COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

1. COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS “WHAT COUNSELORS NEED TO KNOW”

2. “Common Core State Standards: Essential Information for Counselors”American Counseling Association How did it come about; What it is and is not. • The CCSS standards were developed by state leaders through the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. • National movement, setting high quality academic standards with keeping students on track for success in college and career. • It is not a policy enacted by Congress or run by the Department of Education.

3. CCSS Counselor’s Role • Implementing the CCSS for School Counselor “Anticipation Guide” - a pre-reading CCSS literacy strategy • Activate background knowledge • Help us consider potential assumptions • Lesson is developed with the content objective, text and task selections, lastly the literacy strategy.

4. CCSS Instruction a review • EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION- research tells us that Modeling the strategy and providing an Explicit Closure Statement to tie all of the instructional pieces together is essential. • Literacy strategies connect with text and varying levels of common core standards depending on whether it is a pre-reading, during reading or post – reading task. • The content objective, the text selection and the task that guide the literacy strategy selected. It requires intentional small changes in instructional practice: Modeling and Explicit Closure are key and research shows us that they are essential for success in implementing the literacy embedment. • Ask what do I want the students to know when they have completed the task associated with content?

5. Counselors Taking Action Understand It – CCSS uses literacy embedment across curriculum. Support It – Leadership role; look at research and data Act On It – Prepare for these misconceptions: p.10 “Students ‘should’ already know how to read” “I don’t have time” “I’m not a reading teacher” CCSS is supported by ASCA in policy and standards including high standards for all, rigorous coursework, school counselors as leaders, use of data, and collaboration.

6. How will CCSS impact your role?(ACA brief) • May need to adjust content of classroom guidance and career development to align with outcomes for student’s school and grade • Increase focus on career development • Must advocate to ensure all students are served • Help parents understand the changes effected by CCSS

7. What is Common Core State Standards? The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopt. The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit-bearing entry courses in two-year or four-year college programs or enter the workforce. The standards ensure that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of the expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics in school, and they put students on a level playing field regardless of their ZIP code

8. School Wide Change • Culture of college AND career ready • Literacy instruction in content area • Text complexity and informational text • Close reading and text – based response • Writing across the content areas • Mathematics instructions

9. Why Common Core State Standards? • Mississippi adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010 because they provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn so that teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. • Consistent standards, also adopted by 45 other states, will provide appropriate academic benchmarks for all students at each grade level, regardless of where they live. • The standards incorporate the best and highest of previous state standards in the U.S. and are internationally benchmarked to the top performing nations around the world. • Students will learn the skills and abilities demanded by the workforce of today and the future. The standards emphasize critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills. • The standards are grounded in college and career readiness.

10. What will Mississippi Common Core State Standards mean to students and parents? • With the CCSS, parents will know exactly what their children should learn by the end of each grade level. • The new standards are more rigorous and students will be learning important concepts in earlier grades. • The Common Core shifts instruction from high school completion to college- and career-readiness for every student.

11. What will Mississippi Common Core State Standards mean to students and parents? (Continue) • When the standards are fully implemented, parents will see that each grade covers fewer topics, but teaches content in much greater depth. • Curriculum and assessments are evolving to align with the Common Core. • With the Common Core, parents can be assured that their students are learning to the same high-quality standards as other students across the country. • New tests will measure learning under CCSS. These tests will be more difficult, which will mean that scores will be lower initially.

12. What School Counselors and Educators Need to Know • Implementation of Common Core State Standards marked a change in instructional practice for educators across the state. Common Core requires teaching to a greater depth on a fewer number of topics in each grade. • Specifically, students will be required to master more critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Understanding this transformational shift in public education in Mississippi, teachers and school and district leaders have received comprehensive training on implementation of the standards to develop a deep understanding of what they require. • The MDE will continue to provide training and information on resources to assist with the transition to Common Core.

13. Updates from OCCSSOffice of Career, Counseling and Support Services • Career Readiness Collaborative • Evaluation • Crisis Response Training • Counselor Admin Bridge • Legislation • Workforce Development Bridge

14. Evaluation • A counselor evaluation process aligned with MSTAR • Alignment with legislation and national standards • Goals of the Career Readiness Evaluation team • to have test coordinators responsibilities removed from counseling duties. • to use CANVAS statewide for communication and professional development • to have regional counseling groups for training • to address technology gaps with counselors • to advocate for counselors needed, and the pay scale & contract dates for counselors • to have an Evaluation Tool ready for pilot by academic year 2014

15. Crisis Response • The Crisis Response Team is directly charged with buidling a statewide training system in a train the trainer model • Create opportunities to train counselors regionally and annually • Create “flight “ teams who will be available during a local or statewide catastrophic event. • Specified goals: • to have interdisciplinary teams in each region consisting of superintendents, school counselors, school resource officers, nurses, etc. • to coordinate with the Office of Safe and Orderly Schools • to develop an emergency response communication system for statewide events

16. Counselor Educator/Admin Bridge • The goals of this team include: • to redefine the role of school counselors through communication with all relevant stakeholders • to allow counselors to be more effective in the implementation of the ASCA model. • to market success stories about districts that are implementing the ASCA model. • to bridge the gap between industry & secondary schools to decrease the dropout rate. • to fully implement the ICAP using information as data for career readiness.

17. Legislation • Currently pending amendments to the 37-9-79 relate to changing the definitions and detailing specific duties and responsibilities as it relates to the national model • Legislative Team developed these goals: • to provide funding for K-12 counselors • to reduce the counselor to student ratio and have each district adopt the ASCA model • to revise the Counselor Law and align with legislators who can assist • to address issues such as data holes with choices, counselors not be allowed to attend conferences/meetings, and the administration & legislatives view of the counselor’s role. • to provide training for administrators and promote counselor/teacher collaboration

18. Workforce Development Bridge • The Workforce Development Bridge determined the following goals: • to increase communication and understanding about Career and Technical Education to public secondary and post-secondary • to add value back to the trade areas of work • to emphasize parental involvement • to develop a network with secondary, postsecondary, and industry. • To create a branding campaign and create materials to be used in the school districts • Select Legislative Champions who may have ideas about raising funds to support their ideas

19. Questions Office of Career, Counseling and Support Services Gail Simmons, Office Director gsimmons@mde.k12.ms.us Donnell Bell, Division Director dbell@mde.k12.ms.us