Assignment Papers-Needs Assessment and Goal Setting

Assignment Papers-Needs Assessment and Goal Setting

School counselors play important roles in affecting the academic, career, and social/emotional outcomes of the students they work with. It is important that they align their goals to the needs of their school. In this assignment, you will assess what a school needs, identify goals that address academic outcomes, and propose evidence-based interventions for the stated goal.

Imagine you have just been hired as the school counselor at a school of your choice. The first step is to establish the foundation upon which the CSCP is built. For this section, identify the following elements:

Beliefs: Identify your belief statements regarding the ability of students to succeed, diverse ability and developmental levels of students, role in advocating for students, using data in the school counseling program, and practicing according to the ASCA Ethical Guidelines.

Vision Statement: The way students will be different as a result of receiving the services of a comprehensive school counseling program.

Mission Statement: Clear and concise statement about the intent of the school counseling program and its intended outcomes.

Section 2: Accountability

Narrate the steps required to find a school data profile or equivalent document such as a state report card (an example is available at the companion site for your Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counseling text). You may select whichever grade level you believe you would like to work with as a school counselor. Describe how you would go about locating your school’s data profile. Whether or not you successfully access your own school’s data, you must describe the processes necessary to find the data (for example, school Web site or principal request). Approximate length: 1–2 paragraphs.

Describe the best practices for designing and maintaining CSCPs from a strengths-based approach. For examples, see page 11 of your Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counselingtext. For further reference, see pages 17 and 129–130 of your Comprehensive School Counseling Programs text. If you are unable to locate your local school’s data, you may use any of the data sets provided in the Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counseling text or any school data available publically on the Internet. You may invent school demographics and population data, including common indicators such as enrollment, attendance, grade levels, graduation rates, socioeconomic backgrounds, racial demographics, and/or discipline referrals. Approximate length: 1–2 paragraphs.

Analyze the data in your schoolwide program plan (or equivalent document) and look for gaps. Your analysis should include strengths, weaknesses, and trends. The conclusions you draw from this analysis should inform your “program needs assessment.”

Next, identify three major data-driven school improvement goals, addressing all domains of practice: academic, career, and social/emotional. See page 14 of your Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counseling text for an example. Follow the guidelines for SMART goals noted on page 37 of the Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counselingtext. List the three goals in numbered format, each written as a fairly lengthy sentence.

Determine what the students need and select one goal for your program. For the purposes of this course, the selected goal needs to be based on academic outcomes, as opposed to career, personal, or social goals. Those goals will be addressed in later courses. Refer to pages 36–37 of your Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counseling text for templates. Remember: Select only one academic goal.