When the AVERAGE is FAILING

"If districts want the ASCA National Model, we need the ASCA recommended ratio."

Your friend asks you to build a house. They provide the specifications, blueprint, and building instructions. But they only provide you with half of the necessary supplies you need to build the house.

Having worked in both an affluent school and a high needs impoverished school, I have seen administrators and teachers go to work "building a house" with only half of the essential resources. Because they love their students, they sacrifice their personal time AND money to compensate for the lack of resources.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model outlines the components of a comprehensive school counseling program. The principles of a program aligned with the ASCA National Model benefit students and the school community, such as:

• The school counseling program is for ALL students, not just at-risk students.
• The school counselor program is proactive, not reactive.
• School counselors spend 80 percent or more of their time in direct service to students.

The principles are good, just like the blueprint for the house was good. I have seen districts require the ASCA National Model paperwork to be meticulously completed. I have seen counselor evaluations dependent upon criteria from the ASCA National Model. But sometimes they only give us half of the essentials we need to build it. 

In 2014-2015, the average school counselor to student ratio in North Carolina was 1:378. In some states, the ratios are much higher (NACAC & ASCA report). 

However, this is the average. This means that the AVERAGE school counselor to student ratio is FAILING the ASCA recommended ratio of 1:250.

We are all educators, so we know that when the AVERAGE is FAILING, there is work to be done. 

What does this mean for our students?

• Fewer counselors to provide guidance on class selection and preparation for college and career pathways
• Fewer counselors to intervene in school safety situations
• Fewer counselors to intervene on behalf of abused, endangered, and/or suicidal children

This just names a few. 

Let's hold ourselves, our districts, our states, and the federal government to the same standards we expect of our students. When the AVERAGE is FAILING, there is work that needs to be done.

#ReducetheRatio

Counseling Office Decor - Bright Colors with a Tropical Theme

 

I love my door this year!  I used hot glue to stick kid-sized flip flops on the door.  It says, "Welcome to the US Virgin Islands" because each classroom this year is representing a US State or territory.  I found battery-operated colored lights at At Home to hang around my door. 

 

 

Since our school has a United States theme this year, my door is decorated with a 50 states border.  I love the simple signs on this door. They help educate teachers, parents, and students about my role and my ethical values.

 

This is the student self-referral box.  Students in 2nd-5th grade can complete a referral form and put it in my mailbox.  Students check off one or more of the following reasons why they want to see me: 1) Friends  2) Home  3) My Class  4) Myself  5) Something Secret or Private

Bulletin Board Ideas for the Counseling Office

 

The above Stand Up to Bullying bulletin board is great to reference when working with either a target or a bystander.  A strategy to deal with or avoid bullying is written on each fish.   Help empower students!

 

My students sometimes spontaneously walk over to the above bulletin board to show me how they are feeling.  We can then find the corresponding, "When I feel ____, I can..." chart to discuss coping strategies.

 

 

The Presidential Tweets bulletin board ties in with our Leader in Me school-wide focus.

Today I'm Grieving

I want to pick you up from this fallen place

Give you the love that's long overdue.

I can only listen with my ears and my heart,

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

You deserve a mom and dad who make you feel safe

Not the violence and drugs you're so used to.

Tears in my eyes, I see a child grown up too fast

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

How have you withstood so long this pain and heartbreak?

We adults expect for you to just pull through.

But, no, not me, hide here in my wings.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

Words cut like knives and you're bleeding to death.

People see the anger and they don't know you.

I see past the anger and bind your wounds with love.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

Come find me when you feel forgotten by the world,

Not everyone will understand what you've been through.

My heart will hold space for your hurt and suffering.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

Facilitating a Volunteer Appreciation Reception

Everyone loves a "thank you." 

 

Volunteers are more likely to return the following year if they feel appreciated and can see the "fruits" of their efforts.  One way I do this is by facilitating the Volunteer Appreciation Reception every year.

 

Here are a few key tips to help make your Volunteer Appreciation Reception successful:

1. Provide teachers with a paper copy (bi-lingual if needed) of the invitation that they can send home for any parents or individuals that volunteered in their classroom.  The paper copy should have a place for volunteers to RSVP.  Once returned, teachers should return the RSVP form to your mailbox.
2. If your volunteers are tech-savvy, create electronic invitations and be sure to include a RSVP.
3. Make the kids part of the reception!  Individuals volunteer because they love children.  Our kindergarten students sang and did hand motions to the song, "You've Got a Friend in Me" this year.  Our 1st grade students decorated flowers for the place settings.  Our Student Lighthouse Team greeted volunteers as they arrived.
4. Create name tags so that volunteers can mingle without the awkwardness.
5. Have the principal, a teacher, yourself, or all 3 share a super short heartfelt thank you speech to the volunteers. 

Our Volunteer Appreciation Theme this year was, "Thank You for Helping Us Bloom!"

School-wide College Exploration for the Elementary School

In the main hallway, I created a hallway display with teacher's pictures (visual) and their name listed under where they attended college.

 

In addition to the visual display, every morning, I chose a teacher to give a one-minute overview of their college experience during the morning announcements. Some chose to talk about time management, while others talked about intermural sports. Students were excited to find out about their teachers' college experience.

 

The college exploration project was a success in introducing students to the world of college!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Work at a Low-Performing School. I Am Not a Low-Performing Teacher.

I work at an impoverished school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is living in a motel.

They need extra food.

Six people living in one motel room.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is a newcomer.

They just arrived from El Salvador.

I greet them every morning with a hug.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students stayed up late, real late.

Mom and dad were fighting again.

The police came and took dad away.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

My students love being at school.

One student tells me they want to live with me.

When winter break arrives, some are saddened.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is little, but can't be little.

She helps takes care of the baby in the house.

She wakes up in the night to feed the baby.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

 

I work at an impoverished school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an ineffective teacher.

 

It is a new year and I move to teach at a new school.

The parents donate everything on my wish list, and more.

The students spent their summer at camps and museums.

Can I hide that I am an ineffective teacher?
 

I work at an affluent school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an effective teacher.

Wait, I am the same teacher.

A new teacher takes my place at my old school.
The "effective" teachers don't want to work there.
The students wonder why their beloved teachers are gone.
She is a first year teacher.

She works at an impoverished school.
She loves her job, and her students.
Her test scores come back.
She is an ineffective teacher.