(7) Collaboration with Family and Community: Candidates who complete the program are accomplished school counselors and educational leaders who have the knowledge, ability, and cultural competence to work collaboratively with families and community members to achieve common goals for the education of students, improvement of schools, and advancement of the larger community. Candidates:
Each day, students come to school dealing with a variety of issues outside of the school that impact the likelihood of their success at school. It is my purpose as a counselor to be able to recognize warning signs of issues, create an alliance with students, work collaboratively with staff in support of students, and provide a safe place where students can come where I can then provide resources for them or their families as needed.
Please, take a moment to review the Power Point presentation I created in my Parents, Families and Communities course in response to a need I had identified in the community:
Each day, students come to school dealing with a variety of issues outside of the school that impact the likelihood of their success at school. It is my purpose as a counselor to be able to recognize warning signs of issues, create an alliance with students, work collaboratively with staff in support of students, and provide a safe place where students can come where I can then provide resources for them or their families as needed.
Please, take a moment to review the Power Point presentation I created in my Parents, Families and Communities course in response to a need I had identified in the community:
clothing_for_kids_presentation.pptx | |
File Size: | 1539 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
(a) Are knowledgeable of the community and community resources, and they utilize available resources to make appropriate referrals based on the needs of students.
Here: http://j361neighborhoodnews.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/fighting-homelessness/ you can read an article that touches on the homelessness experience of some students in the Springfield School district and discusses the Brattain House one of the community resources I utilize regularly on behalf of students and their families.
Please, take a moment to peruse some of the artifacts that I used this year to put students and families in touch with community resources.
Here: http://j361neighborhoodnews.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/fighting-homelessness/ you can read an article that touches on the homelessness experience of some students in the Springfield School district and discusses the Brattain House one of the community resources I utilize regularly on behalf of students and their families.
Please, take a moment to peruse some of the artifacts that I used this year to put students and families in touch with community resources.
(b) Demonstrate the ability to plan for and present school counseling-related educational programs to administrators, teachers, parents and the community.
Collaborating with Administrators, Teachers, Parents and the Community
In the Foundations of School Counseling course we were required to create and present our Comprehensive Guidance Counseling Program to a group of School and Counseling professionals selected by Dr. Aasheim to serve as a mock school board in evaluating our presentation and how well we were able to defend our program and the necessary role of Professional School Counselors in our school.
As Professional School Counselors the responsibility falls to us to advocate for our positions in schools and to educate the community as to the vital importance of school counseling programs.
At both of my internship placements, the counseling staff played an integral role in the success of the school as whole and in support of every student’s educational experience. The way that manifested was sometimes on an individual basis, and other times in broader ways that impacted the entire school.
The ways in which school counselors worked on behalf of the students, school, and community were:
Collaborating with Administrators, Teachers, Parents and the Community
In the Foundations of School Counseling course we were required to create and present our Comprehensive Guidance Counseling Program to a group of School and Counseling professionals selected by Dr. Aasheim to serve as a mock school board in evaluating our presentation and how well we were able to defend our program and the necessary role of Professional School Counselors in our school.
As Professional School Counselors the responsibility falls to us to advocate for our positions in schools and to educate the community as to the vital importance of school counseling programs.
At both of my internship placements, the counseling staff played an integral role in the success of the school as whole and in support of every student’s educational experience. The way that manifested was sometimes on an individual basis, and other times in broader ways that impacted the entire school.
The ways in which school counselors worked on behalf of the students, school, and community were:
- Weekly Counseling meeting with Administrators
- SST meetings with administrators, school psychologists, Child Center Counselor, DHS Case workers, and District Behavioral Placement Specialists as needed.
- RTI meetings with administration and teachers
- Constant collaboration with staff via email, phone, school mailboxes, and in person
- Collaboration with district Truancy Officer
- Collaborating with Administrators, Teachers, Parents, and the Community
- Creation and implementation of Social Skills and other guidance lesson plans on a weekly basis or as requested by teachers
- Communicating student concerns to administration
- Collaborating and communicating with other counseling staff
(c) Understand systems theories and relationship among and between community systems, family systems and school systems and how they interact to influence the students and affect each system.
Theories and Relationships
The Parents, Families and Communities in Schools course was designed to utilize to use lectures, guest presenters, in class discussions and student presentations to model effective inclusion of all stakeholders (school staff, families, community partners) utilizing collaboration, consultation and cooperation to promote student achievement and success.
“This course reviews effective best practice methods for including parents, families, and communities in schools. An emphasis on compliance with TSPC (Teacher’s Standards and Practices Commission) licensure requirements is met by skill-building in communication, consultation and collaboration with stakeholders, community partners and families to assist in promoting school success and meeting achievement mandates.” – excerpt from COUN 576 Syllabus
This class really emphasized the role of schools in the community and how they are often the places that families turn to initially for help and resources. Schools do not just impact students academically, but their families and community systems as well.
Part of the course required us to examine the needs of our own community and design a program that would be of benefit to our schools, families, and communities. For my project, I designed a "Clothing Closet," where families in need could come and get clothing for their family.
Below is my project and the link to the Power Point presentation I created to accompany it.
Theories and Relationships
The Parents, Families and Communities in Schools course was designed to utilize to use lectures, guest presenters, in class discussions and student presentations to model effective inclusion of all stakeholders (school staff, families, community partners) utilizing collaboration, consultation and cooperation to promote student achievement and success.
“This course reviews effective best practice methods for including parents, families, and communities in schools. An emphasis on compliance with TSPC (Teacher’s Standards and Practices Commission) licensure requirements is met by skill-building in communication, consultation and collaboration with stakeholders, community partners and families to assist in promoting school success and meeting achievement mandates.” – excerpt from COUN 576 Syllabus
This class really emphasized the role of schools in the community and how they are often the places that families turn to initially for help and resources. Schools do not just impact students academically, but their families and community systems as well.
Part of the course required us to examine the needs of our own community and design a program that would be of benefit to our schools, families, and communities. For my project, I designed a "Clothing Closet," where families in need could come and get clothing for their family.
Below is my project and the link to the Power Point presentation I created to accompany it.
clothing_for_kids_presentation.pptx | |
File Size: | 1539 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
(d) Develop strategies to promote, develop and enhance effective teamwork within the school and larger community.
Staff Collaboration Days and Training
As an intern I had the opportunity to participate in school wide collaboration days and was even asked to create a presentation for one of the collaboration days. I have included the Prezi I created below.
As a member of the Hamlin Middle School Tragedy Response Team, I was also able to attend a county wide training and have included the certificate I received below my Prezi presentation.
Staff Collaboration Days and Training
As an intern I had the opportunity to participate in school wide collaboration days and was even asked to create a presentation for one of the collaboration days. I have included the Prezi I created below.
As a member of the Hamlin Middle School Tragedy Response Team, I was also able to attend a county wide training and have included the certificate I received below my Prezi presentation.
Staff Meetings
I participated in 8th grade RTI staff meetings to address concerns and work collaboratively to come up with strategic ways in which to benefit the academic, career, and personal/social growth of students.
Counseling Meetings
In both schools I attended counseling meetings with administrative staff to discuss students in the upper tier of the RTI pyramid, those with specific concerns, needs or challenges that had arisen, chronically truant students, and those students doing exceptionally well and needing additional supports to enable them to excel further.
In each instance, I was included as part of the team to work in collaboration in effort to facilitate support of student success.
I participated in 8th grade RTI staff meetings to address concerns and work collaboratively to come up with strategic ways in which to benefit the academic, career, and personal/social growth of students.
Counseling Meetings
In both schools I attended counseling meetings with administrative staff to discuss students in the upper tier of the RTI pyramid, those with specific concerns, needs or challenges that had arisen, chronically truant students, and those students doing exceptionally well and needing additional supports to enable them to excel further.
In each instance, I was included as part of the team to work in collaboration in effort to facilitate support of student success.