School Counselor Blog

Just to recap, my professional goal was to administer needs assessments and determine the best way to serve the population that I am working with. My personal goal, was to train for a half-marathon . I will give an update on the status of both... I have given all of the students in sixth grade needs assessments based on the Peacemakers program. The questions that were on the assessment include "In the last two weeks I have ..." and outlines various behaviors  "got into a fight, gave someone a compliment, talked to someone to solve a problem," etc. The students rate the questions by frequency. I have not tallied the data yet, but I think it will give me a good idea about how students are currently solving their problems. Although, from my interactions with students, most students are not solving conflicts peacefully. This brings me to the Peacemakers curriculum itself. I think it is a wonderful framework. It is research based and data-driven.  The only problem I a...

One of my favorite movies is Dan in Real Life, staring Steve Carell. I watched it over the holiday break and could not help but think of the final quote of the movie with the week I have had so far.... I have been constantly reminded this week that as a school counselor, you can plan, but it is inevitable that your plans will change. It is ironic that I love to be surprised at school, because in all the other areas of my life I am a MAJOR planner. It makes me anxious when I am not in control of the situation or when I cannot plan things in advance. Outside of work, change, in general, tends to make me uneasy. In my career as a school counselor, however, I love the uncertainty of my day. Each day, I go into school with a plan of how I am going to spend my day, what students I will meet with, what lessons I will facilitate, which classrooms I will visit, etc.   I know however, despite my efforts to plan, my day will be a complete surprise.  Things come up such as new s...

The holiday break has given me the opportunity to think about the needs of my school and what I want to accomplish in the coming year. My main goal for the New Year is to determine the needs of my students and the best way for me to serve them. When I get back to school I plan on administering needs assessments for grades four through eight, the grades I serve. I already had plans to run a fourth grade anger management group , a sixth grade girls group, and facilitate classroom lessons utilizing the Peacemakers Program in sixth grade.  I think that a needs assessment will help me determine other areas that I will be able to support students. You can find sample needs assessments under resources on the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) website . You must be a member to access the files. I also plan on collaborating with a colleague on fifth grade transition to sixth grade.  My school serves students in grades Pre-K through eighth.  There is a ne...

I took the School Guidance and Counseling Praxis in January of 2009. The School Guidance and Counseling Praxis is a two-hour exam that consists of four content areas: Counseling and Guidance, Consulting, Coordinating, and Professional Issues. The exam questions are all multiple-choice. Approximately one-third of the exam is a listening exercise involving counselor and client interactions. To begin preparation for the School Guidance and Counseling Praxis , I recommend checking out the  School Guidance and Counseling Praxis  section on the  ETS website . There are free test preparation materials including  test at a glance  material. There are many resources available you can purchase to study for the School Guidance and Counseling Praxis . There is a School Guidance and Counseling Praxis Study Guide eBook  available for purchase through ETS that my colleagues and I found to be helpful. Their are many advantages of purchasing the  School...

I have received many inquiries about my work with children of incarcerated parents. Parental Incarceration impacts millions of U.S. Children. According to the Family and Corrections Network , 7 million, or one in 10, U.S. children have a parent under some form of criminal justice supervision - in jail, prison, on probation, or on parole. There are unique problems and stressors created by parental incarceration. Children often face a form of imprisonment of their own when a parent is taken away. Children of incarcerated parents are often difficult to identify because of the shame and social stigma associated with incarceration. In spring of 2009 I ran groups for children of incarcerated parents. There are some really great resources available for learning about children of incarcerated parents. Many of the resources can be used in individual and group counseling. A website to start learning about children of incarcerated parents is The National Research Center on Children and ...

I have shared these links in the sidebar on my blog, but I wanted to give readers more information about why these sites are so great! The American School Counselor Association (ASCA)   The American School Counselor Association (ASCA ) is the national organization for school counselors. The site provides resources to members, articles, and information about the ASCA National Model . ASCA also has a blog, podcasts , and a social networking site called ASCA Scene. If you need more information the roles of a school counselor are, ASCA is the site for you! A lot of the features on this site are for members only. I highly recommend becoming a member of ASCA . To find out more about the benefits of joining the American School Counseling Association , click here . The Elementary School Counselors Yahoo Group ListServ Are you an elementary school counselor? Do you have questions about school counseling? Do you need ideas for a lesson or topic? Would you really appreciate some advice on...

School Counselor Blog is a place to share ideas and resources! What would you like to see on this blog? Do you have any resources or ideas you would like to share?  I want to hear your ideas! Comment below,  email me ,  tweet , or share on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page ! Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at  School Counselor Blog , a place where school counselors share innovative ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources.  Contact Danielle via  email , follow her on  twitter , and become a fan of the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page .