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The Role of the School Counselor in Improving Student Achievement

The Role of the School Counselor in Improving Student Achievement. Eric D. Katz MSAC School Counselor, Newburgh Free Academy This presentation can be downloaded from www.highschoolsnotforever.com College Board National Forum October 29, 2005.

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The Role of the School Counselor in Improving Student Achievement

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  1. The Role of the School Counselor in Improving Student Achievement Eric D. Katz MSAC School Counselor, Newburgh Free Academy This presentation can be downloaded from www.highschoolsnotforever.com College Board National Forum October 29, 2005

  2. Creating a Culturally Sensitive Environment with a Diverse Population

  3. What Defines our diverse populations? • Ethnicity/Culture • Language • Sexual orientation • Socioeconomic status • Children of divorce • Transience • Goths and Jocks • Physical, emotional, and learning disabilities

  4. Clichés About Student AchievementorHorror Stories from the Faculty Room

  5. Assessing the current climate in your school/district

  6. Examples:

  7. Perceived Educational Access Assesses the degree to which the school provides access for students of both sexes and all ethnic/racial groups to instruction in which girls or minority group students are sometimes under-represented. For example, are girls and racial/ethnic minorities well represented in high-level math and science classes, i.e. AP Courses?

  8. Perceived Educational Access • Who is taking these courses? (What the data can tell us) • Who is not? (also what we know from the data) • Why are certain groups of students NOT taking these courses? (what we need to know) • What are there attitudes, beliefs and/or mind sets that need changing? (whose)

  9. How do we Advocate for ALL Students?

  10. A working Definition for Advocacy: Advocacy is pursuit of influencing outcomes - including public policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions that directly affect people's lives.

  11. Advocacy has purposeful results: • to enable social justice advocates to gain access and voice in the decision making of relevant institutions • to change the power relationships between these institutions and the people affected by their decisions, thereby changing the institutions themselves • to bring a clear improvement in people's lives

  12. What do ALL Students Deserve?

  13. To have parents, advocates, and concerned educators involved in All Decisions Affecting Their Education

  14. Children benefit when parents help to set policy about school staffing, resource allocation, and curriculum. Along with genuine parent participation come improved student attendance, academic achievement, and more positive attitudes toward schooling

  15. Safe and Supportive Adults • Not all students can find these people at home • Most students do NOT know the characteristics of safe and healthy adults • Students need to learn how to identify and connect with these safe adults. See handouts from High School’s Not Forever Handout #2

  16. College Application Rates Suburban HS in NY (data 2003-04)

  17. Trail Markers And Trail Blazers

  18. Finding One’s Way

  19. The More Who Have Walked the Path in the Past, the easier it is for those who Follow • Immediate or extended family • Ethnic group • Gender • Native language • Immigration status

  20. The Trail Blazers • 1st Generation College Students • Underrepresented populations • New Immigrants • Teen Parents • Adult and Returning Students

  21. The Trail Markers • Mentors from the Community • Current College Students • Teachers • School Counselors • College Bridge and Talent Search Programs

  22. Different Ways Students Move Along the Path to College • Directed by others • Research, Research, Research! • Path of least resistance • The safe and familiar

  23. Directed by others • Friends • Family • Teacher • Counselor • Advertising

  24. Research, Research, Research • College Visits • Consult with family, teachers and School Counselor • The Internet • College Guide Books • College Fairs

  25. Path of least resistance • Easy Application • No SAT or ACT • No Deadlines • No Essay • No minimum GPA • No specific high school courses required for admission

  26. The safe and familiar • Live at Home • Not ready to leave friends • Frightened by the unknown • Different rate of maturation

  27. What if NOTHING felt safe or familiar?

  28. Remembering Our Path… • can reacquaint us with some of the issues facing our students • can reconnect us with the feelings involved • can remind us to value each student’s individuality Handout #3

  29. As our colleagues focus on school improvement, the question we might be asked is: “How do school counselors impact student success?

  30. Every School Counselor Committed to Helping Every Student Achieve and Succeed

  31. Accountability is driving the education agenda…………..

  32. It’s part of the ASCA National Model

  33. Is School Counselor Accountability…… Counting tasks? Reporting numbers? Accounting for time? Needs assessments? Activity Log? What do you think?

  34. Why Do We Too Need to Be Accountable? School Counselors can: • show that we intentionally and purposely act to “close the gap” • focus activities on student achievement • get involved in school improvement • use our leadership and facilitation skills to impact the system

  35. MEASURE A Six-step Accountability Framework Mission, Elements, Analyze, Stakeholders-Unite, Results, and Educate Working with an Example

  36. MEASURE is ……… an accountability process for school counselors to identify and positively impact the critical data elements that are the important barometers of student success.

  37. Mission - Connect to the Mission Of School When school counselors focus their efforts on the mission of school improvement they widen educational opportunities for every student and can positively impact student achievement

  38. Elements - Identify Critical Data Elements Your school's success is measured by results, which are those critical data elements that are important to the internal and external stakeholders.

  39. Is the Situation in Your School to Improve: Access to AP Attendance Graduation Rate Promotion Rate Post Secondary Going Rate Standardized Test Scores

  40. Analyze: Critical Data Elements Which critical data elements need to be carefully discussed and disaggregated?

  41. AN EXAMPLE: Data Element Seniors and Post Secondary Enrollment Disaggregated by Ethnicity

  42. Ethnic Breakdown of Senior Class

  43. Seniors and Post Secondary Enrollment by Ethnicity

  44. What Does the Data Tell Us?

  45. What Needs to Change to Move the Data? • Attitudes (Which ones and whose?) • Behaviors (Which ones and whose?) • Teaming (New or revisited collaborations?)

  46. Stakeholders-Unite To Take Action How do we work together to move this data and improve student achievement?

  47. Everyone Contributes - Let’s Fill in The Blanks

  48. Results, Reflect, and Revise Rethinking…….refining…….. refocusing….reflecting Are More 1st Generation Students Applying For College this Year As opposed To Last Year?

  49. Educate Others As To The Results School counselors can show the positive impact the school counseling program has on student achievement and on the goals of your school’s improvement plan.

  50. What do ALL Students Deserve?

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