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School Counseling

PEER TRANSITIONING PROGRAMMiddle-High School

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere-Chinese Proverb

Pamela NobleEDCE-611

Dr. Kristen AscencaoLiberty University

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

The Mission:

To provide students and families accurate and useful information.

To support students’ social success in high school.

To prepare students for academic success in high school.

To work collaboratively to monitor transition plans and adjust those plans based on data about student success (attendance, achievement, dropout rate).

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Characteristics of Effective Transition Practices:

Comprehensive

Occurs simultaneously between Middle and High School

Recognition of discrepancies and expectations between parent and child

Early Intervention (Williamson & Johnston, 1999)

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Peer Transition Strategies:

Invite parents to participate in a conference with their child and the high school counselor about options and schedules.

Tell students and parents the truth about what counts in high school and what they will need to know.

Ask parents to visit the high school with their children in the spring and again in the fall.

Involve parents in planning transition activities that will support students and parents during the transition.

Connect middle school parents with parents of current high school students.

(Vernon, 2009)

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Strategies for Social Support:

Help students gain confidence in themselves as learners to increase self-esteem and confidence about success in high school.

Include lessons on how to learn, how to study and how to take tests.

Focus on personal problem solving and decision making in both middle school and high school. Help students learn how to set and assess realistic personal and academic goals.

Invite middle school students to shadow ninth graders.

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Strategies for Social Support Cont’d…

Have students at both schools write letters to students at the other school.

Establish small houses or academies for ninth graders.

Include an opportunity to interact with high school students in all summer bridge activities.

Provide specialized eighth and ninth-grade courses that focus on a multi-year plan for success in high school.

Provide every ninth grader with an adult mentor or adviser. SREB (2002, 2005, 2008), Maute & Brough (2002)

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Collaborating and Consulting with Stakeholders

Transition Teams Role: Teachers, Administrators, Parents and Students from both schools.

To conduct needs assessment.

To gather data about the success of students when they transition to the ninth grade (number taking challenging courses, attendance, failure rates).

Use interviews, tests, counseling, and other tools to help decide student needs.

Managing and accessing resources for student support.

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Proven Data Driven Activities:

Mentoring programs.

Organizing school visits.

Eighth graders shadowing a ninth grade student.

Professional development on young adolescents; Academic Support

Support high academic expectations for all students (Plan Test, Explore Test etc.)

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Proven Data Driven Activities Cont’d…

Examine and recommend ideas to redesign the ninth grade experience (course offerings, schedule, extra-help);

Arrange teacher exchange or shadowing between middle school and high school;

Review achievement data and use these data to guide decisions about changes to the transition plans. Morgan & Hertzog (1998, 1999, 2001), SREB (2002, 2008), Maute & Brough (2002)

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

ASCA Triangular Structure for Consulting in School Counseling

Consultant

School Counselor

Consultee(s)Students, Parents, Administrators,

Teachers etc.

CurriculumCollaboration

Life TransitionsGraduation Pathways

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Consulting Phases and Skills Phase Skill Objective_____ Introduction Listening Establish rapport

Responding Identify concerns Clarifying Gather information

Exploration Questioning Narrow concernsStructuring List optionsBrainstorming Move toward action

Implementation Mediating Choose strategiesConfronting Assign responsibilitiesPrioritizing Set goals/time lines

Evaluation Observing Evaluate results

Documenting Follow-upAssessing Reach closure

(Schmidt,2003)

"

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Collaborating and Consulting with All Stakeholders

Peer Transition Program

Post Mortem: Methodological problems are prevalent.

Transition is a process and not an event.

Success depends on early personalization of learning.

Outside experiences are a key component to a students growth and development.

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Peer Transition Program Presentation Resources

American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA:

Hertzog, J. & Morgan, L. (1998). Journal of Early Adolescence, 17(4), 371-389

Making High Schools and Middle grade Schools Work (SREB, 2005)http://publications.sreb.org/2005/05V12W_Making_HS_MG_Schools_Work.pdf

Maute, J. & Brough, J. (2002). The Next Big Step: Helping Our Students Transition Out, Middle Ground, 6(1), 16-19.

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Peer Transition Program Presentation Resources Cont’d…

Schmidt, J. J. (2003). Counseling in schools: Essential

services and comprehensive programs, 4th ed. Boston, MA.: Allyn & Bacon.

Vernon, A. (2009). Counseling children and adolescents (4th ed.)

Denver: Love

Williamson, R. & Johnston, J. H. (1999). Never too late to prepare for their successful departure. Expert Essay in Breaking Ranks in the Middle, pp. 249-250, Reston, VA: NASSP.

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Thank You