*Image from girlwifemom.com
Congratulations! Many of you just finished your first week of workdays (give or take) and probably have one or more of the following feelings as the first day with students approaches: Overwhelmed, excited, nervous, exhausted, relieved. I have experienced each of these feelings at varying times this week as I transition to a new school. If you read my First 30 Days post, I started an outline of steps you can take to establish a strong foundation for your school counseling program this year, sharing tips on visibility within the school and general organization. The response to that post was amazing with over 1200 people reading it in 3 days; here's part II.
Data Collection and Management
If your true goal this year is to implement a comprehensive school counseling program, you MUST commit to using data. School counseling without data is like a teacher starting instruction on day 1 without reviewing a cum folder, giving a pre-assessment, or looking at one piece of standardized testing information for that child. I have talked about data in previous posts here and here, among others. I also will be linking a great ASCA National Model presentation in the next section that includes a lot of data examples. Resistant?! Let me help you......
Argument #1: I don't know where to find it (or I don't have time)! Schools collect data (some argue too much) ALL THE TIME! You need to find out who is collecting it and where it is stored. Talk to your principal, assistant principal, intervention teachers, data manager, secretary, social worker, school nurse, and school psychologist. If data intimidates you, start with the easiest source first. For me, that would be attendance data because I can easily print it off of PowerSchool without having to bug anyone else, and it is easy to understand. Other easy sources:
- A copy of last year's EOG scores
- A copy of last year's suspensions and/or timeouts/behavior referrals (depending on the state I would imagine suspensions almost ALWAYS have to be entered into a computer database/spreadsheet)
- Spreadsheet on any homeless students (McKinney-Vento information has to be collected by schools)
-RtI/MTSS data- who is on tier 2 and tier 3? Can you be working with any of those students to support academics or behavior? Read about making the most of MTSS here.
As for the NO time argument, I agree. Being a school counselor is busy with many of us wearing too many hats. However, if our time is spent on too many activities that are disconnected from the data-driven needs of our school, are we just spinning our wheels?!! Figure out how to prune to focus on what's most important.
Argument #2: My administration doesn't share data with me. Yes, I have been there. It's frustrating. My answer, make your own data. It might not be as comprehensive or as statistically valid as standardized data, but it is pertinent and representative of your school. Start with a needs assessment for your staff. Mine was sent out day 2 last week because I truly don't know the needs of my students as a new school counselor, and I needed a starting point. I sent a Google doc survey to all of the classroom teachers; it was short with only 6 questions/fields to complete. By Friday, I had already received over half of the responses, which is great considering I am using a data source teachers are not used to and have not completed in the past.
You will also generate school counseling data in your intro lessons if you are giving a student needs assessment (I plan to do this with third and fifth grade students). As you explain your role as a school counselor, ask the following on your survey:
- Who are the new students (Immediate new student group data!)
- Who has friendship, family, or academic concerns? (Immediate individual counseling data!)
Provide your school counselor referral form to older students (I usually do 2nd-5th) so that you can continue individual referrals throughout the year.
All of these data sources will help drive your school counseling program organization (next section). You will still need to figure out how to store and maintain this data but think about the following:
- An individual counseling documentation sheet (right). Here is an example that I use in individual sessions and another that I use for mediations. I then enter it into an online Google form so I can sort/analyze data throughout the year to see patterns with concerns.
- Auto-populated spreadsheets from Google Forms with surveys you create.
- Excel spreadsheets with year-to-year comparisons of behavior referral/suspension numbers and EOG achievement percentiles
I could write 5 posts on data, but I hope the above information will give you a good start.
Program Organization
Last year I presented at the kick-off meeting in my previous county on the ASCA National Model. I don't think there is anything I could write here that would say things clearer than this presentation. If you weren't trained in the ASCA National Model in grad school or still aren't sure where to start, dust off your Making Data Work or ASCA handbook and refresh your memory. For these first 30 days I would focus on the following:
- A mission statement for your school counseling program. My co-counselor and I worked on ours this week and it is already posted on my door, setting the tone for the year. Get ideas from last year's version here.
- An annual calendar based on district non-negotiables (e.g. bullying prevention in October), needs assessment data, other data collection sources from your school, the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors, and NC Guidance Essential Standards. That's a lot of data sources, but it should give you more than enough information to create an annual calendar that truly provides proactive student instruction and addresses the needs of your school!
- An annual agreement and professional development plan that outline your areas of responsibility and plans for growth this school year. You will review both of these documents with an administrator so make sure they include the student-centered, direct-service activities that will establish a strong school counseling program in the school.
- Action plans based on concerns or areas of growth you saw when collecting data. Examples: Plans focused on improving student attendance, EOG scores, behavior referrals (lowering the number), or bullying incidents. If you aren't sure how to get started on the action plans, consider using these SMART goal worksheets for your goal development. I love them!
Identify Supports
I am lucky to have a co-counselor this year but many of you FEEL like you are on an island at your school, especially if you are new. Consider the following bridges that can help connect you to other islands or the mainland (do you like my Hawaii metaphor and the sneak peek of my office decor above?!).
- Create a student services PLC (school psychologist, social worker, school nurse, etc.) that you meet with on a regular basis to discuss students, resources, and schoolwide programs. I used to meet with my student services team every week in my first job, and it was so helpful as a newer school counselor. As a new school counselor to my current school, I can't wait to get started with this team!
- Connect with central office personnel who are in charge of school counseling in your district. They want you to succeed...continual turn-over and hiring of staff isn't good for ANY STUDENT. Ask for help!
- Connect with your assigned county school counselor PLC.
- Utilize social media sources to get ideas for your program and ask questions. The brilliant Carol Lawson Miller provided the best support for elementary and middle school counselors when she created the Elementary School Counselor Exchange and Caught in the Middle School Counselor groups on Facebook. It would have saved me a lot of sleepless nights had I had this resource 10 years ago! There is also a high school Facebook group, the new ASCA Scene and Twitter #scchat conversations happening on any given day.
OK, that was a lot of information!!! Feel free to email me at apoovey@hotmail.com if you have additional questions or check out one of the awesome collaboration resources I mentioned above to ask questions. Chances are someone else has already asked a similar question and you can tap into the expertise of the people who know your job best, other school counselors!
I've also created this handy guide to help you stay on track these first 30 days. You can do it!
Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela
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