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Taking the students from grades 3-5 that are approaching grade level and meeting grade level on standardized testing from 2018-2019, we will begin small groups with school success in mind, focusing on test anxieties.  Since the majority of these students are currently off of our campus, and have moved to the higher-grade campuses, we will also look at first reporting period scores.  We want these students to make improvements to their scores as well as their competence on their state tests.

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Small Group Action Plan - Amber Schneider

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ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success

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ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success

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The students will master the following ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors upon the completion of this small group:
LS 3. Use time-management, organizational, and study skills.

LS 6. Set high standards of quality  LS 7. Identify long- and short-term academic, career, and social/ emotional goals.

SMS 5. Demonstrate perseverance to achieve long- and short-term goals.

SMS 7. Demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem.

SS 2. Create positive and supportive relationships with other students.

SS 3. Create relationships with adults that support success.
(American School Counseling Association, 2014, pg. 4)

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The Bulldog Success Team will be publicized as follows:
- An infographic will be created to pass out to students, parents, teachers, and administration.
- The infographic will also be placed on the school counselors website for quick reference for anyone needing it.
- The elementary campus' social media will also post the infographic so that families far and wide can see the group(s) that will be taking place for the betterment of the students.
- The group will be spoken about on the morning announcements for the school, by the principal.
- Teacher questionnaires will be sent via Google Docs (due to COVID protocol) if needed.

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Since the Bulldog Success Team will focus mostly on testing anxieties and the reduction of those anxieties, students in testing grades will be screened first.  Should the group not get as many students as needed, the lower grades will be screened as well.  Grades third through fifth take state standardized testing, but all grades kindergarten through fifth take district-wide assessments throughout the year. Screening will be used to "select individuals who will actively work toward individual and group goals" (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, pg. 22).

Rosemarie Smead, a leader in school-based group work, has developed the “TAP-In” process for pregroup screening interviews (Morganett, 1990): Tell student about the group. Ask student about his or her level of interest/commitment to expectations of group, Pick participants.
Following this TAP method will help to find students, as well as looking at testing data from Beginning of Year assessments or last years test scores.

Due to COVID restrictions, students will be screened individually through a Google Form in their Google Classroom or Seesaw learning platforms.

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"All professional ethical codes in the health, social and counseling fields require informed consent for clients and patients, and in many states it is a legal obligation in professional practice statutes" (Stone, 2014).

Since our district/campus does not have a policy regarding informed consent, a form similar to the one below will be used to gain consent from parents/guardians before small group work can begin with their students. I must get informed consent from parents beforehand. Although the school possibly could send one out at the beginning of the year, I would want to resend this because the beginning of the year is very overwhelming with things parents are filling out.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, pp. 24-25)

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Ground rules will be as follows:
- Be respectful and courteous.
- One speaker at a time.
- Be open-minded and accepting.
- You do not have to share, but you do have to participate in group skills.
Students will be given the ground rules, then once the group begins, we will develop one to three more guidelines for them to follow.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, pg. 26)

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Stage 1 - Building Trust
*Counselor will work with students to gain their trust by fostering relationships with them.  Finding out their likes and dislikes and playing on those features.  Should students try to test the waters in this stage, the counselor will know that this is part of the stage and work harder with those students to get them to notice and utilize their ground rules.  Relationship and trust is key in this stage.

Stage 2 - Working Together
*In this stage, sometimes called the "Performing Stage" (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, pg. 7), students work towards achieving their goals and working together to do so. Also, students must believe in themselves and the group and that the dynamics will all work together to end with the outcome wanted.
*When we are not in meeting group, counselor will check in with teachers and students, possibly do small walk-ins to see how they are working in class and if they are utilizing the skills being taught.

Stage 3 - Ending the Group
*Before the groups actually comes to an end, the students need to know that they will always be a part of the Bulldog Success Team.  We will talk about how to use the skills we have learned through our sessions in the future to keep progressing positively.
*Students will be asked to speak on how the group has made them feel.  Since the sessions have been during school, the possibility of a quick 30 minute "send-off" session will be used.  Making sure to tell the children it is not goodbye, but good luck will help them to know that they are capable and we are not just ending abruptly.  Also, telling them a few sessions ahead of the last one will help them to know that the end is coming.

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The leadership style of the Bulldog Success Team will be that of
participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership. "Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members" (Cherry, 2020).

The students and the counselor will work more together as peers which could end up with less production from the students, but the students will have more to work with and hopefully do better with this skills when they see the counselor as a helper.

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The Bulldog Success Team will be using several therapeutic techniques that deal with curative factors.  Irvin D. Yalom's curative factors that could be put to use in this group of students working on their anxieties over testing could include; Installation of Hope -  faith that the treatment mode can and will be effective,  Direct Advice - receiving and giving suggestions for strategies for handling problems, and  Interpersonal learning - receiving feedback from others and experimenting with new ways of relating (Yalom, 1995).

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The Texas Education Code Section 33.005 (2) explains that school counselors will use responsive services to meet the needs of students that are in need of intervention due to their educational, career, personal, and/or social and emotional development is at risk.

This code goes directly hand in hand with this group because the students are working on skills that will help them attack and hopefully overcome their anxieties where testing is concerned.

( Texas Education Code , 33 EC § 33.005, 2019)

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The American Counseling Association (ACA) code of ethics A.2 explains the process for informed consent in the counseling relationship and A.9 details group work in the counseling realm.

Both of these ethical requirements must be observed to make sure all rules and procedures are being followed in assisting the students in their well-being.

(American Counseling Association, 2014)

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American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2014). Mindsets and Behaviors for      Student Success: K-12 College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Every Student. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2020, August 3). What are prominent leadership styles and frameworks you should know? https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312.

Morganett, R. S. (1990). Skills for living: Group counseling activities for young adolescents. Chicago: Research Press.

Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015). Professional school counselor small group counseling guide: A professional school counselor’s guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating school-based counseling groups. Retrieved from https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015.pdf

Stone, C. (2014, September 1). Informed consent: Is it attainable with students in schools? American School Counselor Association. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/september-october-2014/informed-consent-is-it-attainable-with-students-i

Texas Education Code, 33 EC § 33.004.

Yalom ID. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books.