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Out to Lunch is a lunch-time group devoted to working with students in grades 6-8 who meet the At-Risk requirements of not performing satisfactorily on the STAAR test. This group will also include those students who did not meet the requirements of achieving 110% progress on a subsequent STARR test of the same subject (Texas Education Code, 2017). This group will work on specific skills to help students become more successful in school such as time management, study skills, and organization.

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Students will master the following mindsets through their participation in this group.

M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
M 2. Self-confidence in ability to succeed
M 5. Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes
M 6. Positive attitude toward work and learning

Students will master the following behaviors through their participation in this group.

B-LS 3. Use time-management, organizational and study skills
B-LS 4. Apply self-motivation and self-direction to learning
B-LS 7. Identify long- and short-term academic, career and social/ emotional goals
B-SMS 5. Demonstrate perseverance to achieve long- and short-term goals
B-SMS 8. Demonstrate the ability to balance school, home and community activities
B-SS 2. Create positive and supportive relationships with other students

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Out to lunch will be a group where students are selected based on their needs according to their performance in school and on the STAAR test.
Teachers will receive a flyer explaining the the purpose of the group and the monthly topics so they can support those skills in the classroom. This flyer will also include the dates of each meeting and the students they have in their classes who will be attending. It will be made clear on the flyer this group will not take away from instruction time.
Parents will receive a similar flyer in the mail once they have given permission for their student to attend the group. Parents will be given ways to help support each skill learned during the at home.
There will not be flyers to be hung around the school. The students will be sent a note the day before their meeting time to remind them to meet at the picnic area the next day during their lunch period.

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This is a closed group, meaning students cannot choose to be in the group themselves.  There is a select group of students who will go through the pre-screening process.  This group of students will be found on the At-Risk list.  Each grade level's At-Risk list will be broken down to find which students have been on the At-Risk list for the longest time, particularly due to not moving on from one grade level to the next and their failing STAAR test scores. The students who have remained on the list for the longest amount of time will be given top priority to become a part of the group. Others on the At-Risk list will be given opportunity to join, should any of the previously mentioned students decide not to join. The groups will not be mandatory to join.  However, once they have committed to the group, the students will be required to join each of the meetings.
The selection for the Out to Lunch group will follow the TAP-In process discussed in the article by the Missouri Professional Counselors and Counselor Educators (2015).
T- Tell about the group
The students selected to have the top priority will meet with the counselor individually. The purpose of the group will be explained. A quick overview of the topics to be covered will be given. The counselor will also explain the possible benefits of them being in the group.
A- Ask about interest and commitment
The counselor will ask the student if they feel the may be interested to gauge an initial reaction to joining the group. The counselor will then give the students a few days to discuss this opportunity with their parents and decide if they would be able to commit to joining the group. A permission slip with group information will be sent home with the student at this time.
P- Pick Members
The counselor will pick the final members of the group based on their interest and commitment, as well as the need of the student. If a student does not choose to take part in the group, the next student on the counselor's list from the At-Risk list will be given the opportunity to join the group.

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Students will be given a permission slip for their parents to sign in order to obtain consent for them to participate in the group. The attached informed consent form was created by  Missouri Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Programs  (2015).
The students will then be given a commitment slip to sign. This commitment slip will be proof of their assent to take part in the group. This slip indicates they will take part in the group as well as maintain the confidentiality of the group.

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Students will discuss the guidelines for the group at the first meeting. The group will use the attached handout created by  Missouri Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Programs (2015),
If the group feels there should be other guidelines added, the group will add them to the list. The group members will also discuss what each guideline looks like and sounds like.

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There are three stages of group dynamics according to  Missouri Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Programs (2015). It is important to prepare for each stage of the group process to best provide the students with the most optimal experience.
Stage one:
During this time the group will begin to learn how to work together. Group norms will be established through the use of the group expectations worksheet. The first lesson in the series is about goal setting. This is an appropriate topic as it will have students talking about themselves through their goal setting, which would be less intimidating than just sharing directly about their lives.
Stage Two:
During this time the students will begin working together. Since the students will set goals in the first meeting, the goals will be discussed is subsequent meetings. The students will also discuss how they are using the study skills and other life skills being discussed during the meetings.
Stage Three:
During this stage, the students will conclude their experience with the group. A discussion of how they can continue to apply the skills, both academic and social, to their future will take place. The counselor will establish a follow-up plan for the students to meet with the counselor to check-in with the students to mitigate abandonment issues or anxiety due to the group ending.

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Democratic leadership style would be an appropriate style for facilitating this group. In this style of leadership, the leader offers guidance, but encourages the participants to engage in the process of setting and meeting their goals during the group (Cherry, 2019).
Since this group is focused on improving skills and changing study habits, transformational leadership style will also be a good fit for this group. Using this type of leadership style, the counselor can show the students the energy and passion there is behind creating the group to help them. Transformational leadership motivates its members towards positive change (Cherry, 2019). This style of leadership would be very beneficial to this group.

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Two of Yalom's curative factors will take place during these group meetings. Universality is the first of these factors. Universality is understanding one is not alone in one's troubles (Yalom, 1995). The students in this group have all experienced academic struggles. However, it is unlikely they have talked of these struggles very often with their peers.  As the group members begin to discuss their academic struggles in the group and how they will use the skills being taught to fix those struggles, they will soon realize they are not alone in their academic struggles.
Imitative behavior is another curative factor which will take place in the group. This factor involves seeing others successful abilities and imitating them (Yalom, 1995). As the group progresses, some students will be more successful with certain skills than others. The group members struggling with those skills will then be able to imitate their peers' successes.

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Legal requirements by the Texas Education Code requires school counselors to, "participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve all students and to address the special needs of students: who are at risk of dropping out of school, becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or committing suicide" (Texas Education Code, 2019). This small group will meet this legal requirement as it specifically targets the students on the At-Risk list. These students will be given specific skills in order to build their academic skills that, if not changed, could cause these students to drop out of school in the future.

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The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics explains, in section  F.8.c. Self-Growth Experiences, that counselors must adhere to ethical practices when working with students in self-growth experiences (American Counseling Association, 2014). During this small group there will be goal setting and specific skills taught to the students in order for them to experience self-growth. Following the code of ethics, the counselor must make clear the students have a right to share or not share their personal growth process with the group and outside the group (American Counseling Association, 2014).

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

Cherry, K. (2019). Leadership styles and frameworks you should know. Retrieved from 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/sites/default/files/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015.pdf

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

2 Texas Education Code § 33