GRIT...Get Ready, It's Time!

Has the honeymoon period worn off yet?! For some school counselors, last week was your first week of school.  Students eyes were bright and smiles were wide as they came in for that first day of school ready to conquer a new year (at least 99% of them).  For other school counselors, especially my year rounders, the honeymoon period is G.O.N.E.  Reality has set in and there is real work to be done with students, staff, and parents.

I'm about to start week 3 with students and am concentrating on being as proactive as possible so that when the bubbles burst (and they will), I am ready.  In my previous posts here and here I mentioned some of my "Introduction to the School Counselor" lessons.  I am still delivering SMART GOALS with my upper grade students to help them create a positive vision for themselves this year.














I added to my fourth and fifth Smartboard lessons (Here on TPT) and included this awesome YouTube video after I did my pre-test on the best definition for Perseverance and students' perceptions of their goals for the year.  Pretty engaging, right?!

I also am being proactive with my data collection.  Google Docs is truly my friend.  I have my individual counseling form ready to go and have used it already to begin this year's data collection process. You can access the form here to get a better idea of how it looks, and I discussed creating Google forms in my blog post here with character trait surveys. The process is the same for any form, you just change the type of question to the formats below. 

I was able to use the summary of response information at the end of last year to present a nice "School Counseling Data Summary At A Glance" with my staff.  You won't be able to click on all the links but check out the graphics.  I have Google Docs created for pre/post perception and outcome data on all of my classroom guidance lessons and small groups.  It does take some GRIT to stay on top of adding the data throughout the year, but the payoff is so worth it when I can show a quick presentation like this one to highlight my work when it's all said and done.




Most important, I have my ASCA National Model forms completed and ready to show my administrators in my management agreement meeting and in my first advisory council meeting. If you want to get started with the National Model forms, access some of the blank templates here.  The Smart Goals Worksheet is a phenomenal place to start once you have school data so that you narrow in on what your school NEEDS this year.  I also have a 5-page PDF example of my monthly annual calendar from last year with classroom lesson topics, small group topics, schoolwide/parent involvement events, character traits, and bulletin board ideas available on TPT here. All of the classroom lesson topics are cross-referenced with the ASCA indicators and Guidance Essential Standards (picture below) to give an idea of how you can create a comprehensive core curriculum plan throughout the year.

As the above YouTube video emphasizes, take it one step at a time.  It will take some GRIT, but you can do it a little at a time, adding another layer of data or another step of the National Model each year.            
                   Good Luck and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela