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Senior Summit is a group designed to help high school seniors struggling academically and at risk of not graduating. Through weekly meetings with the counselor, students will work on skills to improve study habits, better manage their time, and set achievable goals for graduation. The group creates a supportive space where students can hold themselves accountable, build confidence, stay motivated, and build a future.

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Information about the group will be shared through multiple channels to ensure accessibility to all stakeholders.

Staff members will receive personal invitations and can nominate students who they believe would benefit from participation. Nominations can be submitted via a Google form or a paper copy of the survey provided in their mailboxes.

Emails will be sent directly to parents, teachers, and qualifying students to keep all stakeholders informed, outlining the group's purpose and objectives. Once students are in the group, their parents will receive weekly email updates summarizing the lessons and offering strategies to support their child's success at home.

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Informing Participants About the Group

Teachers will receive an invitation to nominate students. Parents of nominated students will receive an email detailing the group's purpose, benefits, and overall expectations. Qualifying students will be invited by their counselor and given an overview of the group to gauge their initial interest.

Assessing Participant Readiness

To determine if the student is a good fit for the group, readiness and willingness will be assessed through a student self-assessment, teacher input, and parent feedback.

Screening Participants

Individual screening will take place. Each student selected will meet with the counselor one-on-one to discuss their needs, goals, and comfort level in a group setting. This allows the counselor to gauge whether the student is ready and can contribute positively to group counseling.

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Per Mansfield Independent School District's policy, informed consent is necessary for students under the age of 18.

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In the Senior Summit group, students will master several of the ASCA Student Standards.

Mindset Standards

M 3: Positive attitude towards work and learning

M 4: Self-confidence in the ability to succeed

M 6: Understanding that post-secondary education and lifelong learning are necessary for long-term success.

Behavior Standards

B-LS 3: Time management, organizational, and study skills

B-LS 4: Self-motivation and self-direction for learning

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

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

B-SMS 6: Ability to identify and overcome barriers

B-SS 8: Advocacy skills for self and others and ability to assert self, when necessary

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This document will serve as a guideline for the Senior Summit Group. We strive to create a solid student-centered expectation foundation that promotes accountability, respect, and meaningful engagement. Essential rules that allow the group to flow freely, such as one person speaking at a time, will be pre-determined, while other rules will be based on student needs and adjusted as needed.

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Stage 1: Building Trust and Setting Group Norms

To start the session, the group will complete icebreaker activities. Counselors will participate in these to ease group members into the session. At this time, counselors will share personal motivations for the group and allow students time to do the same. There will be an emphasis on a non-judgemental environment where students feel safe to share.

During this stage, pre-determined group rules such as respect, participation, and creating a safe space will be established. Then, other group expectations will be collaboratively developed through a shared discussion.

Confidentiality will be reviewed before every session, but in the first session, counselors will clearly explain while privacy is expected, it cannot always be guaranteed. Counselors will discuss when confidentiality can and will be broken. Ethical limits will be addressed, and boundaries for confidentiality outside of the group will be set.

Stage 2: Maintaining Cohesion and Productivity

During this stage, counselors will encourage open discussions about challenges and frustrations while reinforcing group norms. This will be a time to set small, short-term, achievable goals to create accountability.

At the end of the sessions, students will submit a reflection form that will be anonymous to assess engagement and understanding. There will be a time brief individual check-ins where students can discuss personal concerns that are hindering their progress in the group.

Stage 3: Group Closure

The final session of the group will be dedicated to reflecting on progress, celebrating achievements, and going over takeaways that the students gained that will help them move forward. A discussion will take place about what members have shared, how they have grown, and what their next steps toward graduation will be. Students will have time to do a closing activity. They will write a letter to their future selves to solidify their accomplishments.

Counselors will take the time to check in with students about their emotions and feelings as the group comes to a close. They will have an activity where they can anonymously submit their feelings about moving forward with their futures. They will also be given post-graduation information and can schedule individual meetings to discuss life after high school with the counselor.

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This group's leadership style will be participative (democratic). In this approach, the leader guides the group, actively participates, and encourages input from its members (Cherry, 2023). This creates a sense of belonging among students and allows the counselor to engage with the group, creating a more comfortable and inclusive environment.

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Therapeutic factors that could be seen during this group are universality, instillation of hope, imparting information, and existential factors.

Universality - Members of the Senior Summit group may realize they're not alone in their struggles with academic challenges.

Instillation of Hope - Members of the group may see others improving their grades and getting back on track to graduation. This may instill hope in their journey to do the same.

Imparting Information - Individuals in the group may gain study strategies, time management skills, and graduation planning advice.

Existential Factors - The group helps students take responsibility for their future, acknowledging their personal role in their success.

(Yalom ID, 1995)

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Legal/Ethical Requirement - Confidentiality & Its Limits

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Legal/Ethical Requirement - Confidentiality & Its Limits

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Confidentiality is essential in counseling. It ensures the establishment of a safe and trusting environment. According to ASCA Ethical Standards (2022) A.2, school counselors must explain the limits of confidentiality to students before the group begins.

This supports group counseling because it builds trust and sets clear expectations upfront. It helps students understand their responsibility to maintain privacy within the group setting and also outside of the group setting. It also ensures that students are aware of the situations in which confidentiality must be broken ethically.

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Legal/Ethical Requirements - Informed Consent & Parental Notification

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Legal/Ethical Requirements - Informed Consent & Parental Notification

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Texas Administrative Code § 239.15 School Counselor Responsibilities requires school counselors to inform students and parents of counseling goals, risks, and responsibilities before starting group sessions.

Informed consent ensures transparency, allowing students and parents to make informed decisions on group participation. This also encourages voluntary participation, which improves engagement.

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American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA student standards; Mindsets and behaviors for student success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2023). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. VeryWell Mind. 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.
SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15

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