ACCOUNTABILITY
As a team of counselors-in-training, we collaborated our efforts with the school counseling team at Riverside Brookfield High School in order to create a comprehensive program designed to increase student achievement. Through the needs assessment we administered to members of the sophomore class, we were able to formulate goals based upon the needs of the students. Taking these goals into account, we created a series of lesson plans that would serve as the baseline for promoting student growth.
Personal/Social Classroom Lesson:
This lesson was created to meet the needs indicated by Riverside Brookfield High School students through their needs assessment. We found that 26% of the sophomore class had previously utilized the student services department for concerns surrounding stress and time management while 49% of sophomores felt they would benefit from a small group focusing on stress management and time management assistance. Furthermore, 53% of the sophomores revealed that stress management and time management was going to be a major concern for them during the school year. Thus, our personal/social goal is to teach students constructive methods to help manage stress in a healthy and positive manner. In accordance with this goal, our stress management lesson plan involves showing the students several types of stress management techniques and how they can use these to cope with stress in their daily lives
Academic Lesson:
Getting good grades in high school is extremely important for those students who wish to continue their education at a college or university. While some students may have an easier time with their schoolwork than others, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are smarter. Most of the time, the best students are the most-prepared students. It is our goal at Riverside Brookfield to put all of the students in the best possible position to succeed. Through a variety of resources provided by the student services department, students will demonstrate increased academic awareness as they navigate the rigors of high school. The more tools students have at their disposal, the better off they will be. As previously mentioned, time management is a major concern for the students at the school. With improved time management skills, we should see an increase in test scores, higher grades, and a less stressful environment the students find themselves in.
College and Career Lesson:
High school students often look at the big picture of life after graduation and the students at Riverside Brookfield were no exception. Approximately two-thirds of the sophomores noted they would benefit from a small group encompassing the college decision-making process while college and career guidance was the top overall concern for the sophomore class. This being said, the college and career area is extremely important to the students of Riverside Brookfield and clearly is an area where the students must be given additional exposure to resources. Our goal is to increase the amount of college and career information the students are exposed to in order to help them successfully prepare for their postsecondary plans. During a lesson to be conducted during health class, students will take a career assessment where they will use their personal skills and interests to explore possible career choices and what type of career might be the best fit for them. This career exploration will also help in the college selection process as students can focus their search on schools that may have degree programs centering on their career interests such as engineering, education, or law.
Small Group Sessions:
For our group sessions, we decided to focus on the personal/social needs aspect of the students and formulate a group intervention surrounding the stress levels of students. Between classes, extracurricular activities, jobs, and the pressures of a social life, high school can be a very mentally taxing time for students leading to higher levels of stress in their lives. We want every student at Riverside Brookfield to enjoy waking up and going to school every day. However, we also realize this may be tough through stress which could cause students to be sad. While it is normal for everyone to be sad now and then, it is important that these moments of sadness don’t turn into something more and eventually result in clinical depression. In this four session small group to be held for students after school, we will focus on educating the participating students about the differences in emotions ranging from sadness to clinical depression. We will also show what is normal and when it is necessary to seek help through a variety of techniques used to combat stress and sadness. The ultimate goal is to have students know how to manage daily stressors in their lives as so they don’t compound into prolonged sadness or depression.
Closing the Gap:
Closing the gap activities address the issues of equity and student achievement and change on a yearly basis based on the needs of the students indicated by the school’s data. As a result, these results comprise an extremely important portion of the program results. For our Closing the Gap portion, we decided to concentrate our small group to helping students recognize and understand the relationship between school, work, and life. Despite still being underclassmen, the college and career decision process was the main concern for our students. Choosing between the right college/university or most fulfilling career following high school can be a daunting process so we want to ensure that we do as much as possible to assist the students at Riverside Brookfield. If the students receive additional education and exposure in regards to future schools or jobs opportunities, they should have a leg-up during the decision process. By providing a timeline for the students to map out their course of action over the next few years in high school, the program also encompasses on hitting the stress and time management areas. The Riverside Brookfield students indicated these areas were also a major concern for them. A visual representation outlining everything they want to accomplish over the next few years to get themselves where they want to be is crucial. This will aid their time management skills and reduce stress when they see that they can break down the process to small, manageable steps.
Explanation of Process, Perception and Outcome Data:
In order to demonstrate the impact of their programs, school counselors collect and analyze process, perception, and outcome data numbers. Process data provides evidence an event took place and describes both how the activities are conducted and how many students were involved. Perception data is gathered via surveys and needs assessments measuring attainment of competencies, changes in attitudes/beliefs, and perceived gains in knowledge. Outcome data reveals the impact of a particular activity or program and supplies school counselors with the statistics revealing a program’s positive impact on students to improve their achievement levels and behavior (ASCA National Model, 2012).
Personal/Social
Process Data:
Perception Data:
Outcome Data:
Academic
Process Data:
Perception Data:
Outcome Data:
College/Career
Process Data:
Outcome Data:
Process Data:
Perception Data:
Outcome Data:
Closing the Gap
Process Data:
Personal/Social Classroom Lesson:
This lesson was created to meet the needs indicated by Riverside Brookfield High School students through their needs assessment. We found that 26% of the sophomore class had previously utilized the student services department for concerns surrounding stress and time management while 49% of sophomores felt they would benefit from a small group focusing on stress management and time management assistance. Furthermore, 53% of the sophomores revealed that stress management and time management was going to be a major concern for them during the school year. Thus, our personal/social goal is to teach students constructive methods to help manage stress in a healthy and positive manner. In accordance with this goal, our stress management lesson plan involves showing the students several types of stress management techniques and how they can use these to cope with stress in their daily lives
Academic Lesson:
Getting good grades in high school is extremely important for those students who wish to continue their education at a college or university. While some students may have an easier time with their schoolwork than others, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are smarter. Most of the time, the best students are the most-prepared students. It is our goal at Riverside Brookfield to put all of the students in the best possible position to succeed. Through a variety of resources provided by the student services department, students will demonstrate increased academic awareness as they navigate the rigors of high school. The more tools students have at their disposal, the better off they will be. As previously mentioned, time management is a major concern for the students at the school. With improved time management skills, we should see an increase in test scores, higher grades, and a less stressful environment the students find themselves in.
College and Career Lesson:
High school students often look at the big picture of life after graduation and the students at Riverside Brookfield were no exception. Approximately two-thirds of the sophomores noted they would benefit from a small group encompassing the college decision-making process while college and career guidance was the top overall concern for the sophomore class. This being said, the college and career area is extremely important to the students of Riverside Brookfield and clearly is an area where the students must be given additional exposure to resources. Our goal is to increase the amount of college and career information the students are exposed to in order to help them successfully prepare for their postsecondary plans. During a lesson to be conducted during health class, students will take a career assessment where they will use their personal skills and interests to explore possible career choices and what type of career might be the best fit for them. This career exploration will also help in the college selection process as students can focus their search on schools that may have degree programs centering on their career interests such as engineering, education, or law.
Small Group Sessions:
For our group sessions, we decided to focus on the personal/social needs aspect of the students and formulate a group intervention surrounding the stress levels of students. Between classes, extracurricular activities, jobs, and the pressures of a social life, high school can be a very mentally taxing time for students leading to higher levels of stress in their lives. We want every student at Riverside Brookfield to enjoy waking up and going to school every day. However, we also realize this may be tough through stress which could cause students to be sad. While it is normal for everyone to be sad now and then, it is important that these moments of sadness don’t turn into something more and eventually result in clinical depression. In this four session small group to be held for students after school, we will focus on educating the participating students about the differences in emotions ranging from sadness to clinical depression. We will also show what is normal and when it is necessary to seek help through a variety of techniques used to combat stress and sadness. The ultimate goal is to have students know how to manage daily stressors in their lives as so they don’t compound into prolonged sadness or depression.
Closing the Gap:
Closing the gap activities address the issues of equity and student achievement and change on a yearly basis based on the needs of the students indicated by the school’s data. As a result, these results comprise an extremely important portion of the program results. For our Closing the Gap portion, we decided to concentrate our small group to helping students recognize and understand the relationship between school, work, and life. Despite still being underclassmen, the college and career decision process was the main concern for our students. Choosing between the right college/university or most fulfilling career following high school can be a daunting process so we want to ensure that we do as much as possible to assist the students at Riverside Brookfield. If the students receive additional education and exposure in regards to future schools or jobs opportunities, they should have a leg-up during the decision process. By providing a timeline for the students to map out their course of action over the next few years in high school, the program also encompasses on hitting the stress and time management areas. The Riverside Brookfield students indicated these areas were also a major concern for them. A visual representation outlining everything they want to accomplish over the next few years to get themselves where they want to be is crucial. This will aid their time management skills and reduce stress when they see that they can break down the process to small, manageable steps.
Explanation of Process, Perception and Outcome Data:
In order to demonstrate the impact of their programs, school counselors collect and analyze process, perception, and outcome data numbers. Process data provides evidence an event took place and describes both how the activities are conducted and how many students were involved. Perception data is gathered via surveys and needs assessments measuring attainment of competencies, changes in attitudes/beliefs, and perceived gains in knowledge. Outcome data reveals the impact of a particular activity or program and supplies school counselors with the statistics revealing a program’s positive impact on students to improve their achievement levels and behavior (ASCA National Model, 2012).
Personal/Social
Process Data:
- All Sophomore level students (~200) will participate in the stress management activity.
- Counselors will perform the lesson during health class.
Perception Data:
- 95% of students can identify 3 ways they can positively manage stress
- 100% of students can identify stressors within their control and how to deal with these stressors
- 100% of students can identify individuals they can turn to when dealing with stress
Outcome Data:
- In the next year there will be a 50% decrease in students responding to stress in negative and unhealthy ways
- In the next two years, 75% of students report being able to better manage times of stress
Academic
Process Data:
- All Sophomore level students (~200) will receive the "Time Management" activity Part 1 and 2.
- Counselors will perform the lesson during health classes or homeroom.
Perception Data:
- 95% of students can identify 3 ways they can improve their time management skills.
- 95% of students report utilizing a schedule to plan for assignments and additional activities
Outcome Data:
- In the next year, there will be a 30% decrease in detentions for failure to complete assignments
- Sophomores and juniors increased average GPA from 2.8 to 3.2 over the next two years
College/Career
Process Data:
- Approximately 200 students (entire sophomore class) will take the lesson. School counselor will conduct lessons during Health Class over two periods
- 90% of sophomores will have a better idea about their interest and how they relate to careers.
- 85% of sophomores will feel more comfortable about making career decisions
- 95% of sophomores will feel more comfortable discussing their options of careers in fields of interest
Outcome Data:
- Over the next two years there will be a 75% increase in juniors selecting courses that align with student career interest Small Group Lessons
Process Data:
- Approximately 8 – 10 Riverside Brookfield sophomores will participate in this small group meeting one day after school per week over a span of four weeks.
Perception Data:
- 90% of students are able to identify the major differences between feeling sad & having clinical depression
- 90% of students will be able to demonstrate one method of coping with stress
- 85% of students will be able to identify at least three types/groups of people they can speak with if they are ever feeling sad or depressed
- 100% of students understand Positive / Negative ratios and filled in their own charts
Outcome Data:
- The number of students reporting “being depressed” decreased by 20%
- The number of students reporting feeling less stressed out on a daily basis increased by 15%
- 95% of students learned about at least one productive method of self-care they vowed to implement in their lives to increase their mental well-being
Closing the Gap
Process Data:
- 98% of students will participate in creating Timelines
- 75% of students will believe that creating the timeline was useful in helping them understand self
- 95% of students will understand that their experiences help with decision making
- 85% increase self –knowledge and how to apply that knowledge to decision making
- 50% will show an increase in self esteem and self appreciation
- 75% increase in juniors selecting courses that align with student career interest