Data-Driven School Counselors

1. Data-Driven School Counselors Using online standardized surveys to improve school district’s counseling program

2. Needs Assessment data helps to determine: • which services are valued by school community • what are the needs of parents, students, and teachers • what are the expectations for the future of the school counseling program

3. District wide standardized Needs Survey uses: • To identify areas needing change and improvement • To develop district wide benchmarks or vision data to focus planning • To identify schools where interventions are needed and which interventions are most likely to be successful • To create recommendations for state educational policymakers • To gather perceptions on the impact of mandated or recommended school counseling activities

4. Benefits of standardization • To improve the overall quality of Needs Assessment surveys • To clarify the nature and definition of data (which variables are to be collected, how questions are asked) • To increase their comparability • To improve accessibility of counseling data

5. How using a computerized existing survey or survey template helps school counselors • Data input is quick and easy • Content is designed at appropriate developmental level • Key constructs or data variables are defined • At least one question is devoted for each construct identified • Demographic variables are defined • Introduction and thank you are written

6. Online surveys are easy for district counselors to administer • Send e-mail to parents and teachers • Post the survey on a your counseling website • Post the survey on the school’s parent portal

7. Quicker and easier data analysis Online needs assessments: • Automatically converts data into graphs • Calculates percents, mean, median and mode • Scores responses and makes results available immediately online • Ensures accuracy by computer

8. Why gather updated needs information? 1 To identify new needs 2 To suggest new priorities among previously identified needs

9. Why update continued… • To identify schools where counseling specialists are needed: • Bilingual counselors • Career center technicians • Parent education coordinators • Special education coordinators • Substance abuse prevention counselors

10. Counseling trends & new student needs Helping: • Students cope with violence surrounding them • Increasing numbers of students who feel alienated from school and school staff • Increasing numbers of students who need help making career development plans • To improve cross-cultural awareness and reduce racism and ethnocentrism

11. Counseling trends & new parent needs • Parents need and want more parenting skills • Schools need more effective ways to reach uninvolved parents • Schools need funds to create parent coordinator positions

12. Counseling trends & new teacher needs Teachers: • Need help meeting the special needs of students who fall educationally in the middle of the Bell Curve • Seek better response to specific classroom problems • Want a fuller understanding of the guidance program • Want more help with understanding standardized testing and its appropriate uses