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Learning Leaders is a group for children ages 9–12 who are struggling with poverty.  Poverty can raise many issues for many families, often potentially leading to a sense of inferiority, a lack of confidence, and limited access to resources and necessities.

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These mindset standards for students will be met through participation in Learning Leaders:

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

M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed

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

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Advertisement for this group will consist of a needs assessment completed by teachers. The needs assessment will provide educators the opportunity to list students they are aware are facing poverty and students will be selected based on urgency of needs and approval from guardians. Additionally, a flyer including the meeting times, dates, and location of meetings along with a description of the group purpose and goals will be sent home with students to provide information to guardians. Teachers will receive an email with the same information.

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Following the needs assessment completed by teachers, students in need of the resources offered through Learning Leaders will be individually assessed through questions pertaining to parents employment, access to basic necessities, and ultimately students personal thoughts and feelings of the group. This will give students the opportunity to ask questions, gain an understanding of the benefits of this group, and accept or reject the invitation to participate in this group.

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Due to students being minors, consent forms to participate in Learning Leaders will be sent home for parents to complete. The student will not be allowed to participate without parent consent. Upon return of the consent form, students will also receive a consent form which must also be complete prior to student participation in this group.

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Predetermined rules for Learning Leaders will be:

1. Confidentiality

2. Must be respectful of others

3. Members should attend all sessions unless emergency or unforeseen circumstances arise

Additional rules will be spoken about and agreed upon by the group as a whole once sessions begin.

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Learning Leaders consist of students between the ages of 9-12 who are struggling with poverty and its impacts. Therefore, the group dynamics will be:

Stage 1: Students will be introduced to each other through ice breaker exercises. This stage will allow for students to openly discuss and express any questions or concerns they may have regarding the group as a whole and/or their personal struggles relating to poverty. Additionally, ground rules and expectations will be presented and potentially revised and improved to ensure all students feel understood and heard. Students will also be made aware that violation to any rules, including and especially confidentiality, will result in immediate dismissal from the group. The focus of this stage is to build trust in relationships among members and with the counselor.

Stage 2: Students will engage in activities and discussion regarding local resources, identification of positive and negative emotions, sharing and learning of proper coping techniques, and direct insight into the multiple different ways poverty impacts each individual and/or their family. These activities will be carried out with the intentions of forming connections and meeting personal and group goals.

Stage 3: The conclusion of this group will consist of members sharing what they have learned, practicing coping techniques, and encouragement to remain in contact with each other to urge students to remember they are not alone. Students will also complete a post-assessment to offer the counselor insight into the progress made by each student as well as a follow-up meeting at a later date with each member to assess the impact Learning Leaders had on their daily lives. The follow-up meeting will also serve as a reminder to the students that their experiences and feelings are always valued and seen.

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Participative leadership is believed to be the most beneficial leadership style as members will feel motivated and important (Cherry, 2023). Participative leadership will be utilized in this group as I, the counselor, will not only provide support to students but also engage in activities and discussions while also urging students to lead discussions. Ultimately, this will offer students the opportunity to feel seen and valued in their opinions and experiences.

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This group will present many of Yalom's Therapeutic Factors such as universality, altruism, and direct advice.

Universality will be present in each session as students will engage in discussions related to their experiences with poverty ultimately relaying the message to others that they are not alone in their feelings and/or experiences.

Altruism and direct advice will be showcased in sessions through the sharing of resources and coping techniques as well as offering emotional support to each other.

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The Texas Administrative Code outlines the requirements for a certified professional school counselor.

Standard 2 of section 239.15 states the certified school counselor must use multiple sets of information and data to make decisions about students, programs, and services as outlined in The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs.

This supports the need for a Needs Assessments, personal meeting with the student, consent and assent forms, pre-assessment, post-assessment, and follow-up meeting to ensure the success of this group.

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The ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies B-PF 7. states school counselors should demonstrate leadership through the development and implementation of a school counseling program.

This guideline supports a counselor in assessing proper and ethical leadership style, carry out this leadership style, and ultimately lead the group in the way the counselor sees fit for the overall success of the group.

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American School Counselor Association (2019). ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2023). 6 leadership styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Texas Administrative Code. (n.d.). 19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15

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.

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.

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