1. Lee High School Systems Support Program
Molded by the tenets of the ASCA National Model
Optimized essential transitions
Verified by research,
Evaluated by current and comprehensive data
Jack K Yeatts
As students enter high school and progress through the stages of development that occur during their high school years, their lives are characterized with one word-change. Change and growth are the high school student’s constant companions. Whether they take the form of adapting to the rigorous academic pace of high school, developing new relationships, or making decisions about life plans after high school, the life of each high school student is a journey down an unfamiliar road filled with ever-increasing demands for academic, personal/social, and career skill development for success. Professional school counselors at Lee find a vital and relevant connection with the essential nature of transition for the high school student in Lee High School Systems Support Program, MOVE.
MOVE contains within the acronym the foundation of this successful system support program. Lee counselors adhere to the belief that the National Model of the American School Counselors Association provides a comprehensive, effective, framework upon which the Lee High School SSP is molded. In particular, the ASCA model speaks to the planning and implementation of effective transition programs. Verified by research, these models are further bolstered for success with our students. Yet, we understand that maximized programs are best perfected as they are informed by current and comprehensive data about global and subgroup attendance records, scores on major tests and assessments, graduation rates, and results of targeting interest surveys.

2. Orientation to a Comprehensive School Counseling Program
Kwok-Sze Wong, Ed.D. ASCA Executive Director
“The ASCA National Model reinforced the idea that school counselors help every student improve academic achievement, navigate personal and social development and plan for successful careers after graduation”
(American School Counselor Association, 2012, p. x).
Jack K Yeatts
The American School Counselors Association (2012) defines Comprehensive school counseling programs as “integral to a school’s academic mission”(p. xii). CSCPs are developed using pertinent student data that reveals areas of identified need for support to maximize the achievement of all students. CSCPs are designed and implemented with a commitment to standards in the domains of academic, career, and personal development including social development as agreed upon by leading experts in the field of human development and school guidance, and the professional school counselors at Lee High School are passionate about equitable access to rigorous educational opportunities for every student (American School Counselors Association, 2012). The ASCA Model attempts to bring a unified voice of advocacy for student success in all three domains. The framework provides healthy standards for development while allowing flexibility for individual CSCPs such as the MOVE School Systems Support Program to reflect the unique needs of the populations they serve (American School Counselors Association, 2012). Efforts to close the achievement gap identified characteristically among disadvantaged subgroups find in the ASCA Model the empowerment of “one vision and one voice, which creates unity and focus toward improving student achievement” (American School Counselors Association, 2012, p. xii) for all students. A chief scaffolding support for high school students is in strong transition response programs.
A transition team of school counselors, teachers, parents and administrators who work together to determine students’ needs and implement school-wide procedures for interventions is essential to meeting the needs of incoming students (Dimmitt, C, Carey J, 2007). Followed by a transition plan that provides information about academic expectations, homework, and disciplinary processes can improve students’ transition into secondary education and support academic success in high school (Dimmitt, C. & Carey J., 2007). This early intervention should prevent barriers to success in the three domains as the students progress through high school and beyond.

3. MOVE Systems Support Balanced Holistic Infused Proactive Reflective
Molded by the ASCA National Model to be:
Balanced
Holistic
Infused
Proactive
Reflective
Systemic
ASCA challenges school counselors to provide:
Advocacy
Collaboration
Leadership
Systemic change
Jack K Yeatts
Lee High School System Support Program was planned from foundation to evaluation using the tenets of the ASCA National Model and molded according to the framework laid out by ASCA. Dollarhide & Saginak (2012) identify six components of an effective comprehensive school counseling program as: balanced, holistic, infused into the academic curriculum, proactive rather than reactive, reflective, and systemic.
Balanced CSCPs recognize the need for balance in use of counseling resources. School counselors at Lee High School are committed to providing a schedule that maximizes time for primary counseling activities of “counseling, educating, consultation and collaboration, and leadership, coordination and advocacy” (p. 51).
Holistic programs considers the whole world of the student-”biological, social, familial, educational” (p. 52) as well as cultural, economic, and spiritual. Academic achievement, career development, and personal and social identity development are best accomplished when the “overall development” (p. 52) is thoughtfully considered in program planning and implementation. Careful attention to multiple intelligences (logical, visual, audial, kinesthetic, verbal, etc.) that call on the strengths of the individual student to help them achieve academically in developing delivery strategies for guidance curriculum is a natural product of such holistic programs. Career decision-making is viewed as a “lifelong career process” (p. 53) rather than an event isolated to single student career planning session or one size fits all or most approach. Therefore, school counselors at Lee are dedicated to an extensive career portfolio process for every student entering Lee High School which includes a refining process of option presentation, interest and skill surveys, personal awareness of self and opportunity. Students will emerge with a final career plan that reflects the Lee High School Systems Support Program ultimate goal: “The goal isn’t to force students to make a career choice; the goal is to empower students to identify options that will focus further exploration” (p. 52).
Infused CSCP programs are planned and implemented to enhance, support, and complement the academic curriculum. Lee school counselors strive to integrate guidance curriculum into the standards and objectives for learning in the natural classroom content. Counseling goals are presented through the filter of core content in science, health, English, social studies, math, and fine arts.
Proactive CSCPs “work to prevent problems before they become serious impediments to the success of the system” (p. 67). Students are assessed on a scale from minimal risk to fully at risk activity with consideration of risk factors related to racism and/or limited social and economic opportunities. Resilience and coping strategies are planned and implemented with a perspective of students “at promise” (p. 67)-empowered to make the decisions to better their life prospects and realities.
Reflective CSCPs understand the essential importance of evaluation of program effectiveness. Honest, nondefensive, committed reflection is the cornerstone of vital programs that maximize support to every student.
Systemic CSCPs understand the fundamental importance of relationship to school system. Each component of the system must be educated to the goals of the guidance program.
The ASCA National Model issues a clear challenge to professional school counselors to embrace the call of advocacy for students needs and for the comprehensive school counseling program, collaboration with all stakeholders to maximize impact of support programs, leadership that seeks to make the system wide changes necessary to benefit every student, and systemic change that identifies barriers to achievement within the whole system and implements interventions necessary for minimizing or eradicating such barriers (Bowers, Hatch, & American School Counselor Association, 2005). As advocates, school counselors work to remove barriers that impede academic success of any student with a focus informed by data results to close the gap for students who are systemically marginalized. School counselors function as collaborators when we build effective teams toward the goal of academic success of every student. This includes faculty and staff within the school environment and beyond the school walls to business and civic leaders of organizations who are committed to academic and career success of students. Leadership roles engage school counselors in system wide change to ensure student success and systemic change through thoughtful use of data to identify gaps, then plan and implement programs that ensure equity for all students to access to rigorous curriculum for maximum postsecondary options (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012).

4. Transitioning Program
Mahatma Gandhi
“We need to be the change we want to see happen. We are the leaders we have been waiting for”
(Bowers, Hatch, & American School Counselor Association, 2005, p. 69).
Jack K Yeatts
These words by Mahatma Gandhi become the mission statement of every stakeholder within the Lee High School Support Systems Program. As professional school counselors, it is our commitment to be the leaders our students have been waiting for as we successfully facilitate the changes needed for students to thrive as they move from one developmental step to another. More importantly, at Lee we hope to create an environment in which barriers are removed and supports are put into place for students to make the changes necessary for successful academic achievement, personal/social development, and career decision-making and course charting. The MOVE Systems Support Program is planned and implemented to develop self-confidence and competency skills for students who find themselves becoming “the leaders they have been waiting for.” MOVE seeks to develop leadership skills that foster healthy personal goal-setting and decision-making.

5. Optimized Essential Transitions
GPS
Good Foundation
Proper Delivery
Sound Management
and Accountability
MAP
Mentoring by peers
Access to vital transition tools
Partnering with college/business
Jack K Yeatts
Moving from middle school to high school can seem like navigating a six-lane freeway with quickly moving traffic, confusing road signs, and exit ramps. Everything that students have known about school is about to change. Scheduling, navigating busy, unfamiliar halls, academic demands, high-stakes testing, homework that reflects new demands for personal responsibility, and new relationships can produce a great deal of anxiety which can lead to wrong turns and roadblocks to future success. Developmental transitions are intense and fast-paced during the high school years as students develop identities that will be further refined in adulthood. In addition, students are preparing for a move into the future of work, higher education, family, or career. A comprehensive transition plan works as a GPS with a good foundation, proper delivery, and sound management that embraces accountability as it uses appropriate data and reflection to inform the program. Project MOVE seeks to optimize the opportunities that come with essential transitions with a three-point MAP for success - Mentoring through peer transition teams, Access to vital transition tools, and Partnering with area businesses and colleges. Project MOVE provides the effective orientations, peer mentoring programs, collaboration with key stakeholders in the school community, and access to the vital transition tools students need via avenues such as a user-friendly Web presence.
The ASCA National Model provides the framework for development of school counseling programs that will help all students in successful transitions (Erford, 2011). Transition programs include preventative education directing the school counselor to focus on the academic success of all students. The four key model components comprehensively cover the program’s foundation and delivery, management and accountability systems (Dimmitt, C. & Carey, J, 2007).
The ASCA National Model informs the best practices for comprehensive school counseling programs, including essential transition programming at every level of a student’s school experience from transitions from middle to high school, developmental transitions that determine courses of study and college/career decision making, and transitions beyond high school to adult lives of achievement and success. Each level of intervention is informed by the specific developmental needs of students at the high school level. Facilitating healthy academic and personal/social development, ensuring connectedness, a consistent awareness that one is accepted as a valuable member of the school community, and fostering self-esteem and confidence define the MOVE Systems Support as an effective transition program.
The model is intended to be implemented vertically with each level of intervention building on the skills students developed in their prior school experience. The model includes a crosswalking tool with checklists of targeted academic, career, and personal/social competencies across the grade spectrum. This tool allows division counselors to see that their work is not done in isolation, but rather builds throughout the student’s school career. By the time students are entering high school, they have received guidance curriculum about goal setting and decision making, test taking and study skill strategies, that “enhance student achievement that can make a difference in student learning” (Dimmit, C. & Carey, J., 2007, p. 230). The transition to high school adds the challenge of career decision making and acquisition of college/career knowledge to academic and social/emotional functioning.

6. Foundation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Student Competencies
ASCA Student Standards
District and State Standards
Professional Competencies
ASCA School Counselor Competencies
ASCA School Counselor Ethical Standards
Program Focus
School Counselor Beliefs
School Counselor Vision Statement
School Counseling Mission Statement
School Counseling Program Goals
Jack K Yeatts
The foundation of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program provides the “what” that students are expected to gain in knowledge, attitudes, and skills as a result of the school counseling program. Dimmitt & Carey (2007) state that the foundation “contains information about the expected student competencies that school counseling programs will address in the academic, career, and personal/social domains” (p. 228). The foundation is built from the school counselor’s beliefs about student achievement and development, learning theory, pedagogy, students’ families, teachers, and the school community (American School Counselor Association, 2012). Above all, the foundation must include the belief that all students can learn and overcome attendance problems. All students can set healthy goals and achieve them. The vision statement gives practical expression to those beliefs by articulating the long-term (five to ten year) projected outcomes the CSCP will be designed and implemented to accomplish. The CSCP program goals are developed from these core beliefs and a mission statement is forged that reflects the overriding purpose and intentions for the program. Together, these components make up the program focus.
Also essential to the foundation are both student and professional school counselor competencies as defined in the ASCA National Model, along with applicable state, district, division, and local school standards. Student standards include “knowledge, attitudes, and skills” (p. 29) in all three domains of academic/personal-social/career. Areas of development include contributing to an effective learning environment, commitment to academic preparation to widen post-secondary options, understanding and development of personal qualities, respecting self and others, goal-setting, and understanding of safety and survival ((Bowers, Hatch, & American School Counselor Association, 2005). Professional school counselor competencies which apply rigorous standards of knowledge, ability, skill, and attitudes spanning the CSCP from foundation through delivery, management and accountability. School counselors are expected to serve as advocates and leaders in design, delivery and reflection on the outcomes of successful comprehensive school counseling programs. In addition, the foundation rests on knowledge of and commitment to the ASCA school counselor ethical standards which encompass issues of confidentiality, informed consent, legal considerations, and advocacy for equitable access to services for all students (American School Counselor Association, 2012).

7. Delivery Direct Services Indirect Services
Designing Senior Transition Teams
Managing Peer Mentoring/Tutoring
Individual Student Planning
Orientation Classroom Guidance
Newsletters/brochures
User-friendly Web page
Tips for success
Important links
SAT/PSAT dates and preparation
Two-way Communication
Request forms and submission
Jack K Yeatts
The delivery system includes both direct and indirect student services as defined by the ASCA National Model. Direct school counselor to student services include classroom guidance such as planned orientation meetings for ninth graders, individual student planning for college and career goals, and individual and group counseling. Indirect services are those that are implemented for students’ best interest. Indirect services include leadership and advocacy activities that lobby for equitable services for all students and sound the message for MOVE Systems Support programming. Also included are the collaborative efforts of the school counselor within the building and district community, and beyond to the larger community of businesses and local higher education institutions.
The school counselors at Lee High School believe achievement is more possible with a strong transition program rising freshmen as they adjust to the rigors of high school academics and personal development demands. High school brings new challenges that can sidetrack students’ goals for future success. Our Senior Transition Team allows the large freshman population a chance to connect on a more personal basis with a senior peer often providing the confidence it takes to ask the right questions and get the appropriate answers to chart a positive course for high school. Direct services will include the set up and management of such senior transition teams, as well as peer tutoring/mentoring groups.
Peer tutoring and peer counseling programs encourage students to participate in their high school community which in turn promotes life-long leadership skills and advocacy abilities (Erford, 2011). High school students who serve as cross-age peer mentors to middle school students reported improvements on academic achievement, self-esteem, and connectedness (Karcher, 2009). “ASCA believes that peer-helping programs are one means of helping students reach a higher level of maturity and accepting maturity” (Karcher, 2009, p. 292). School mentor/mentee assignments will continue through the freshman year and beyond as needed. In addition, Lee school counselors provide direct services through orientation guidance lessons to all freshman classrooms and individual counseling and planning sessions for students as they progress through their high school experience.
Indirect services include equitable access to information school counseling through brochures and newsletters, as well as a professional school counselor-designed website to communicate the vision of a comprehensive school counseling program as it adheres to the standards set forth by the ASCA National Model and school division guidelines. This website introduces each school counselor with a brief biography and any specific grade level responsibilities and school contact information. Included are transitioning tools such as study skills and homework tips, scheduling information and course options, PSAT and SAT preparation links and resources to financial aid information and the college application process, and appropriate forms such as transcript/school transfer/conference requests that may be printed or filled out and submitted online.

8. Management Calendars Annual Agreements Advisory Counsel Data
-Monitor Student Progress
-Reveal and close gaps in…
Achievement – Opportunity - Attainment
Action Plans
- Curriculum
- Small Group
- Closing the Gap
Calendars
Use of Time Assessment
Balancing with flexibility to
meet immediate needs
Jack K Yeatts
An effective transition program is characterized by a comprehensive management system that incorporate consistent and effective use of creative and robust management tools that include helpful tools such as action plans, calendars, and the advisory council (Dimmitt, C. & Carey, J., 2007). Management systems are those necessary processes for effective program implementation. The overriding management instrument is the annual agreement, that document that expresses the “organization and focus” (American School Counselor Association, 2012, p. 46) of the components of the MOVE Systems Supports Program as agreed upon by both school counselors and administrators. Without the support of school administration, the use of counselors’ time and resources may be compromised with time-consuming tasks that have little to do with meeting the CSCP goals. Likewise, the support of a well-chosen advisory council that draws upon the talent and support of representatives that reflect the school community-parent, teacher, administrator, business and community leaders, and school board members (American School Counselor Association, 2012).
Management involves the effective gathering and interpreting of data that impacts student academic, personal/social, and career success. “Disaggregate data is broken down by specific demographics of interest, which presents patterns, themes, and trends within the aggregate data (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 110).” Disaggregated data by gender, ethnicity, free or reduced lunch, and special education can help the school counselor reveal achievement and inequities in schools (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012). Data that record elements that reveal how students are doing are invaluable in monitoring student progress. In addition, attendance rates, on-time graduation percentages, grades, behavior, and enrollment in rigorous academic classes are gathered and interpreted through the filter of disaggregation into subgroup populations within the Lee High School learning community. Historically disadvantaged subgroups often surface as underserved in careful scrutiny of such data. This information can reveal and help close patterns of gaps in achievement, opportunity, and attainment. Data directs the school counselors’ action plans by targeting the areas to “increase student achievement (in all subgroups) and improve student behaviors and attitudes” (p. 53). Action plans take three basic forms – curriculum, small group, and closing the gap-each zoning in on specific audiences in classrooms, issues groups, and subgroups.
The use of a CSCP master calendar is essential for communication with students, parents, and staff, maximizing time and resources, and program goal-setting. Coupled with time assessment, the school counselors at Lee are able to determine and adjust services to more fully align with the ASCA National Model. The school counseling website offers the school counseling program’s master calendar providing dates that include classroom instruction for postsecondary choices and academic planning along with tips for academic success. Management is a necessary but potentially overwhelming component of the CSCP. The potential benefit of good management far outweighs the inherent challenges such as accommodating schedules of all stakeholders in program delivery or meeting with the advisory board, creating a reliable, but flexible calendar and communicating to staff and administrators the need for flexibility that meets the needs of students on a timely basis.

9. Accountability Data Collection Performance Evaluations Program Audits
What does subgroup data reveal about…
Grades
Attendance
Rigorous course enrollment
On-time graduation rates
Behavior
Performance Evaluations
Benchmark assessment checklists
Formal supervisory evaluation
Program Audits
How well does MOVE Systems Support align with the ASCA National Model?
How will the audit result in necessary program change?
Jack K Yeatts
In essence, accountability answers the question, “How are students different as a result of the school counseling program?” (American School Counselor Association, 2012). Accountability begins with an honest appraisal of who makes up the school population. Care must be taken to include every student within all student subgroups, particularly those subgroups that are characteristically underserved by programming-minority youth who receive free or reduced lunch. After the school makeup is determined it is imperative to ask how students are achieving. Honest data surrounding issues of grades, attendance, and behavior, along with graduation rates held to the scrutiny of disaggregation along subgroups is necessary to reveal gaps in achievement, attainment, and access.
The accountability system encompasses reporting, performance evaluations for responsible parties, and program audits. (Dimmitt, C. & Carey, J., 2007). Accountability for the program includes benchmark checklists and formal and informal opportunities for assessments from all stakeholders. Healthy accountability involves welcoming the honest appraisal of school administrators, teachers, students and parents. Healthy accountability asks the right questions and collects the information in a format that lends itself to disaggregation, Interpretation, and presentation.
Reflection on the outcomes (results) of MOVE Support Systems require a program audit in which the program is evaluated according to how closely it aligns with the foundational components of the ASCA National Model. Based on these findings, Lee school counselors will evaluate the program to determine how best to bring MOVE Systems Support into alignment with the ASCA National Model competencies and standards.

10. Collaboration and Consultation
Removing Barriers
Coordinate Activities
Achievement gaps
Low participation of underserved groups in rigorous academics
Attainment gaps
On-time graduation
Advanced diploma
Collaboration for Community Involvement
College Night
SAT Preparation
Business Internships
Shadowing
Jack K Yeatts
Collaboration and consultation are implemented through partnering with parents, educators, and community organizations to support the school system mission by facilitating feedback on student needs (Erford, 2011). Effective consultation in the school setting demands problem solving skills with the ability to create collaborative relationships with professionals in the school and community setting (Erford, 2011). Within the local school community, collaboration with teachers, administrators, families, other school staff members and support professionals (mental health, counseling, community action, child protective services) enables the school counselor to effectively work to meet student needs (Erford, 2011). In particular, the expertise that is brought to the table by teachers who observe students every day in the academic environment is invaluable in determining need for interventions and collaborating to determine effective prevention and treatment plans of action. Likewise, partnering with the learning community, local and regional businesses and post-secondary community colleges, universities, churches and civic organizations provides the added strength of support, expanded opportunities for help, pertinent resources, and shared vision in meeting goals to help students at Lee achieve academic, personal/social, and career success. The power of coordinated efforts from all components of the learning community are especially evident in the area of removing barriers for those subgroups of the student population indicated by data. Achievement and attainment gaps revealed in interim grade reports and participation of subgroups in rigorous coursework may be targeted by local churches and civic groups who collaborate to provide after-school tutoring programs, field trip opportunities and mentoring partnerships with local business and post-secondary education leaders, as well as mental health and life skills professionals.
The key community components are also essential in coordinating activities such as our semi-yearly College Night in which regional post-secondary institutions provide orientation and information about the programs of study they have to offer graduates. SAT test preparation courses are coordinated with neighboring high school counseling programs and the area community action center. Our local businesses collaborate with our MOVE Systems Support to provide job shadowing for grades nine through eleven and business internships for the senior business and marketing students.

11. Addressing Identified Gaps
Drop-Out Rates
Attendance
Jack K Yeatts
School and division report cards are data compiled, disaggregated, and published for the public by the state department of education. The report card contains a detailed school profile about the matters of achievement and demographics. “The school data profile is a summary of the school’s achievement, attendance, behavior, and safety record (American School Counselors Association, 2012, p. 100).”
The American School Counselors Association (2012) recommends considering the following questions when analyzing the school data profile:
What strengths are indicated by the data at your school?
What concerns are raised by the data?
Do achievement gaps exist?
Have attendance rates changed?
How can the school counseling program contribute to closing the gaps?
What additional data are needed to identify a school counseling intervention. (p.100).
The MOVE Systems Support program at Lee identifies a large achievement gap among our student population groups in drop-out rates/on-time graduation rates, especially among students with disabilities. To a much lesser degree, the attendance rate for students with disabilities lags behind the state average. The MOVE Systems Support peer mentoring program has shown great promise in helping all students stay in school to complete their high school education. Students with disabilities particularly benefit emotionally and socially from the connectedness that develops between peer mentor and mentee. We hope to expand the program by building designated mentor/mentee time into the schedule each week and adding a mentor/mentee component to our web page for calendar postings and interactive question bars for students to ask questions and express concerns. Counselors at Lee have collaborated with local area businesses to create the MOVE Systems Support attendance incentive program. Attendance data will be compiled daily with “shout outs” to weekly perfect attendance winners during afternoon announcements. In addition, free movie passes will be provided by the local cinema for student’s who attain perfect attendance each nine week grading period.
(Virginia Department of Education, 2012).

12. Research-Support
Peggy Hines, Ph.D. Indiana State University
“Disaggregated data is a powerful tool in the hands of a school counselor who is a student advocate” (Bowers, Hatch, & American School Counselor Association, 2005, p. 64).
Jack K Yeatts
Just as professional school counselors benefit from the analysis of disaggregated data about behavior, achievement, and attendance for a school population, so keeping abreast of current research conducted on elements of comprehensive school guidance systems support effectiveness is vital to a healthy design and implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs.

13. Understanding Peer Reviewed Articles
What are Peer-Reviewed articles?
“Refereed” articles
Proofread by editors/ judged by peers in academic field
Factually accurate
Presenting new information
Submitted according to rigorous guidelines
Why are they important?
Innovation
Motivation
Integrity
Scholarship
Advocacy
Where are they found?
Online Databases
ERIC
EBSCOhost
Lexis Nexis Academic
Scholarly Journals
Professional School Counseling
Clearinghouse
Jack K Yeatts
What are peer-reviewed articles?
According to eHow contributor, Angela Brooks (n.d), peer-reviewed articles, often called “refereed articles”, are written documents judged by an impartial panel of two or more experts in the field using the criteria commonly accepted by other respected peers in the field of study. All peer-reviewed articles are judged according to factual accuracy and introduction of new information. They are submitted according to guidelines set by the scholarly journal in which they are chosen to appear after stringent proofreading by journal editors.
Where are peer reviewed articles found?
They are primarily found in both print journals and online databases of academic, scientific, or other scholarly publications. The content is searchable and organized by subject of interest. There are many free databases among the most popular are ERIC, a government search engine of peer-reviewed journal articles. Also of note are EBSCOhost, available through many universities and colleges, and Lexis Nexis Academic. There are also content-specific databases that concentrate on particular academic fields and provide peer-reviewed publications for membership. The American School Counselors Association provides a rigorously peer-reviewed article database in their publication, Professional School Counselor. Clearinghouse offers scholarly articles on a wide range of academic subjects.
Why are peer reviewed articles important?
Research that submits to careful disaggregation of data and honest evaluation and reporting of outcomes often provides the vote of confidence necessary to attain the support of school administrators, staff, parents, and students. Such peer-reviewed research provides the motivation and innovation to advocate for change through programs that meet determined challenges with ideas and programs that have proven effective as reported by key associates in the field. The professional school counselors at Lee value the expertise afforded by current, cutting edge research. In a word, peer-reviewed articles “foster integrity, innovation and scholarship in academic journals” (Brooks, n.d.). Peer reviewed articles keep the lines of communication open within the academic communities they seek to serve.
Understanding Peer Reviewed Articles

14. Verified by Research
How does RESEARCH impact the MOVE Systems Support Program at Lee High School?
Data drives
the program
Dimmitt, C., & Carey, J. (2007). Using the
ASCA National Model to facilitate
school transitions. Professional School
Counseling,  10(3),
Peer transition
teams WORK!
Karcher, M. (2009). Increases in academic
connectedness and self-esteem
among high school students who serve
as cross-age peer mentors.
Professional School Counseling, 12(4),
Jack K Yeatts
Lee High School Systems Support Program is based on the fundamental belief that “using data to make decisions about interventions provides an evidenced-based process that is more likely to positively influence student achievement (Dimmitt, C, Carey J, 2007, p. 231).” Lee High’s School Counselors will continually upgrade and refine the MOVE Systems Support Program using peer-reviewed data to remain preventative and proactive in our transition program for all students. The American School Counselor Association, through its essential publication for all school counseling programs, Professional School Counseling, continues to lead the way in providing the Lee High School Counseling department evidenced-based data to implement, support and refine a successful transition program.
One highly effective component of the Lee High Schools’ MOVE program for successful transition is our mentoring program through peer transition teams. As with the initiative to incorporate essential data in the formation and implementation of our program, we also look to research to inform us in our decision to incorporate a strong peer mentoring/transition teams at Lee. Again, Professional School Counseling has presented excellent studies in which evidenced-based data is telling. In one powerful study by Karcher (2009), it was found that “mentees demonstrated or reported improvements in attitudes toward and connectedness to school and peers, self-efficacy, grades or academic achievement, social skills, and behavior problems (p. 292).” High school students who serve as cross-age peer mentors to middle school students also reported improvements on self-esteem, and connectedness (Karcher, 2009). Our experience has only strengthened our confidence in the benefits of our peer transition teams for mentor and mentee. When transitions occur smoothly for mentees, the whole school environment is enhanced.

15. Program Evaluation
Stan Maliszewski, Ph.D., University of Arizona
“Results-based evaluation is essential to comprehensive school counseling programs …and most difficult”
(Bowers, Hatch, & American School Counselor Association, 2005, p. 60).
Jack K Yeatts
Program evaluation attempts to answer the question: “How are students different as a result of the program “(Erford, 2011, p. 53).
Accountability is provided by school counselors through:
results reports (documentation of changes in students through analysis of their performance within program interventions)
performance standards (assess the school counselors ability in implementing a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program)
program audits (the determination if the school’s comprehensive, developmental program aligns with either the local, state, or ASCA National Model) (Erford, 2011).

16. Evaluated by Current and Comprehensive Data
Which data measures the
effectiveness of Project MOVE:
Increased student attendance
Increased AP course enrollment
Increased on-time graduations
Decreased behavior referrals
Decreased suspensions/expulsions
Post-Secondary Success
College
Career placement
Jack K Yeatts
The data available to the professional school counselors at Lee High School is extensive in both coverage and scope. Comprehensive recordings of behavior (referrals, suspensions, expulsions), daily attendance records, enrollment in advanced placement courses with rigorous coursework, drop-out rates and on-time graduations are available to provide a large picture of where the students are and are not achieving, where they are having difficulty and where they show their strengths. This data is also able to show smaller snapshots of subgroups within the student population and may be further disaggregated to pinpoint individual student performance. This data is essential to plan prevention and treatment programs, conduct curriculum guidance, small group and individual counseling and individual student planning for transition success.

17. Measure of Student Perceptions of Program Effectiveness
Surveys
Computer-based
Online (Survey Monkey)
Confidential
Taken anonymously
Consistent
Given at regular intervals
Crucial
Stakeholder feedback
Critical
Authentic program evaluation
Jack K Yeatts
The school counseling department will also use periodic surveys by permission to specific stakeholders to evaluate and improve the school counseling interventions. Using an appropriate instrument developed by the advisory council to target specific areas of strengths and weaknesses of the MOVE Systems Support program (effectiveness of the peer transition teams, web page, guidance interventions and prevention programs) students will be allowed to provide feedback through an online survey powered by Survey Monkey. Students will be able to openly and honestly evaluate program performance in a private setting using the school’s computer labs. Periodic evaluation surveys will be conducted through the English classrooms. Scheduled surveys will be taken at the beginning of the school year, at the end of midterm, and again at the end of the school term. Parents will also be provided a link to a survey that targets their input for areas of need to connect them with the program and effectively team in the success of their students.

18. References
American School Counselor Association. (2012). ASCA national model: A
framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria VA: American
School Counselor Association.
Bowers, J., Hatch, T., & American School Counselor Association. (2005). The
ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs.
Alexandria VA: American School Counselor Association.
Brooks, A. (n.d.). Definition of peer reviewed Articles. eHow- Discover the
expert in you. Retrieved September 19, 2012, from
com/about_ _definition-peer- reviewed-articles.html
Dimmitt, C., & Carey, J. (2007). Using the ASCA National Model to facilitate
school transitions. Professional School Counseling,  10(3),
Retrieved from
edu:2048/login.aspx? direct=true&db=pbh&AN= &site
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Jack K Yeatts

19. References continued
Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling
programs: K-12 delivery systems in action. Boston: Pearson.
Erford, B. T. (2011). Transforming the school counseling profession. Upper
Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education.
Karcher, M. (2009). Increases in academic connectedness and self-esteem
among high school students who serve as cross-age peer mentors.
Professional School Counseling, 12(4), Retrieved from
search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=
true&db=pbh&AN= &site=ehost-live&scope=site
Virginia Department of Education. (2012). Pittsylvania County Public
Schools. Division Report Card. Retrieved from
virginia.gov/reportcard/report.do?division=71&schoolName=All
Jack K Yeatts