1. STUDENT SUCCESS PLANS DR. NICOLE DERONCK SCHOOL COUNSELING COORDINATOR, NEWINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONNECTICUT SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT Prepared for the Student Success Planning Technical Assistance Forum December 9, 2011

2. Newington Public Schools Before SSPs  Had the CT Comprehensive School Counseling Program in place for many years in grades 5-12  Program was in writing and documented  School Counselors had individual planning in place in grades 9-12  Had Naviance since 2005 but no one knew how to use it to it’s full capacity  Had a college fair, but lost the career fair  Different people in charge of Job Shadow & Internships- limited access for kids  No mini-capstone, capstone, senior project, or portfolios

3. How does the CT Comprehensive School Counseling Program Relate to SSPs?  Three domains:  Academic  Personal/Social  Career Exploration  Individual Planning  Developmental Guidance Lessons  Accountability- measurable outcomes  Three core components  Academic  Social, Emotional & Physical Development  Career Development  Interest and ability inventories  Career exploration coursework and activities  Capstone Projects CT Comprehensive SC ProgramSSP Requirements

4. The Stars Aligned in Newington  District gained an additional counselor in 5 th grade  Lost a student assistance counselor but gained an additional counselor at the high school  Lost Job Shadow Coordinator & Career Center  New State Guidelines for CT School Counseling Program came out  Staff turnover- counselors hired were more tech savvy  College Career Pathways Initiative began to make some movement

5. How NPS Started the Process  Partnered with CTE Department  Aligned courses to Pathways  Developed 6 year plans  Joint PD around College Career Pathways  Developed partnerships with CCC & MCC for dual college career credits  Wrote Naviance Summer Institute in to Perkins Grant  Revised the our Comprehensive SC Program in 2008-09  Implemented Individual Planning in grades 5-8  Assessments  Updated our job descriptions  Increased parent programs  Improved communication with school/home around college & career planning

6. How NPS Did It….  Step 1: Go on a PR Campaign!  Engage school counseling staff and provide PD  Engage leadership within district including BOE  Step 2: Assess/Secure Resources  Took stock of current services and programs  Looked at staffing  Looked at scheduling  Step 3: Created Draft Plan  Compared the SDE’s SSP sheet to current services  Provide PD for & engage school counseling staff

7. Naviance as the Platform for SSP  Rolled out use of Naviance in grades 5-12 last year  Course Planner, Career Key, College Planner  Attended summer institute the past 4 years and used a train the trainer model to roll out Naviance to counselors  Revised SC curriculum & comprehensive program around use of Naviance  Developed point person for each school to set up milestones and surveys  Added teachers this last year for e-docs

10. How does the CT Comprehensive School Counseling Program Relate to SSPs?  Three domains:  Academic  Personal/Social  Career Exploration  Individual Planning  Developmental Guidance Lessons  Accountability- measurable outcomes  Three core components  Academic  Social, Emotional & Physical Development  Career Development  Interest and ability inventories  Career exploration coursework and activities  Capstone Projects CT Comprehensive SC ProgramSSP Requirements

11. Summing Up Our SSP Status  School Counselors are beginning to lay the foundation for an electronic portfolio using Naviance.  School Counselors already provide annual individual planning with students from grades 5-12.  School Counselors are already providing assessments/inventories to students through Comprehensive School Counseling Program.  Career Pathways Plans exist for all 16 pathways from grade 5- beyond HS but need to be revised to reflect changes to program offerings for next year.  Capstone/Mini-Capstones need to be discussed.

12. Challenges and Next Steps  Access to students  Access to technology  Adequate staffing has become a challenge  Allocations in budget for SSP  District in flux  Take the show back on the road  Develop mini-capstone & capstone projects  Increase and improve opportunities for real world experiences at both levels  Get all our forms, assessments, etc., into Naviance  Figure out Course Planner  Educate entire staff on SSPs ChallengesNext Steps