New Resource

Less than 1/2 of US children and teens live in a home with 2 married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. Over 1/3 live in single parent households. Many live with same-sex couples, foster parents, grandparents, and other caregivers. This new book deals with having an event at school that is all inclusive, not exclusive like a Father-Daughter Dance. It was written by a former school counselor. It is a great resource and a reminder as we plan our annual calendar to make ALL events at school welcoming to the increasingly diverse populations we serve.

Back-to-School Tips for School Counselors

If this is your first year in a new school the priority should be building relationships with staff, students, and families. Attend ALL Back to School functions and introduce yourself. Don't be afraid to go into teachers rooms while they are setting up and chat for 5 minutes to find common ground. I would especially focus on other new staff because you automatically have something in common with other newbies. If you are not overwhelmed, plan a coffee in your office the first Friday students are back. Teachers love to be fed and it is good to have them see you in your office.  I hope your district provides you a mentor, if not ask your state SCA if they have a mentoring program. There are even mentoring programs available online via Facebook groups.

Returning counselors have a lot to do the first month of the school year. Here are 10 places to focus your time based on the newly revised ASCA National Model as you settle in to a new school year.

1)  Review school data including any data you collected on the school counseling program last year. Determine if you should conduct a needs assessment. Remember student needs are the most important in building a data driven school counseling program. Based on the data draft 3 annual student outcome goals (formerly called program goals). Plan to use one of these for your evaluation if required by your district.

2)  Meet with administrator(s) for annual administrative conference (formerly called annual agreement). Use the template provided by ASCA to guide the discussion. Come to an understanding of planned use of time and how often you will collect this data (I always did a week each semester).

3)  Set up the school counseling program Annual Calendar and Weekly Calendar. It is important to clarify with classroom teachers how you will be scheduling lessons taught by counselor. It is also important that you build a slot in your schedule to record and analyze data.  I always saved the last hour on Friday for this task (30 minutes when students were still present and the 30 minutes we were required to stay after dismissal). 

4)  Organize your office. Make it a space that is welcoming for students and meets your own needs (keep a stock of healthy protein bars and snacks for days when you really don't have time for lunch).

5)  Plan your core curriculum based on the ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors. Consider using the ASCA action plan. If possible use evidence based programs and practices. Don't forget to plan to evaluate what you teach.

6)  Plan small groups. You may just want to plan the first round, especially if you are going to conduct a needs assessment.  The sooner you can get groups started, the more you can do in a year. I have found that most groups need to run for 8 sessions unless you have the luxury to conduct groups that last more than 25-30 minutes, then 6 may be sufficient. Again plan for evaluation as you plan your groups!

7)  Talk to staff about referrals for counseling, how to handle students comments about self harm & threats to others, and bullying reports. I always did this during preservice week and sought out any staff person that was not in the session (due to conflict) individually or a small group follow-up if I missed more than a few.  This needs to be done annually!

8)  Determine who will be on your Advisory Council and set the dates for the meetings. It is best if the first meeting is within the first month of school so they can have input on your draft student outcome goals.  I personally planned quarterly meetings of the Advisory Council and found 4 shorter meetings to be more valuable and members had a sense of being part of the program, rather than the minimum 2 meetings ASCA requires (for RAMP).

9)  Plan how you will brand and market the school counseling program to all stakeholders.  We had a logo that appeared on everything generated by our program. We used it on the school website, blog, brochures, handouts for classroom lessons, etc. Our school wanted to go green so we used Twitter a lot to show what we were teaching, reminders of calendar events, and good articles for staff and parents to read. We planned quarterly workshops for parents and always offered to send the materials home to parents who could not attend.

10) This is not a job you can do alone. Make contact and build relationships with many other educators, student support staff, district counselors, community mental health providers, etc. Collaboration is key for a successful program and a must for crisis response.  Yes planning for crisis needs to occur annually and key players need to meet face-to-face.

One final tip is plan for your own self-care. Try to establish a work-home life balance. Remember the beginning of the school year is one of the most stressful times, so make yourself practice good sleep hygiene. Make time to get outside and enjoy nature. I frequently would just walk around the block at my school for a brain break before returning to my long to do list. Surround yourself with positive people and limit your exposure to whiners and other negative folks. Have a great school year!

Annual Nottingham School Counseling Report

This is the overall program report I share on my school blog to summarize what services were offered by the counseling program.

2017-2018 Program Report

This report highlights some of the services provided by the Nottingham School Counseling Program during the 2017-2018 school year.  These services meet the program’s mission of helping all students establish their unique academic, career, and personal/social goals so they can reach their maximum potentials. To meet the needs of the whole child, counselors help all students overcome challenges that interfere with their learning and development. Through advocacy and fostering of a safe and inclusive school climate, counselors ensure that all students have equity and access to a challenging curriculum, needed resources, and support. By collaborating with staff, families, and community members, the school counseling program prepares all students to be successful lifelong learners, effective problem solvers, and responsible global citizens in a changing society.

Classroom Lessons

The counselor taught the following number of lessons: sixteen 20 minute lessons in kindergarten and first grade; and ten 30 minute lessons in grades second – fifth.

Small Group Counseling

The counselors lead a variety of social/emotional and academic groups and the school psychologist and social worker each led one group. There were 54 small groups conducted averaging 8 sessions each; 261 students participated in groups. Groups delivered by grade level were: Kindergarten 14, 1^st 11, 2^nd 10, 3^rd 8, 4^th 7, and 5^th 4.  In addition, all kindergarten students participated in 2-3 lunch bunch sessions with a counselor.

Individual Counseling

The counselors meet with students one-to-one to discuss issues related to academic success as well as social emotional concerns. Number of students seen individually: 80 Average number of sessions per student: 6. Number of students needing risk assessment: 7.  The top 3 reasons for referrals for counseling were: Social skills/peer conflict; 2) Self/Emotional Regulation; 3) Bullying. Anxiety decreased from the top reason for referral to #6 (415 decrease due to more classroom lessons and groups on topic). Social skills/peer conflict referrals increased 100%.

Summary 

Enrollment for K-5 was 526 students. Nottingham had 1.2 counselors with a ratio of 1:438. Direct services are in-person interactions between school counselors and students. All students were taught the school counseling core curriculum. Over half of students were seen in individual and/or small group settings. The counselors provide a range of indirect services including consultation with parents/guardians, collaboration with staff, and referrals/consultation with outside mental health service providers. They also run a highly popular lending library of Family Resource Packs for families.

Evidence-Based School Counseling Conference

Over a month ago I attended and presented at my favorite professional development opportunity each year, the Evidence-Based School Counseling National Conference.  One of my favorite things about this conference is that the keynote speakers are very practical and members of our field (not someone on the national speaking circuit). This conference attracts counseling professionals that are on the cutting edge of our field. It is held at a University with a strong Counselor Education program so the graduate students help manage the event.

The ASCA National Model requires counselors to examine their beliefs and this conference the past few years has caused me to revise mine. I now believe that all school counseling programs should meet students' needs as identified through needs assessments, delivered using evidence-based programs, and evolved through data analysis of outcomes. 

Our district began the move to evidence-based core curriculum three years ago. Our presentation showcased our elementary and middle school programs which now deliver 50 - 80% the same lessons across all our schools. The elementary programs represent the high end because we have always been teaching tier 1 lessons. What is different now is all our elementary and middle schools now base our social-emotional lessons on Second Step which is an evidence-based program. This years conference is will be published in a special feature issue of the ASCA Journal. I strongly encourage all counselors to try to attend the Evidence-Based School Counseling Conference next year!

New Years Resolutions

If you are writing New Years Resolutions or plan to have students do so when school resumes tomorrow, do not send the message "new year, new me."  It is much more likely people will carry through with resolutions if they build on something they are already doing. Other keys to  resolutions include: a) think small; b) be specific; c) be realistic; and d) have a plan to deal with obstacles. For example, I wear a Fitbit 24 hours a day. Currently my daily goal is 15,000 steps a day. My resolution for the New Year is 16,000 a day.  If by 6 pm I am not to my goal I will begin a specific workout to add steps. I like resolutions to focus on more than one area of life. Most people can commit to adding one event a month to build family or friend ties. I also like a resolution about adding something meaningful to a person's life like a new friend, a trip to somewhere new, or trying out a new activity. It is important to write down resolutions and review them frequently. I would recommend at least once a week for the first 3 months of the year.

Why Group Counseling

In order to “sell” stakeholders small groups should be a major part of the responsive services offered in our programs, we need to be clear on “Why Group Counseling.” Most counselors can explain how small groups are structured but to convince stakeholders why a student should participate we need to be clear on the why ourselves. At my school my part-time counselor and I run as many groups as time permits and need demands because we believe small groups are the best responsive service school counselors can offer. I was a classroom teacher so I enjoy teaching tier 1 lessons, especially now that we are using evidence-based materials like Second Step and MindUp, but I know that 15-20% of the students could use more help with social emotional development. These are the students who can benefit from tier 2 groups and there are 1-5% who need tier 3 groups (remediation and extra support).  Tier 3 groups and individual counseling typically address problems of living like illness of a family member, separation and loss, and grief.

Most of the groups we run are psycho-educational and focus on specific attitudes, skills, and abilities. They focus on typical areas of growth and prevent more transitory difficulties. Group members like the recognition that several others are experiencing the same developmental issues that they are. Yes we could work on these in individual counseling, but our ratio does not make that feasible. Besides we believe students learn from one another not just the counselors. Groups are ideal for improving communication and socialization. They also are extremely useful in fostering a sense of belonging and understanding. They promote development of positive interaction. Many of our groups focus on the need to increase self regulation and coping with difficult emotions.

Another reason why we offer groups is they provide exposure to a common set of skills but are flexible enough for each member to set an individual goal and work on it over the life of the group.

Once a teacher or parent is familiar with the small groups we offer they understand the WHY. However, for new staff and parents new to our learning community it is important to explain why a child might benefit.  We also work very hard to insure there is no stigma or record kept of group counseling participation. We want children and adults to see most groups as prevention and others there to support students who are experiencing some challenges - not that the members of groups have any identified mental health issue or specific disorder.

Spread the Word: Branding and Marketing Your School Counseling Program

A few years ago my part-time counselor and I presented on branding and marketing a school counseling program at our state SCA conference. Here is a link to our PowerPoint
Spread the Word We chose the iHelp logo because that was the year our school began the one-to-one imitative giving iPads to all students. We continue to use the iHelp logo on our materials. Pictured above is my office door. The students think the see through (window) labeled "Live cam" is very funny. Public relations for counseling programs is an ongoing responsibility. Every year we have new staff and students who need to be informed about what we do. Despite all our efforts, not a week goes by that I don't receive an email from a parent that begins with a phrase like "I don't know if it is appropriate to ask you for this kind of help..." We also do LOTS of online marketing especially via our Blog and Twitter feed. We are beginning the process to lobby our school board to reduce our counselor:student ratio, hoping to eventually get to 1:250 at all levels. Please think about how you can promote school counseling programs and join ASCA and your state SCA so they can lobby for more school counseling positions! Follow me on Twitter @mbmccormac