Data Notebook

Its amazing how much data is in our Notebook as we wrap up the first week of school.  It is so important that counselors plan, collect, and analyze process, perception, and results data.  It is always busy but keep sign in sheets for parent events and staff training.  Use Google Docs to do pre and post surveys with parents and staff.  Design pre and post lesson unit surveys to show that students are learning as a result of the lessons counselors teach in the classrooms.  Keep track of how you spend your time (we are using a new Excel spread sheet).  Where possible plan to capture data so it can be disaggregated, that is separated out by ethnicity, gender, teacher assignment, etc. We are trying to do this this year for referrals to counseling and bullying reports. Stone and Dahir's "School Counselor Accountability" is an excellent resource.  They say, "Data is a counselor's best friend."