Double Take: What Are You Going to be Next Year?

You  probably remember that I asked my fifth grade students during their middle school transition lessons what they wanted to be next year. I think it's that time of year where I, and all educators, need to ask ourselves that same question. I went through a lot of changes this year starting in a new county and a new school.  I was hired seven days before school started so I didn't have the luxury of taking a lot of time to plan my counseling space or reflect on data that would help me shape my school counseling program.  This year will be different.  I know my co-workers.  I know my administration and the students.  I know the school culture and how I need to go about delivering my school counseling program.  So, I'm thinking, "What do I want to be next year?"

I have some data to help me answer this question so that I can focus on specific objectives Day One of next year. Some of my data came from an end of the year survey I gave to my colleagues the last week of school.  I used Google Docs and created a nine question form that covered individual counseling, small group counseling, classroom guidance, and some schoolwide programs (see below to get a sense of what I asked).  Then, I emailed it to the staff as a form so they didn't even have to click on any links or open other windows.  The results provided some really positive perception data, which I can format into charts and graphs and use for planning purposes, as well as share with my administration.

I also went through attendance data and behavior data that I had been gathering all year so I would have some concrete baseline data for interventions next year. 

Now, I love my summer so I won't be burning the midnight oil on school stuff all the time.  However, there are some fun things (and some more boring things) I can't wait to finally have time to piddle with.  It doesn't feel like work when I am on my porch with fun snacks, enjoying the weather, and can really think about some of the new ideas I want to try.  So, here is a list of what I'll be writing about this summer:

                              Top 5 List of Summer 2013
1.  Decorating my office....Yay!  I already have some fun inspiration from Pinterest of projects I want to make for my office, and I kind of started during a little during workdays. I want to hear your ideas, too!
2.  Working on grants-  I have been only mildly successful in earning grants for some of the projects I want to try at school. So, I am going to give it a shot over summer and step up my game!
3.  Researching books-  Student book clubs are a huge love of mine, and I have some reading to do to find new material  for next year.
4.  Guidance Essential Standards- I am going to work hard to organize the essential standards into a matrix that works for my classroom guidance schedule.  If you know of something like this that already exists, please share! I certainly don't need to re-invent the wheel.
5.  Business connections-  I want to establish some community partnerships in my NEW community now that I have gotten my bearings this year. I was able to have community support in so many of my interventions at my previous school, and it's time to get to work building new connections for character bag goodies, speakers, certificates, etc.

So, it looks like I will be busy but IN A GOOD WAY, AT MY OWN LEISURE, and that reminds me of this cute card. Love that website!   Happy Counseling  ~  Angela