Guidance and Support ServicesEMD 335 | Newberry College

Guidance and Support Services

• Think about the many roles and duties of school guidance counselors.• Evaluate the effectiveness of current guidance services.• Plan how to make guidance services more effective.

Comprehensive guidance and support services meet the needs of young adolescents.

TWBA (2012)pp. 159-167

What are middle schoolers’ mountains?

A typical day…• 4 one-on-one conferences with students having peer relationship problems• A meeting with the sixth grade team about an at-risk student• 11 phone calls from parents or community agencies• 2 meetings with probation officers• Miscellaneous counseling of students passing in the hall• Teaching one seventh grade class on substance abuse• Comforting a teacher who is ill and having a bad day, then teaching that teacher’s

class for one period so the teacher can rest • Attending 2 meetings for students being recommended for special services• Welcoming 2 new students to the school• Meeting with students in the Builder’s Club who are starting a community service

project• Administering a standardized test to eighth graders• Meeting with 2 parents of chronically absent students

It’s no wonder guidance counselors don’t end up here.

AdvocacyThe particular role that middle level educators play as active supporters of and intercessors for young adolescents. While each student should have an adult who is primarily responsible for the academic and personal growth of that individual, advocacy should be inherent in the school’s culture and in shared responsibility.

- Lounsbury & Brazee, 2004

In planning guidance services, ask…

1. Who are our students and what do they really need? (Be careful of assumptions.)

2. How are guidance and support services currently handled? Who does what, when, and for whom?

3. What are the basic components we must have in our school to meet the multifaceted guidance needs of our students?

4. What services should be provided for students who are at risk and have serious social and emotional problems?

5. How can we implement proactive guidance in our school and offer essential guidance-related skills to 100% of students?

Activity #3How are guidance and support services currently handled in your context? Who does what, when, and for whom? Is this effective or ineffective? Why?

Intervention Pyramid

5% need…

15% need…

80% need…

To be successful…

TWBA Video Clips

Guidance Services

“Focus Group”“Community Liaison” “Safe Environment”“Looping” “Ice Fishing”“Multiage Grouping”

Other needed support staff?

Activity #4How can guidance and support services be retooled to be more effective in your context? What would your intervention pyramid look like?

What’s next?