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American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Berg, R.C., Landreth, G.L., & Fall, K.A. (2018). Group counseling: Concepts and procedures: Vol. Sixth edition. Routledge.

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Verywell Mind. August 24, 2023, https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

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/media/pdf/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015

Standards Required for the School Counselor Certificate, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15 (c)(3).

Tex. Educ. Code § 33.005-33.006 (2019). https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm

Yalom, I. D. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). Basic Books.

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The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2022) specifies that school counselors specifically discuss group work and the responsibility counselors have to explain confidentiality in a way that all members of the group understand in B.4.a.
It will be my responsibility to clearly outline what confidentiality means for the group and the expectations for all members to respect and maintain that confidentiality.

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The Texas Administrative Code 19 §239.15 specifies the general duties of a school counselor. 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15 (c)(3) states that school counselors must "counsel individuals and small groups using appropriate counseling theories and techniques in response to students' needs."

As the counselor, part of my role is to create a setting where students can work to solve problems, overcome obstacles, or achieve their goals. This is part of what this small group will aim to accomplish.

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Texas Administrative Code School Counselor Certificate

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Within this group, there are multiple factors that could present themselves.

Instillation of Hope - faith that the treatment mode can and will be effective.

This factor is likely to emerge when they begin to see ways to overcome barriers to their attendance or when they begin to see their attendance have an effect on their grades.

Altruism - the opportunity to rise out of oneself and help somebody else; the feeling of usefulness.

This factor may be present when we work on creating a system of accountability and support, they will then be part of something bigger than themselves. They will be part of helping someone else who is struggling with a similar problem.

Direct Advice - receiving and giving suggestions for strategies for handling problems.

This factor will be prevalent in the group because many of the tools and strategies we will discuss will be introduced through direct advice.

Interpersonal learning - receiving feedback from others and experimenting with new ways of relating.

This factor is also a possibility because as we progress through the sessions, students will be providing feedback and sharing their experiences. This will present opportunities for students to speak with and learn from one another's experiences.

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Yaloms Curative Factors of Group Therapy

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I believe I would use Lewin’s Participative or Democratic leadership style when working with this group. This style creates an environment where participants may feel more motivated and engaged (Cherry, 2023). As the facilitator, I will be able to offer guidance on each of the activities, but I will also model each of the activities as well rather than asking only the participants to share.

I believe that active participation will help to put the students who are participating in the group at ease and create an environment where they feel free to share and participate actively as well.

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Stage 1- During this stage, we will address confidentiality and what that means for the group. We will discuss that the things that happen within the group are to stay in the group and not be discussed with other students or teachers. If it becomes an issue, particularly if it is from one particular student, we will move from meeting with the group to meeting individually to protect the confidentiality of the larger group. We will discuss times when confidentiality will not be guaranteed such as if there becomes a concern about harm to self or others. We will focus on our common purpose to improve attendance and recognize the positive and negative results of truancy.

Stage 2- We will work to establish goals within the group and ways to lovingly hold one another accountable for working toward those goals. It will be important for students to see others having similar struggles and to have a focus of helping one another in addition to helping themselves individually.  According to Berg et al., (2018) “Through the interaction process in the group, they discover that other adolescents have similar problems and that they are not alone (p. 182).
During the course of the group, we will be having weekly meetings, I will be monitoring attendance, and I will be in contact with their families to ensure that progress is being made toward the goals of the group and the ones each student sets.

Stage 3- To wrap up the group, we will help one another and establish pathways for continued accountability and maintaining a support system moving forward. Students will have already identified adults that they know can help them if they are struggling to be at school. They will also have created future goals and plans as a further incentive to continue moving forward with increasing attendance. Through these increased school connections and family communication, students will end the final group session knowing that they have continued support.
I will continue to check attendance and grades and check in with students about their attendance and goals during break times.

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Rules for the group are as follows:

1. Everyone will show respect for others in the group.

2. Everyone will actively participate in goal-setting, but will not be required to share unless they wish to.

3. Everyone will be required to maintain the confidentiality of the group.

Other rules may be established as part of the initial group meeting and will be discussed and agreed upon by the members.

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Attendance monitoring will be used to determine students who will be part of the screening process for the group.

Once participants have been selected, I will reach out to families individually to discuss attendance and to inform them of the small group and will send home a letter specifically detailing the plans for the group including meeting times and topics we will cover.

I will ask parents to sign a consent form for their students to participate and will ask students to sign a consent form for participation as well.

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Students in grades 9-12 who are over the 10% absence threshold will fill out the survey during individual planning meetings I will schedule with them to discuss attendance requirements.

The survey will be a combination of multiple-response or multiple-choice questions and short answer questions where students are asked to expand on and explain the information they provided on earlier questions.

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Student Attendance Survey - Google Forms

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Students will be recruited based on data mining results from Skyward of current attendance totals and absence percentages.

I will email teachers for feedback on their observations of the students and the specific struggles they see in the classroom.

I will meet with our district attendance officer to discuss feedback she has received from parents who she has contacted or who have received truancy letters.

I will call students in individually to meet with them and discuss their attendance and have them fill out a brief survey.

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The following ASCA Mindsets are addressed in this group:

B-SMS 1. Responsibility for self and actions

B-SMS 5. Perseverance to achieve long-term and short-term goals

B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers

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

B-LS 7. Long- and short-term academic, career, and social/emotional goals

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Our group is called Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow.  Our topic will focus on strategies for increasing student and family engagement to increase attendance for students in grades 9-12 with chronic absenteeism (those who receive truancy letters within the first six weeks) who are making a 72 or below in two or more courses.