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The group name is called In Search of Strategies (ISS) and will include 7th and 8th grade, male and female students that have received multiple office disciplinary action referrals of maladaptive adverse behavior in the classroom or on campus that has resulted in the development of a behavioral intervention plan. The topic they will be exploring is developing appropriate conflict resolution strategies that can be used in the classroom and on campus to change and prevent future undesired classroom behaviors, resulting in disciplinary action. This will be a psycho-educational small group of 5-10 students weekly from 11:30 – 12:30, Monday through Thursday for 6 weeks. 7th grade girls will meet on Monday, 7th grade boys will meet on Tuesday, 8th grade girls will meet on Wednesday, and 8th grade boys will meet on Thursday all in Gym B. The start time is during Advisory Intervention classes and extends through part of their lunch, so lunch will be delivered to the gym.

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The following mindsets and behaviors will be met through group participation:

Mindsets:

M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being

M 2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment

M 3. Positive attitude toward work and learning

M 5. Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes

Behaviors:

B-SMS 1. Responsibility for self and actions

B-SMS 2. Self-discipline and self-control

B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers

B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills

B-SMS 10. Ability to manage transitions and adapt to change

B-SS 2. Positive, respectful and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them

B-SS 3. Positive relationships with adults to support success

B-SS 5. Ethical decision-making and social responsibility

B-SS 6. Effective collaboration and cooperation skills

B-SS 8. Advocacy skills for self and others and ability to assert self, when necessary

B-SS 9. Social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment

(American School Counselor Association, 2021)

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In order to advertise for this group, parents of selected participants will be provided with an informational flyer that details the meeting dates, times, locations, and topics.

Teachers will be provided with the list of students that will be participating, dates, times, and locations so they know which students to release during Advisory when the announcements are made, and the meeting dates and times will be added to our weekly Raider Gazette Parent Newsletter and the Staff Gazette as additional reminders.

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Administrators and counselors will meet together and review the ISS placement logs and offenses to identify the students that would benefit from the behavioral intervention small group sessions. As students are identified, counselors will contact parents of the selected students by phone or email to provide a brief overview of the small group sessions and request permission for their student to attend. If parents approve their students participation, counselors will obtain a good email address and send over a DocuSign Parent Permission Slip digitally that includes an informative flyer for parents with meeting dates, times, locations, and topics that will be discussed each week. This form can be signed and returned without needing the student to take it home and bring it back. The students will then be called down and informed of their parents approval to participate, what they will gain from participation, and completion of the pre-program assessment prior to the first session individually.

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Midland ISD Guidance and Counseling Department Procedures requires campuses to obtain parental consent in writing prior to participation in small group counseling sessions. The form requires counselors to be specific regarding the lesson topics and content that will be shared with students. Students will be called down, once parents have signed the form, and be informed of lesson topics and advised of participation in the small group sessions.

(MISD, 2025)

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Copy of Small Group Counseling Permission Form.docx

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The following expectations will be non-negotiable and set by counselors prior to beginning the sessions:

1. Confidentiality

2. All students will be respectful of themselves and others.

3. Own your actions

We will create a document like the one above to list the 3 non-negotiables and provide examples of what that looks like and sounds like for student understanding on the first day. We will then open the floor for students to suggest additional expectations as a group to ensure equal opportunity for input and allow students the opportunity to own their small group sessions and communicate their needs. Once they are all listed and we create examples for each one, we will have students sign the agreement and post it as a reminder of the expectations that they helped create and agreed to throughout the duration of their small group participation.

(Missouri Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Programs, 2015)

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Each session will consist of no more than 10 students per group, per day. Sessions will be divided in to 7th grade boys, 7th grade girls, 8th grade boys, and 8th grade girls that have exhibited chronic maladaptive behaviors and classroom disruptions.

Stage 1: Confidentiality and group norms will be developed as part of the first session with each group. Confidentiality is a non-negotiable norm and this will be explained and modeled for students to develop their understanding of what that means. We will discuss the limits of confidentiality in an age-appropriate, student friendly way. Students will then discussed and propose additional expectations that they think will benefit the group as a whole and we will all sign and post the expectations that we all agreed to together to create a sense of community, trust, and accountability.

Stage 2: Counselors will model the activities for students, then walk around and facilitate conversations, ask questions, and guide students that may be stuck in the active participation student-led sections. Students will complete an exit ticket at the end of each session to demonstrate their understanding and impact of the lesson that will be evaluated by counselors prior to the next session to determine key take-aways and measure progress throughout each session.

Stage 3: For group closure, students will circle back to the first activity that they completed with the David Gets in Trouble graphic organizer that we created. We will discuss the different scenarios that each student added and develop the new appropriate ways to respond to each scenario. Students will then complete an exit ticket that answers how confident they feel applying these newly learned strategies outside of our group sessions and how they can apply these new skills to the classroom. We will also remind students where we are located and how they can reach us, if they need support once our sessions have ended. If students request individual follow-up supports, we will meet with them to discuss next steps to ensure that we are meeting their needs and refer them to other outside resources if needed.

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This group would benefit from a mix of situational and transformational leadership styles. While the ideal scenario would be for students to be fully engaged in a transformational model that is focused on sharing experiences and making connections to one another, they are at an age where they may need guidance and support throughout the process (Cherry, 2023). Counselors will allow students to take the lead as much as possible to encourage their ownership and overall change, but some students may not be as independent and need guidance throughout the sessions. Counselors will walk around and facilitate conversations and provide direction and support throughout each session until students feel confident enough to do it on their own and complete each task. This will take time, as these students struggle with managing their emotions and remaining on task and focused, but encouragement and redirection will be provided as each session develops.

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Yalom's Therapeutic Factors that could be present throughout these sessions are universality as students recognize that many of them are having similar thoughts, feelings, and emotions daily and they are more alike and connected than they realize. They will also benefit from the development of socialization techniques that they will work on during the role playing sessions with their partners to work through conflict resolution strategies. Through direct advice and interpersonal learning, students will be able to practice newly learned strategies with one another to recognize their strengths and weaknesses in a collaborative and supportive environment that will help them find the best strategies to help them manage their emotions in an appropriate manner without the fear of discipline when they may not get it right and it will provide them with multiple opportunities to work together and find what works for them and adds to their effective forms of communication over time.

(Yalom ID, 1995)

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B-SS 3. Provide short-term counseling in small-group and individual settings

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B-SS 3 in the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies states that school counselors will provide short term counseling in small-group and individual settings (American School Counselor Association, 2019). Counselors will analyze the discipline reports for our campus to identify and strategically group students that are struggling with maladaptive behaviors and causing classroom disruptions that are impeding their learning and that of their classmates as well. We will provide these students with a short term small group behavioral intervention in an effort to promote appropriate behavior development and conflict resolution strategies to help reduce the classroom disruptions and redirect behavior. This can be included in out multi-tiered systems of support, MTSS, plans as a Tier 2 intervention strategy, and serve as a documented strategy and service that is provided to students, in the event that additional supports are needed and we need to refer the students to Tier 3 supports later on.

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B-PA 2. Identify gaps in achievement, attendance, discipline, opportunity and resources

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B-PA 2 in the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies states that counselors will identify gaps in achievement, attendance, discipline, opportunity, and resources through the analyzation of data and create an action plan that aides in the support and development of necessary interventions that will support the campus and student outcomes (American School Counselor Association, 2019). These efforts will support the beliefs, mission, and vision set for the campus and align with the district initiatives that support the development of all students academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. The alignment and developmentally appropriate strategies will help ensure that counselors identify and remove barriers that will negatively impact student growth and achievement over time and ensure that classrooms are a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.

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American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA school counselor professional standards & competencies. ASCA. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/a8d59c2c-51de-4ec3-a565-a3235f3b93c3/SC-Competencies.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA student standards: Mindset & Behaviors for student success. ASCA. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

Cherry, K. (2023). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Verywellmind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312#toc-situational-leadership

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. https://angelo.blackboard.com/ultra/courses/_90971_1/cl/outline

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