Category: Organization

Progress Monitoring Goals with Students

9/3/2019

Progress monitoring is important for students because it keeps them motivated and helps them to see if they are getting closer to their goal. It’s important for counselors because it helps us to see if the work we are doing is helpful for students. If we can see that the student is not, in fact, closer to meeting their goal, then we know we need to change what we are doing to help them.

Think about a personal goal you have made. What did you do to keep your motivation up? Did you use an app... color in squares on a journal... graph data points? I imagine that any goal that you are successful in meeting, you found a way to chart your progress along the way. This is doubly important when working with students in individual or group counseling.

Progress monitoring is important for students because it keeps them motivated and helps them to see if they are getting closer to their goal. It’s important for counselors because it helps us to see if the work we are doing is helpful for students. If we can see that the student is not, in fact, closer to meeting their goal, then we know we need to change what we are doing to help them.

Progress monitoring can also be important information to share with parents and teachers. If the student is working on a non-confidential goal, like a behavior contract or homework completion. I can share that data with parents and teachers so that they can also work with the kiddo on meeting their goal.

Bar Chart Graph

Bar charts are an easy way to chart progress. In this goal sheet, I write the date under the column and then ask the student to color in where they are in meeting their goal. For some kids, they can do this intuitively. For others, they may need some help identifying what each of the self-rating numbers mean. We graph the goal until they can maintain an 8-10 over several check-ins. Sometimes I use this in individual counseling, using the Solution Focused Brief Counseling mood meter. Other times, I use this in group, particularly my academic achievement group, to graph progress toward their observable goal. I love the group conversation because it allows students to process and reflect with their peers. It’s so powerful.

Build It Up

Some students are dedicated to meeting their goal but struggle with getting there consistently. They might go up and down a lot and that can be discouraging. For these kiddos, I think it’s helpful to keep the mindset that every step is a step forward. For this, I use a bowl with beans/rocks/marbles. When we rate their goal on a scale of 1-10, they add that number of rocks to the bowl. Even on days where you’re a 1 or a 2, you haven’t given up and you’re still working toward your goal. I’m not big on rewards in counseling sessions so when they feel up the goal, we process how GREAT it feels and decide what to do next.

In the Moment

Some students get overwhelmed by processing their goals over time. For these students, I use a one-time visual to mark their goal progress. With the mood meter, I laminate the pages and we write on them with dry erase marker (tip: use magic eraser to remove). For the mood clip chart, it’s not as precise as the numerical mood meter, but has a good visual with feelings faces. Sometimes, I even have the student show me with play-doh or a quick doodle how they are doing on their goal. Then I ask them to describe in words what their doodle is expressing. If I need to chart progress over time, I can jot down what they write for my own use.

Whatever tool you use, progress monitoring goals with students is crucial for helping them to move toward their goals. If you’d like a free copy of my progress monitoring bar graph, you can grab that here. What are your tips?

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Keep It Together - Counselor Style

6/9/2019

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What's Included: This Planner belongs to... page Color coded calendar at a glance Program Goals Page 6 curriculum pages 2 Group Plan pages Weekly Schedule and To Do list Pages July 2016-June 2017 6 Individual Counseling Log pages Lined Notes Pages Unlined Notes Pages Mandala Quote Pages for Coloring Printing Instructions

Picture me doing the happy dance over here. I am so excited to share my Counselor Planner with you! Make sure to read to the end of the post for a free download!

What's Included:

This Planner belongs to... page
Color coded calendar at a glance
Program Goals Page
6 curriculum pages
2 Group Plan pages
Weekly Schedule and To Do list Pages July 2019-June 2020
6 Individual Counseling Log pages
Lined Notes Pages
Unlined Notes Pages
Mandala Quote Pages for Coloring
Printing Instructions

Note: This product (and post) have been updated for the 2019-20 school year. This year, I've printed in a spiral version, I've also printed and hole punched for a notebook before as well. It's super easy to upload on a website like Staples or Office Depot and have it printed. It usually costs my about $15 depending on what options I use and coupons I find. I've included printing instructions in the materials as well. Best of all, you upload one document and it does it all for you!

Plan out your year long program goals on one page at the front of your planner to keep you accountable all year long!

Counselor Planner 2016-17 Include your curriculum plan in your planner so that you know which lessons are coming next. There are 6 pages for a total of 66 lessons. There is plenty of room to write notes if you write on the small side. I included a few reminders in my plan. Interested in any of these lessons? Check out my K-2 Curriculum Plan and 3-5 Curriculum Plan. www.counselorup.com

Include your curriculum plan in your planner so that you know which lessons are coming next. There are 6 pages for a total of 66 lessons. There is plenty of room to write notes if you write on the small side. I included a few reminders in my plan. Interested in any of these lessons? Check out my K-2 Curriculum Plan and 3-5 Curriculum Plan.

I like to run a lot of groups. That's great but sometimes I get confused on who meets when and what class the kids are in. I used to make boxes like these using markers on white paper. For the planner, I've classed it up a bit and given you a spot to write who, what, where, when for all your groups!

Counselor Planner 2016-17 Each week includes a two page spread. The appointment page is on the left and the to-do list page on the right. All pages are dated by week and include a weekend box at the bottom. www.counselorup.com

Here comes the calendar! Each week includes a two page spread. The appointment page is on the left and the to-do list page on the right. All pages are dated by week and include a weekend box at the bottom.

Depending on the meeting, I like notes pages with lines or blank so I can sketch it out. I've included both types of pages!

Counselor Planner 2016-17 The individual counseling log is super easy to keep up with. Just write the student's name, their teacher and grade, and the initial time you saw them. After that, simply place a tally next to their name so that you can track your total sessions. Saves paper and the time consuming counting. www.counselorup.com

The individual counseling log is super easy to keep up with. Just write the student's name, their teacher and grade, and the initial time you saw them. After that, simply place a tally next to their name so that you can track your total sessions. Saves paper and the time consuming counting.

Counselor Planner 2016-17 The entire planner has lots of doodling and art areas including mandala coloring pages with quotes. Helps when you're sitting in those super long staff meetings! www.counselorup.com

The entire planner has lots of doodling and art areas including mandala coloring pages with quotes. Helps when you're sitting in those super long staff meetings!

I've also included the color "codable" year at a glance calendar. Color the circles to correspond to workdays, vacations, early releases, etc. Click on the photo below to download the freebie!

Go ahead and purchase the planner today so that you can start off the year organized! If you'd like, I've also created monthly pages (free) and daily pages ($2).

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Ending the Year with Intention

5/23/2019

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The count down has begun. You know exactly how many days are left in the school year. You can almost feel the sun on your face as you check off your personal to-do list, go to every appointment you don’t have time to make in the school year, and finally catch your breath. There have been many years when I skid into the final days hanging by a thread and hope for the best. But when I’m able, and I really love myself in the fall when this happens, I end the year with intention. So what’s on my list?

You may have seen my end of the year counselor list for staying organized. All of this is important and is usually how I spend my workdays after students have ended the year. Today, I want to talk about the last month or so of school. Here’s where I focus:

Wrap Up with Students
I like to check in with students that I’ve seen in second semester and provide some closure for the work that we’ve done. I can remember sitting with a student in the filing room (something was happening in my office?? testing??) and writing out the goals she had accomplished that year, the tools she had learned for emotional regulation, and her continuing goals for the next year. She and I both walked out of that meeting with a sense of accomplishment and she could leave with a written plan to refer to over the summer. I didn’t create anything fancy, we just chatted and I made visual notes.

Check in with Teachers
The last month of school is a great time to do a super-quick check in on how things went for the year. Teachers are tired too and I don’t want to overwhelm them. At the same time, their memory might not be so fresh at the beginning of next year. If I’m able, I like to pop into grade level meetings for 5-10 minutes max to ask “what went well this year? What do you think this group of students will need next year? What do you think your upcoming students will need?” I jot down a few notes and that helps me to get an idea of planning that might be needed.

End of the Year Evaluation
When I meet with my administrator at the end of the year, I show them my national model results and generally share successes from the year. At the same time, I want to know from my administrator what they see as the most important work for the upcoming year. What are their priorities? Are there shifts we need to make in the counseling program to support the priorities of the school?

Self Reflection
I’m the worst at this one! I like to be action oriented and am often frustrated with self reflection activities. During the school year, I keep a running list of items to remember for the upcoming year. I still do this! But it's helpful to really think about what went well, what you would do differently, and what your priorities are for the next year.

One of my favorite end of the year traditions is to wave the buses off. It's a mixture of excitement (summer!) and sadness (hope my babies are OK). What do you do to end the school year with intention? I would love to hear!

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Marketing Your School Counseling Program

11/8/2018

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What do your teachers, administrators, students, and parents think you do all day? I was at a meeting today where a group of counselors were talking about the eye opening experience of Advisory Council in realizing that their stakeholders really weren't aware of the range of activities and support for students, staff, and school that were involved in the role of the school counselor. Sometimes counselors are their worst enemies in neglecting to market the work that they do.

Guess what? It's not just about getting pats on the back. There is purpose in marketing what you do. If your stakeholders are more aware of the amazing work that you do, they can increase the buy in for teaching lessons or time with students. You can work to decrease extra duties so that you can spend your time being a counselor rather than a monitor. You can connect with parents and teachers so that when they are seeking extra support, they come to you as an expert in mental health and child development. Most of all, the more that our stakeholders are aware of what we do to support students, the more time we can spend in prevention rather than reaction.

Find Your Why

You can't convince anyone else that your work is important if you don't believe it yourself. Why did you go into school counseling? If you're not sure, spend some time exploring central questions to ground yourself in the "why" of this vocation. Be passionate about your work and others will take notice when you share that work.

The only way to do great work is love what you do. ~ Steve Jobs

I sometimes hate the idea that we have to love our work. I mean, it's called a job for a reason. What, you don't love breakfast duty? The syrup all over your dry-clean-only pants not doing it for you? Working in a school comes with lots of extra, perhaps less glamorous part of the job. I truly believe that once we connect to our why, we are able to find the parts of the work that we do that we love. I love classroom lessons, I love working with all kids, even the kids who might get overlooked because they seem to have it together. I also love working with upper elementary boys. I really connect with the way that boys think about the world and girl drama isn't as much my thing. So I make time for the parts of my job that I love. I sandwich classroom lessons before and after parts that I might like less. I don't mind being organized and running team meetings but I am not going to put together a complicated craftivity. I choose what serves and fills me so that I am connected to the parts of the job I love and bring more positivity to the parts I don't.

Find Your Voice

You have your why. You know what you love. Now find a voice. Would you stand at a microphone in an empty auditorium and give a presentation on your school counseling program? Of course not. So don't spend your time on information that no one is going to look at. Sit down and make a list of all the ways that your school sends home information. I bet it includes newsletters, robocalls, website, emails, twitter, etc. Ask around and find out which ways are accessed the most. Ask parents that you work with how they like to receive information.

Once you have an idea of how information is sent out and accessed, think about where you are comfortable. If your school has a news show but you dislike being on camera, that might not be a good fit. If you love to write, a blog might work well for you. Where you are most comfortable, you will shine the most!

Quantify the Work

Education revolves around data. Without data, your work does not hold up in School Improvement Plan team meetings or on your yearly evaluation. We can debate the validity of this approach but if we want to hold our jobs and our position to work with students, we have to show the data that it's working. I like to have a page to jot down talking points before I go into meetings about the work I do.

I'm a big proponent of the ASCA National Model, but if you're not there yet, I have some tips on Comprehensive Counseling Like a Boss. By quantifying our work, we can increase the understanding so that:

Your stakeholders know that you work with students on purpose and not just whoever might show up in your office.
Your stakeholders can quickly see that your work aligns with the work of the school as a whole. You are a valuable asset to learning.
Your stakeholders can see what types of topics you will cover in your lessons so that they can ask follow up questions if needed.
Your stakeholders will know that you make a plan for what your students will learn each year.
Parents can see the amazing proactive support the counselor provides so that time with the counselor is no longer stigmatized.
You know what you're going to do - no more rushing around last minute.

All good things right? We're not marketing our work or quantifying what we do so that we can prove ourselves, we're actually increasing our efficacy by engaging others in the work that we do.

Bring It Together

OK, you know what you love, you know how your people receive information, you quantified your work, now it's time to bring it together. I have 4 fun ways to share your work with others:

Infographics
Website
Social Media
Videos

I like to use Canva for infographics. It's easy to put together and they have a lot of templates that you can use for free. To create an infographic, decide on 4-5 items that you want to highlight and get started. Just type "infographic" into the search bar at the top and get started.

Tip: Use the element "icons" to find the simple picture graphics I used here. To see the graphic more closely, check it out here.

Website
If you don't have a school counseling website, create one now! Most people use the internet to find information they are looking for. Find more on creating a school counseling website including a tip sheet to help you out.

Social Media
I love social media for sharing fun information with parents. Use the same tool that your school uses so that you can connect to their accounts and get a wider following. Here are a few tips:

Share pictures of your work with students
Use hashtags
Connect to your school’s account & tag them
Maintain confidentiality - cover faces with emoticons if you need to :)

Videos
While you're at it, make an awesome video to share on social media. I've got all the details including screenshots here.
Here's a fun video that I created in about 20 minutes using the Legend app and iMovie.

You got this! Think about one thing that you'd like to do to market your school counseling program. I am at the NC School Counselor's Conference tomorrow presenting on this topic, if you're here - please stop and say hi. You can find the presentation here. Leave a comment with what your plan is for marketing!

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Opening a New School as a School Counselor

10/13/2018

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I’ve always dreamed of opening a new school. Maybe it’s the fresh paint but I also think it’s excitement of planning and setting up everything from scratch. You know I love to organize…

Today I am super excited to welcome Sara from the Responsive Counselor to share her experience opening a new school this year.

What led you to decide to open a new school? Did you go with an admin or seek it out?
After 6 years at my previous school, I was starting to feel a little antsy. I was worried about become complacent and I started wondering if a change would help challenge and push me. My goal professionally is to always be growing and improving. When my district announced a new elementary was opening and named the executive principal, I reached out to the counselors currently working with him. They knew me personally and professionally and I thought they would know whether or not it would be a good "fit" for me. They said "Yes, run!" and then put in a good word for me.

What has been the most surprising challenge?
Starting from scratch with relationships...with adults. I knew how important this was and I guess I'm not surprised that it's a challenge but I didn't realize how much of a challenge it would be. So much of our success in our jobs is related to our connections with faculty and with the mutual trust that comes with that. My teachers don't know what to expect from me yet. They don't know what to ask me for help with. They don't know that I only ever email if I really need to. Since they're also all coming from different places, they're coming in with different ideas and expectations of what a school counseling program is. It's a big responsibility to shape that for a new faculty!

What has been the most surprising fun thing/ good thing?
A brand new building means brand new technology! We aren't one to one or anything but each room (including my office) has a Promethean board. I'm still figuring out all the ways I can use it but I'm already loving it. Writing directly on PowerPoints, being one click away from GoNoodle, etc. - it's a great perk. Also, little things like...no spiders! Well placed faculty bathrooms! No peeling paint! Stuff that counselors in old buildings (like me before this year) really appreciate. As counselors it sometimes feels shallow to appreciate cosmetic things or fancy things - but the truth is that the physical environment of a school has a real impact on all of the people inside - students and faculty!

Did you decide to do many of the same things as your previous school or did you change it up?
For now, I'm doing most of the same things. My co-counselor and I are just finishing up our program management agreement to present to admin and even that I'm keeping mostly the same for now. As I learn more about the student needs (and once all my needs assessments are back in!), I'll find changes I need to make but for now, I'm going to plug in what I know and do best. The only piece significantly different right from the get go is the intentionality that I'm coordinating Tier 2 and Tier 3 behavior services. We are trying to follow a true RTI/MTSS model for behavior, including using a universal screener and doing check in/check out with fidelity.

What advice do you have for getting started in a new school?
Be patient. There are lots of things that won't be established or ready right away. You might not get into your building until a couple days before the kids arrive. You might not have a school mission or vision statement. You might not have any baseline data to work with. It might take longer than you'd hoped to establish a relationship and rapport with teachers. You will feel a little comfortable. Be patient. It just takes a little longer for all the pieces to fall into place.

Is there something you've learned that would apply to any counselor starting at a *new to them* school?
Prioritize relationships. That might mean spending time in the cafeteria (even though it's loud and chaotic and awful). It might mean using your only "sit down" time in the day to pop into teachers during their lunch. Maybe it's calling parents instead of sending a note home. There are small sacrifices that can come with doing this but it's crucial, especially at the start when norms and expectations and attitudes and beliefs are being established.

Thanks Sara! What questions do y’all have? Leave in the comments and Sara and I will check back in to answer. While you’re at it, check out Sara’s post on 5 Tips for Setting Up Your First Office.