Does the Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC) Make a Difference? California Association of School Counselors (CASC) Presentation March 30, 2007

Presenters This research was sponsored by California Counselor Leadership Academy (CCLA) and Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Dr. Kathryn C. Reilly and Dr. Randy V. Campbell California State University, Los Angeles

SPARC - Eleven Components First Step SPARC - Six Components* o Principal's Comments* o Student Support Personnel Team* o School Climate/ Safety* o Student Results* o Major Achievements o Measurements o Community Partnerships/Resources o Volunteer Involvement o Focus for Improvement o Keeping You Informed* o Overall Clarity and Congruency*

The Evaluation Questions 1. How useful is the Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC) in achieving its goals? 2. What is the effect of the SPARC on the behaviors and attitudes towards student support personnel in California? 3. Have the roles and responsibilities school counselors changed as a result of the SPARC?

The Design of the Evaluation To determine changes in attitudes and behaviors Initial focus groups in three regions of the state with SPARC raters Preliminary survey after refining questions Final 10 focus groups to validate the survey questions Pilot survey tested with 6 key individuals Survey administered through zoomerang

Method sent out to 144 support personnel This represented 12 counties which contain 367 school districts 122 surveys returned with 119 useable (82.6% response rate)

Results Summary of responses to the survey

Survey Respondents Counselor9580% Classified personnel65% Other school administrator43% VP of guidance/counseling43% Principal33% Teacher22% Career center staff22% District personnel11% Parent11% School Psychologist11% Total answers:119100%

Type of Schools

Who wrote the SPARC? Counselor10598% Principal7267% Classified staff5450% Career center technician4037% Vice Principal3432% Graduate student or intern3331% School Psychologist3331% Data technician3129% Nurse3028% Teacher - special programs2422% Parent2221% Other1615% Dean1413%

Usefulness of SPARC in achieving its goals Very UsefulUsefulNot UsefulDon't know Self-evaluation6958%3832%98%43% Promoting program5647%4841%1210%22% Preparing reports5547%3328%1815%119% Implementing standards5447%4236%1311%76% Total23450%16134%5211%245%

Goal of Self-Evaluation YesNo Don’t Know N/ATotal Focus for Improvement 10393%44%33%11%111 Student Results 10191%76%33%00%111 School Climate and Safety 9787%87%65%00%111 Major Achievement 9687%76%65%11%110 Student Support Personnel Team 8982%1312%55%11%108 Measurement 8982%1312%55%22%109 Keeping you Informed 8678%1816%55%11%110 Community Partnerships/Resources 8176%1615%87%22%107 Volunteer Involvement 6660%2926%1312%22%110 Principal’s Comments 5450%3230%87%1312%107

Goal of Promoting the Program YesNo Don’t Know N/ATotal Student Results 9791%77%33%00%107 Major Achievement 9488%98%33%11%107 Focus for Improvement 8882%1615%22%11%107 School Climate and Safety 8680%1716%44%00%107 Keeping you Informed 8078%1717%44%11%102 Student Support Personnel Team 8076%2120%44%00%105 Community Partnerships/Resources 7874%2120%66%00%105 Measurement 7172%1919%88%00%98 Volunteer Involvement 6363%3131%66%00%100 Principal’s Comments 6061%2929%44%66%99

Goal of Preparing Reports YesNo Don’t Know N/ATotal Student Results 7972%1211%1110%76%109 Major Achievement 7370%1313%1111%77%104 School Climate and Safety 7368%1817%109%76%108 Measurement 6564%1717%1212%88%102 Community Partnerships/Resources 6462%1918%1111%99%103 Student Support Personnel Team 6362%2020%1111%88%102 Focus for Improvement 5960%1717%1414%99%99 Keeping you Informed 5554%2222%1313%1212%102 Volunteer Involvement 4848%2626%1414%1111%99 Principal’s Comments 3940%3435%1111%1313%97

Goal of Implementing ASCA Standards YesNo Don’t KnowN/ATotal Student Results8480%1110%77%33%105 School Climate and Safety7975%1413%99%33%105 Measurement7473%1515%99%44%102 Focus for Improvement7071%1313%99%66%98 Major Achievement7371%1616%1010%44%103 Community Partnerships/Resources6061%2121%1212%55%98 Student Support Personnel Team6061%2828%66%55%99 Keeping you Informed5254%2627%1313%66%97 Volunteer Involvement4142%3536%1515%66%97 Principal’s Comments3435%3940%1414%1010%97

Ways of Sharing SPARC within the School Placed in counseling office9389% Discussed at faculty/staff meeting7773% Distributed to every faculty/staff member6663% Posted on school website6259% Other school events (special parent meetings)3836% Distributed at PTA Meeting3230% Mailed to each family2625% Distributed at new student orientation2221% Sent in summer mailing/registration packet2221% Posted on parent listserv1918% Other school events1918% Published in newspaper or newsletter (school/PTA)1817% Presented at feeder schools’/articulation meetings1514% Placed in school library1514%

Ways of Sharing the SPARC Outside of the School Given to all district administration6062% Discussed with Superintendent5759% Presented at school board meetings5355% Posted or linked to district websites3233% Sent to state legislators2829% Shared with universities1819% Shared with community liaison translators1718% Don't know1515% Shared with city council1111% Distributed to local real estate offices99% Published in community newspaper/newsletter88% Posted or linked to county websites55%

Behaviors/Attitudes changed within School (all respondents)

How Behaviors/Attitudes changed within School (all respondents) Increased awareness and/or appreciation of student support services 3474% Helped others better understand the counselors’ roles3474% Increased cohesiveness among student support personnel2657% Provided greater accountability2452% Other12%

Behaviors/Attitudes changed within School (Best in West/Diamond) TotalYesNo Don't Know Certificate of Commendation16425%4 850% Academy Award382155%821%924% Best in the West261142%935%623% Diamond141071%214%2 Best in the West + Diamond402153%1128%820% Academy Award + Certificate of Comm %1222%1731%

Behaviors/Attitudes changed Outside School (all respondents)

How Behaviors/Attitudes changed Outside School (all respondents) Provided more information/awareness about the school counseling program 3595% Increased recognition by School Board2978% Increased involvement by parents1130% Used to recruit university interns1027% Increased media attention about the school counseling program 924% Increased recognition by other members of the community (City Council, Rotary clubs, state legislature) 924% Influenced student enrollment trends719% Increased involvement by City Council616% Other13%

Ways of Sharing the SPARC Outside of the School (Best in the West/Diamond) TotalYesNo Don't Know Certificate of Commendation15533%213%853% Academy Award381437%616%1847% Best in the West261038%623%1038% Diamond14643%17%750% Best in the West + Diamond401640%718%1743% Academy Award + Certificate of Comm %815%2649%

Changes in Role and Responsibilities of School Counselors (All Respondents)

How Roles and Responsibilities of School Counselors Changed (All Respondents) Increased focus on accountability data (e.g. completing the SPARC) 3993% Focused counselors on achieving national standards3174% Improved cohesiveness among the student support personnel team 3071% Improved collaboration with administration and district personnel 2764% Improved knowledge of data collection techniques and resources 2764% Improved collaboration with teachers2252% Improved collaboration with parents1740% Increased advocacy activities1331% Increased roles and duties of counselors410% Other12%

Changes in Roles and Responsibilities of School Counselors (Best in the West/Diamond) TotalYesNo Don't Know Certificate of Commendation15533%853%213% Academy Award371951%1438%411% Best in the West261142%1454%14% Diamond14536%964%00% Best in the West + Diamond401640%2358%13% Academy Award + Certificate of Comm %2242%612%

Availability of Financial Resources

39 Additional Comments Positive = 49% Suggestion = 36% Negative = 15%

Discussion Stakeholders bought into evaluation process All sections of the SPARC were useful in achieving its goals Student Results section was most useful in meeting all four goals Trend is that Behaviors/Attitudes toward Support Personnel changed over time within but not outside school

Discussion (continued) Not clear if the Roles/Responsibilities of School Counselor changed due to SPARC Counselors wrote the SPARC without financial resources SPARC shared extensively within schools but not outside of schools

Recommendations Establish communication loops for SPARC feedback within and outside of schools Highlight Student Results section of the SPARC Use the SPARC to continue the transformation of the roles and responsibilities of school counselors Plan a future study with larger samples to assess impact of SPARC

Additional Comments?

Contact Information Dr. Kathryn C. Reilly Dr. Randy V. Campbell

SPARC Resources To obtain more information about the SPARC, please go to LACOE’s website at: