Personalize It! Advisories & Individual Learning Plans— Keys to Unlocking Student Potential Belinda Wilkerson & Patricia Nailor Rhode Island School Counselor Association ASCA 2005 Annual Conference

2 What We Will Discuss Today  Student Learning Needs to be More Personal  School Counselors as the Infrastructure for Personalization  Reaching Students through Advisories  Helping Students Plan for Their Futures (Individual Learning Plans)

3 What Is Personalization?  Personalization is a learning process in which schools help students assess their own talents and aspirations, plan a pathway toward their own purposes, work cooperatively with others on challenging tasks, maintain a record of their explorations, and demonstrate learning against clear standards in a wide variety of media, all with the close support of adult mentors and guides (Clarke, 2003)

4 RI Policy & Regulations  The Regents’ (High School) Regulations require strategies for responding to, recording, and planning for each individual student’s social/emotional, academic, and career needs beginning no later than grade five. The Regents sought a minimum starting point at grade five to support student success in middle and high schools. Ideally, all districts will have a comprehensive K-12 school-counseling program. In addition, social/emotional needs referenced by the Regents encompass the personal/social domain of the National Model for School Counseling Programs.

5 What Is an Advisory?  Student advisories foster meaningful, sustainable student-adult and student- student relationships that support student achievement, improve student behavior, build community, and enrich the lives of all involved. Advisors meet with student on a regular basis for the purpose of academic, career, and personal-social advising.  Advisory activities: ―help students with self-assessment in the academic, personal/social, and career domains ―help students set goals and monitor their progress toward those goals in each of the domains ―give students a chance to develop a meaningful relationship with a caring adult Source: RI Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Guidelines on Regents’ High School Regulations (2004)

6 Advisories Come in Many Forms  Various Forms of Organization  Varying Amounts of Time Spent with Students  Different Levels of Involvement by School Counselors in Advisories  Different Results Expected for Student Participation

7 Examples of Advisories  East Providence High School  Narragansett High School  Cranston West High School  Davies Career & Technical Center

8 The Future of Advisories in Rhode Island Public Schools  Issue: Attempts to use advisories to replace counselors  Need data to show the impact of counseling via the advisory system

9 What Is an Individual Learning Plan?  The Individual Learning Plan (ILP) program provides middle and high school students with guided and self-reflective opportunities to plan for their academic, career and personal/social development annually  Students use the ILP process to demonstrate their progress toward ASCA counseling standards

10 Student Planning in the ASCA National Model  Individual student planning consists of school counselors coordinating ongoing systemic activities designed to help individual students establish personal goals and develop future plans. School counselors coordinate activities that help all students plan, monitor and manage their own learning as well as meet competencies in the areas of academic, career and personal/social development. (page 41)

11 Individual Learning Plans in Providence Public Schools  Some Critical Aspects of ILP’s ―Based on ASCA Model Standards ―Clearly-defined Student Outcomes ―Essential Counseling Curriculum Focused on ILP’s ―Established Protocols for Delivery of the ILP Program ―Indicators of Success ―Meaningful Opportunities for Students to Demonstrate Knowledge and Skills and Document Evidence of Their Progress toward Counseling Standards

12 Sample ILP Tools  Planning for Success  Course Audit  Portfolio Checklists

13 The Future of ILP’s in Rhode Island Public Schools  A RI State Department of Education Requirement  Increasing Focus on Students’ Need to Plan for Their Academic, Career and Personal/Social Futures

14 Planning Toolkit  Tool#1—Getting Started  Tool #2—Planning for Results ―2A—Results Statement Planning Tool ―2B—Action Step Planning Tool ―2C—Plan Summary Tool  Tool #3—Personal Action Plan

15 Tool #1 Getting Started  This tool helps you identify: ―Who Needs to Be Involved ―What They Can Contribute to the Success of Your Initiative ―What Results You Expect to Achieve ―Contact Information

16 Tool #2 Develop a Plan  A results statement (goal) specifies an observable and measurable outcome  An action plan is developed for each results statement  Three data gathering templates: ―2A—Results Statement Planning Tool ―2B—Action Step Planning Tool ―2C—Plan Summary Tool

17 Tool #2A Results Statements Tool  This tool organizes information about results statements: ―Results Statement ―Action Step ―Begin & End Dates ―Owner ―Cost ―Funding Source

18 Tool #2B Action Step Planning Tool  This tool offers the opportunity to take one action step from Tool #2A and write the steps needed to achieve the result

19 Tool #2C Plan Summary Tool  This tool organizes your results statements into a plan summary : ―Results Statement ―Action Steps ―Begin & End Dates ―Indicators ―Owner ―Cost ―Funding Source

20 Next Steps  Continue promotion of counseling role in advisories as important to student success  Gather data on the impact of counselors involved in advisories

21 Contact Information  Belinda Wilkerson, East Providence (RI) Public Schools, Counselor-in- Residence at Providence College  Patricia Nailor, Director, Department of Counseling & Social Services, Providence (RI) Public Schools  RISCA Website ―