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All children can achieve when they are supported.  Each child should be met with an individualized approach to success.  Individualization may come in many forms, such as social/emotional, academic, health, and personal support systems.  School counseling is a way to collaborate with services that provide support to benefit the student.

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I completed the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies Assessment and was surprised by how detailed the assessment is.  While I recognize that I can improve in every area, my mindset aligns with school counselors' expectations.  I also scored average in applying legal and ethical principles, making referrals to appropriate school and community resources, collaborating, identifying gaps, and developing action plans.  These areas are very similar to what I do in my current position as the Mental Health and Disabilities Coordinator for Head Start and Early Head Start.  Delivery of quality services is dependent on collaboration and quality community partnerships.  I must improve my knowledge of educational systems and use data differently.  These areas are a weakness for me right now.  I scored myself well in the areas related to advocacy, understanding multiculturalism and its influences on student success, and consulting.  Again, I will need to improve in those areas as a school counselor, but my work now is very similar, and I feel very comfortable with those being some of my strengths.

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“Empowering students to achieve academic, personal, and emotional greatness.  Providing inclusion for all students in an environment that promotes compassion and respect for everyone.”

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Understanding ASCA School Counseling Assessments

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Understanding ASCA School Counseling Assessments

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Program Assessment –The school counseling program will evaluate its full implementation progress and identify its strengths and areas for improvement. This is done to guide further actions within the program, which may lead to better student outcomes. Program assessment is usually completed at the end of each school year. This helps the school counselor to identify trends and facilitates discussions with stakeholders to improve the program.

Annual Results Reports – Paying special attention to ongoing improvement and effectiveness, annual result reports are necessary, annual result reports are crucial for monitoring ongoing improvement and effectiveness. These reports include data on group and classroom Mindsets & Behaviors results as well as closing-the-gap results. Analyzing this data helps school counselors and stakeholders to develop a well-informed approach to meeting the needs of students. The reports are based on data collected from participation, Mindsets & Behaviors, and outcome data. This process helps to determine the effectiveness of the program and identifies any necessary changes.

School Counselor Assessment and Appraisal - School counselors undergo three different types of assessments. First, they take the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies Assessment to evaluate their knowledge, attitude, and skills. This self-assessment requires reflection. Additionally, a qualified administrator completes a formal review of the school counselor's performance, and the assessment must align with state, district, or school framework. Finally, there is an overall reflection on the data gathered from the assessments and appraisals.

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Identify your selected Lesson Plan and Result Report level.

I chose to review the elementary school lesson plan and results report.

In what ways did the selected Mindsets and/or Behaviors match the lesson topic? List one additional Mindsets and/or Behaviors that you would have selected for the lesson and why.

The topic is social-emotional learning, which aligns well with the lesson because the students will learn words to express their emotions and identify them. They will also learn coping strategies to handle their emotions in healthy ways. One mindset and behavior that could have been added is M2, which is self-confidence and the ability to succeed. This mindset and behavior, along with the subsequent lesson, could help in building the resilience that children need to overcome certain emotions when they experience them.

In what ways do the ASCA Student Standards Pre- and Post-Assessment Items align and not align with the Mindsets and/or Behaviors and topic?

The ASCA student pre- and post-assessment aligns with the Mindset and Behaviors topic by using a Likert scale to determine the student’s understanding of their emotions and ways that they cope with strong emotions.

Did the lesson content/materials match the selected Mindsets and/or Behaviors skill? Why or why not?

The lesson plan matched because it remained focused on the development of the whole self.  It included emotions and how they related to mental and social/emotional well-being.

Timing can be important for delivering lessons and holding small group sessions. Yet, timing can also be limited for school counselors when it comes to working with students. Based on your opinion, how do you think that timing may have impacted the results of the lesson?

The lesson will last for 30 minutes with a good flow of activities. The group is small, with around 20 children. This should provide enough time for the students to participate, engage in the activities, and provide feedback.

School counselors often share lesson plans amongst each other when they might experience similar student challenges or topics. But schools, populations, cultures, developmental levels, and school counselors are unique. What are some ways you would modify the lesson plan to align with your creativity, knowledge of the ASCA National Model, and skillset?

If I wanted to utilize this lesson for an older group, I would modify the number of students by reducing it to 10.  Older students may not be willing to share as much in a larger group setting.  I would remove the Mindful Movement and Story of the Day and replace it with a new activity.  Possibly a think-pair-share moment where students would participate in groups of two to think about the pre-assessment followed by a discussion.