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I will work predominately with elementary students, grade K-8, as I do now. I really enjoy working with this age group and it is where the greatest need is in my geographical area. Also because of my geographical area, I am able to create long term relationships with my students. Some students may be on my case load their entire elementary career. The potential to make an impact is huge, and I consider myself very fortunate to have the opportunity to be such a large part of students’ educational lives. Building a strong foundation for them as they continue on to high school is so important. Additionally, because of those relationships we have formed I will continue to be a support for students long after they move into high school. It is hard for me to identify any one role that I will enjoy more than the others. In such a rural area, I am currently the only person with a counseling background working at the ESD. My current role is Behavioral Intervention Specialist & Social Emotional Learning Specialist, and at this time we do not have a school counselor. Many of the roles are mine already and those that are not, will be as soon as I get an Emergency Counseling License, hopefully next fall. I love the idea of growing the program from the ground up, working with community partners, teachers and administrators. Helping to plan curriculum and coordinating with teachers is such a great was to build a culture of caring throughout our schools.  I also love working with my students. I also love working with my students. They are what drive me to continue to improve myself and our program. Advocating for them as individually is so incredibly important and fulfilling.

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Assess: Reflection of Peer Reviewed Article 

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Assess: Reflection of Peer Reviewed Article 

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Reflection of a Peer Reviewed Article:

A Phenomenological Investigation of Universal Mental Health Screening: Making Meaning for School Counseling

The article I chose to review delved into the effectiveness and importance of universal mental health screening (UMHS) and multitiered systems of support (MTSS) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic paired with the value school counselors bring to that effort. Our counselors can continue to implement change for the betterment of our school cultures and student health using UMHS and MTSS.

Major points discussed were the negative impact we are seeing in our students as a result of the pandemic. This is something I have seen first hand in the schools I serve. Even in rural America, which arguably was not as affected by the pandemic as more metropolitan areas, the students are still showing signs of heightened anxiety and inability to regulate emotions and stress. In my counselors groups and in conversation with school counselors there is a general agreement that multiple factors have merged to create the current youth mental health crisis. While some of these issues can be caused by the general fear surrounding the pandemic we cannot devalue the loss of school time and its effect on students. Many students went without the consistency that school provides, our younger students missed those primary years when the focus on classroom behavior and self regulation is taught.

This article focused on data driven programs and interventions helping counselors used targeted efforts and equitability when serving students. The data gathered also helped to show the importance of the school counselors’ role in education and mental health.

The idea of implementing a universal mental health screening process can help to refocus the school culture and shine a light on the needs of our students while simultaneously minimizing the stigma that is sometimes associated with mental health needs.

In my experience, coming from a background in mental health therapy, I agree with their findings whole heartedly. It seems like common sense to me that we would screen for mental health concerns in the educational setting. When we create a universal screening, it becomes just another screening, not unlike academic screening. It also changes the approach to something more holistic when looking at our students, which is a good message to send to them and the community. We have our students for the majority of their day and in large schools, multiple members of the staff interact with students on a basis. We really are the front line for our students when it comes to advocating for their mental health. Staff also need to be educated on interpreting behaviors and prepared to take the appropriate steps to advocate for student referrals, support students in the referral process and if possible, support their mental health journey.

In my current position as the Behavioral Interventionist for a handful of frontier schools I have been able to do this very thing. One student in particular was struggling in school and showing signs of having an attention deficit disorder. Through collaboration with the teacher, we were able to meet with his parents and recommend an assessment in a way that was well received by them. Once the student began engaging with mental health and completed his assessment, I was able to procure a release of information to discuss his treatment with the therapist. I then built on the skills that they were working on in sessions and I was able to reinforce the work the therapist was doing. The increased effectiveness of those wrap around services was such a fulfilling thing to see. When students, such as this one, live hours from the services they require, it is so important that they receive wrap-around continuation of those services. This student would have been lucky to see his therapist once or twice a month. I was able to continue skill building on a weekly basis through internet meeting sites. This also reiterated the importance of continued efforts to build relationships in our community. These relationships, like the one I forged with his therapist,  will only continue to benefit our students and the comprehensive counseling program we are creating. The article talked about utilizing a multi disciplinary team approach to UMHS, which is not very realistic in my geographical area at this time, but something we can work towards. Currently I am working on building relationships and creating by in on a behavioral safety assessment team. This article, however, has allowed me to consider the possibility of someday expanding on that to foster the idea of a UMHS team.

Reference
Goodman-Scott, E., Donohue, P., & Betters-Bubon, J. (2023). A phenomenological investigation of universal mental health screening: making meaning for school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 27(1), 1-12.

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A statement of your core beliefs about students and their ability to achieve

I believe all students have the ability to learn and achieve when they are in environment and mindset that is conducive to their style of learning. When students’ psychological and physiological needs are met barriers to learning are greatly minimized. When educators and counselors are able to form strong relationships with students we are able to identify those needs and meet the student where they are, metaphorically. From there we can build an environment and growth mindset which fosters their well-being and meets their educational, social and emotional needs.

A statement about your view of the role of school counselors as advocates for every student

While all educators should be advocates for the students they serve, school counselors should consider student advocacy amongst their primary responsibilities. School counselors often bring another ‘lens’ to the conversation when collaborating with educators regarding a student. It is paramount that along with the mental health or behavioral ‘lens’, we also utilize an ‘equity lens’. Advocating for all students in all arenas and carrying the belief that all students can learn and grow when properly nurtured is crucial. School counselors have the unique ability to positively affect students in their academic growth and success, lead them to have healthy and satisfying personal and social interactions and help shape their future through career a college planning through advocacy and relationship building.

Describe how you think ethical standards guide the work of school counselors

Ethical standards guide the work of school counselors on every level. All actions by a school counselor, both professionally and personally should strive to meet the ethical standards of the ACSA. This is how we can ensure that the students we serve feel safe and heard, ensuring they are able to meet their full potential to become well-adjusted productive members of society as a whole.

A vision statement of 1–2 sentences that state your personal philosophy of school counseling

My educational service district mission statement says we “provide schools with data driven and equitable opportunities for successful learning.” (HESD 2023)

In alignment with their statement, I would say every student will have a personal relationship, specifically fostered to assist in cultivating a healthy and successful life using data driven techniques, advocacy and pro-active measures.

References

American School Counselor Association (2019). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association

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Manage: Reflection of my school counselor competency assessment

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Manage: Reflection of my school counselor competency assessment

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I completed assessment with increased confidence. My past and current positions have prepared me better than I expected in relationship to many of the standards and competencies. Working as a mental health therapist helped me develop a strong professional foundation and instilled in me the ethical and legal understanding of therapy and community partnership and interactions. I have formed valuable relationships with colleagues that will serve me well in the position of school counselor. As a therapist I have delivered therapy in group and individual settings, and both received referrals as well as sent them. In my current role as the sole Behavioral Intervention Specialist and Social Emotional Learning Specialist I have delivered lessons to students across the board; in groups and individually, via google classroom or in person and served students directly and indirectly. I am comfortable completing Functional Behavioral Assessments and walking educators through the ins and outs of implementing the plan that is created. I work as a leader in my agency, helping to formulate policy and procedures. I have presented those policies and curriculum recommendations to multiple school boards. I am a member of the agency's interview panel to offer my perspective on employees who will serve our students. I sit on committees within the agency related to health and safety, educator trainings and many other issues in order to advocate for our students in all aspects. I serve as a team lead for the county wide Crisis response Team and am currently working to formulate a county wide Behavioral Safety Assessment Team. I think those experiences and professional roles will serve me well as a school counselor.

With that being said, the area that I feel like I need to develop further is based around the compilation of data and documentation. B-PE3 and B-PE4, as well as this week’s required media, ASCA National Model: Manage, focus on data driven goals, plans and outcomes. In my agency, we have not created a system for gathering and assessing data with the intent of utilizing a comprehensive counseling program to meet goals. Our educational service district is unique, the ESD has never had a counselor before. As soon as I qualify for licensure; traditionally, emergency, or restricted, I will be the first. Along with my lack of experience in this type of data analysis and documentation, I have concerns that the data we do collect may be skewed due to small class sizes and other unique variables. I was recently in a meeting with individuals from the Oregon Department of Education and it was something we discussed. Three of the schools in my district are currently only serving siblings. That means if the family attending that school become sick or go on vacation, 100% of the student body is absent. Quantifying that type of data is something I will have to educate myself on.

References

American School Counselor Association (2019). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association

Griffith, K., & Shook, J. (2019d). ASCA national model fourth edition changes: Manage

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Deliver: A Reflection on Results, Harvard IAT

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Deliver: A Reflection on Results, Harvard IAT

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A Reflection on Harvard’s IAT

In completing my IAT I was glad to see the results. I showed no bias towards gay or straight individuals and only a slight bias towards men and careers - women and families. Both of which make sense to me. I have many friends and a few family members who identify as homosexual, and while I have noticed that sometimes in our efforts to show we are not biased, we have a tendency to overcompensate, which is also a bias. I was a little concerned that might be the case in my results. I was happy to see it was not.

In relationship to men and careers - women and family; that also doesn't surprise me. In my family culture, even the women with careers find themselves the primary caregivers and homemakers. In my personal experiences, my husband and I have taken turns in those roles. When we were first married I was the breadwinner. Then when we had children, I stayed home and cared for the family and home. Now, roles have reversed again. He is home the majority of the time, while I am working full time and working towards my degree. We are a team and each of us is doing what needs to be done at any given time. I think the slight bias towards women and families may stem from my own control issues and the part of me that feels like while he is doing the majority of the child care and homemaking, he isn't doing things the way I would have, and thus not ‘right’. Dealing with my issues surrounding control is something I have been working on for a time and because necessity demands it, I am learning to allow him to do things his way.

I have always attempted to seek out my own bias and tried to understand and devalue any hidden beliefs that may lead to not serving my clients or students to the best of my abilities. Growing up in a rural area there is always a strong implication of bias, which is a large part of the reason I have always worked to rectify any I may have. I always disliked the connotation that ruralites are biased, when in my personal experiences, they are some of the kindest and caring people I have known. That being said, because of the nature of rural living, sometimes rural individuals do not have the same access and exposure to other cultures those living in metropolitan areas do. Sometimes I fear a lack of education in other cultures may present as bias. In order to address this possible learning gap our school district has procured funds specifically to allow our students to experience other cultures, which is invaluable. We visit larger cities and the students go to museums and see plays. We make sure they have the opportunity to dine out at different ethnic restaurants and give them the most exposure we can. Next month they will see Shen Yun, a renowned performance of dance and music celebrating Chinese culture. I am lucky enough to be a chaperone on the trip, I’m so looking forward to the experience and to witness and expand the students' education and view of the world.

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My results of Harvard's IAT  showed my scores in the 20% that show a slight automatic association of male with career and female with family.

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My results of Harvard's IAT showed my scores falling within the 18% that show little to no automatic preference between straight and gay people.

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