, school social work and school psychology with the academic mission of the school district. Provides program structure with specific focus for addressing PWCS Strategic plan: Objective 1.4 Provides planned interventions promoting student success. Monitors data for school improvement.

14 Benefits for Teachers: Provides an interdisciplinary team effort to address educational needs. Provides assistance to teachers in classroom management, teaching effectiveness, and affective education. Provides consultation to assist teachers in their guidance role. Promotes teaming to increase student achievement Increases collaboration between teachers, school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists.

15 Benefits for School Boards Provides results data which indicates what the school counselor, school social worker and school psychologist is doing to address the graduation rate. Provides plan of intervention to address graduation rate. Provides a basis for determining funding allocations for programs. Furnishes program information to the community.

16 Benefits for the Community Provides increased opportunity for collaboration among school counselors school social workers, school psychologists and business, industry, and the community as a whole. Increases opportunities for business, industry, and the community to participate actively in the total school program. Provides a potential work force with decision-making skills, pre-employment skills, and increased worker maturity.

17 Where are we now? School Counselors, School Social Workers and school Psychologists at 20/56 elementary schools worked collaboratively on Closing the Gap Action Plans and turned in results reports. Middle School and High Schools participated in Closing the Gap Action Plans or Collaborative Closing the Gap Action Plans which included the social worker and school psychologists in some plans. Of the 20 Closing the Gap Action Plans turned in for Elementary schools, those that included others in an effective collaborative manner made a greater impact on the school.

Who needs to know? This information was presented at the Governor’s School Board Conference this past July. Will be presented at the Superintendents’ Advisory Committee in January. Principals, Supervisors and Directors. 18

19 Resources Bost, Loujenia (2008) Building Effective Drop Out Prevention Programs: Recommendations from Research Synthesis. Bridgeland, J.M. Dilulio, J.H., & Morison, K.B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Washington D.C: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation