Building a School Counseling Program That Shows Results Writing Action Plans Using the ASCA National Model Eric Sparks President-Elect American School Counselor Association

Objectives Participants will: 1.Review the components of the ASCA National Model 2.Review school data 3.Complete 1 Action Plan

ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs

The old question was… “What do counselors do?” The new question is… “How are students different as a result of the school counseling program?

High School Goals for Wakefield HS Increase promotion of 9 th graders to 85% Increase parent involvement of LEP/ESL students by 20% Increase minority student enrollment in AP English III by 5%

GOAL: Increase promotion rate of 9 th graders to 85% Target group: 9 th graders Selection based upon retention data of 9 th graders for and Data that drove this decision: dropout rates and retention rate of the past two years

GOAL: Increase parent involvement of LEP/ESL students by 20% Target group: LEP/ESL students Selection based upon opportunity to improve success for the group Data that drove this decision: parent involvement in academic conferences was at 22% in and school years

GOAL: Increase minority student enrollment in AP English III by 5% Target group: 57 minority students in Honors English II Selection based upon low enrollment of minority students in Honors and AP courses Data that drove this decision: 15 minority students enrolled in AP English III during school year, 44 minority students enrolled in Honors English III during 04-05

Middle School East Wake Middle Goal: To increase by 10% the passing rate of EOG for retained students N = 17 4 Sixth 4 Seventh 9 Eighth 4 left during year

Activities Used Student conferencing Parent conferencing Track and explain EOG growth Project Achieve lessons After school program referrals CIS referrals Teacher communication Scheduling electives for assistance

Goal 2 - to increase passing rate of EOG by 10% Actual Results: Increased passing rate by 23% overall in Reading Increased passing rate by 54% overall in Math Goal Met!

East Wake MS Goal: To Decrease OSS Suspensions by 10% N = 15 students > 10 days in Anger management group Warrior buddy referral Mentor referral Peer mediation Individual counseling Activities used:

In had a total of less OSS days 5 were LTS 2 had more OSS days

Goal Met! Lesson learned: occurrences decreased, but actual days increased due to long term suspensions – likely goal for Goal 1 – to decrease the number of OSS occurrences by 10% for specified population Actual Result Decreased number of occurrences by 59%

Elementary School Counseling Results Total # of suspended days for targeted students in was 54 and was % decrease in number of suspensions in

Olive Chapel Elementary 3 C’s Counseling Group 100% of the students in target group had no referrals to the school’s administrator due to discipline concerns. Prior to participation in this counseling group, 20% of the students in this target group had at least one disciplinary referral to the school administrator.

Olive Chapel Elementary Goal: Decrease bullying by 50% Result: 0% of the students in target group had referrals to the school administrator or the school counselor for the behavior of bullying.

Baileywick Elementary Attendance Plan 83% of identified students missed less than 15 days

Lynn Rd. Elementary August – 12 students with 36 referrals May – 7 students with 10 referrals Only 8 of 30 students had office referrals. Referrals decreased from 12 students for 36 referrals in Aug, to 7 students for 10 referrals in May. Only 8 of 30 students had office referrals the last quarter.

Management System Management Agreements Advisory Council Use of Data Action Plans Use of Time Calendars Management System NM p. 45 and

My program is more focused, organized, and based on needs and data rather than based on what I think is best. -Elementary School Counselor

Our program has been elevated in the eyes of our staff. Teachers have mentioned to visitors and parents just how competent our department has become. -High School Counselor

Use of Data Program is data-driven Used to effect change Ensure that all students receive benefits of the program Student monitoring “Close the Gap” Management System NM p. 49Workbook p. 70

Data, Data, Data May be the most difficult piece for counselors Counselors must –interpret data –collect data –get comfortable with data  Not turning counselors into statisticians or researchers  Simplify/streamline by delivering to counselors that data which will serve to reach overall goals

Examples of Data to Examine Test Scores  Achievement  State  National Enrollment  AG/HN/AP Partic.  College Track  Special Education  LEP Graduation Rate  By Gender  By Ethnicity  By SES Attendance  Absences  Tardies  By Grade Level Discipline  By Classroom  Types of Problems  Gender GPA/Class Rank  By Gender  By Ethnicity  By SES Retention Rates  By Subject Area  By Grade Level  By Gender, Ethnicity  Post Sec Plans Special Education  By Gender  By Ethnicity  By SES Dropout Rate  Grade Levels  Gender, Ethnicity…  Reasons Why

Existing Data Sources Report cards Disciplinary referrals Post-graduation plans FCAT/EOGs/EOCs Appointment calendars Attendance reports Referrals Management System

New Data Sources Pre- and post-activity surveys Needs assessments Focus groups Case studies Student portfolios Management System

Program Evaluation Data Process Data –“What did you do for whom?” Perception Data –“What do people think they know, believe or can do?” –What do people think about your program? Results Data –“So what?” NM p. 50

Data Over Time Immediate – data measures the immediate impact - pre-post test, WB p Intermediate – data collected over a short period of time - improved grades after counseling group, WB p Long-range – Longitudinal - data “stretched over time”, WB p.73

Action Plans Domain, standard, and competency Description of activity Curriculum and materials to be used Time allotment Person(s) responsible Evaluation of student success Expected result Management System NM p. 53

Two Types of Action Plans

Closing the Gap Action Plans Data that drives the decision to correlate with a competency Domain and standard to be addressed Measurable student competency Description of activity to be used Title of curriculum used Timeline for completion of activity Management System NM p. 54 Workbook p. 105

Goals and Objectives Goals: Broad topics identifying and area to improve Objectives: Clear, realistic, measurable and time-limited statements of actions which, when completed, will move towards goal achievement

Example of Goals and Objectives AreaGoalObjective Academic To increase number of promotions In 06-07, the promotion rate of 3 rd grade students will increase by 10% as compared to Behavior To create a safer school climate In 06-07, incidents of fighting at school will be reduced by 5% as compared to Attendance To increase the attendance rate In 06-07, the attendance rate of 9 th grade repeating students will increase by 50%

Suggestions Keep it simple Don’t measure everything Use data that is already collected –Grades –Suspension/Discipline Referrals –Test Scores –Attendance Make decisions based on needs of school, district and access to data Goal is to learn from data, not be evaluated on data

Use Results to Advocate Share results of school counseling program Educate staff, parents, students and community about the appropriate role of the school counselor Advocate to do more of what is effective and less of what is not effective Advocate for less non-counseling duties and more counseling duties

Writing CTG Action Plans 1.Complete the Action Plan Worksheet using the School Data Handout as your data. 2.Write one Closing The Gap action plan. Management System

School Counseling Programs Are About RESULTS. Gaston Co. students are different as a result of the school counseling program.