Plan for overall Year

For this assignment, imagine you are running your own school counseling program. You are fully versed in the ASCA national model and want to create a recognized program (RAMP). You will describe your ideal program including the:

• Annual agreement and advisory council.
• Annual and weekly calendar.
• Action plan and lesson plan.
• Program evaluation.

Annual Agreement and Advisory Council

“Annual agreements outline the organization and focus of the school counseling program. These agreements ensure formal discussion between the school counselor and administrator about the alignment of school counseling program goals with the goals of the school as well as increase an administrator’s understanding of a comprehensive school counseling program” (ASCA, n.d., p. 9). Use the annual agreement template provided in your book, The ASCA National Model. See pages 46–47 and 64–65 of The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (third edition) for more information.

The advisory council is a representative group of stakeholders (for example, parents, staff, community members, and administrators) selected to review and advise the implementation of the school counseling program. The advisory council must be solely focused on the school counseling program. Include a list of the advisory council members and their stakeholder positions. See pages 47–48 of The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (third edition) for more information.

Annual and Weekly Calendars

School counselors develop and publish calendars of school counseling events to inform students, parents, teachers, and administrators of what, when, and where school counseling activities will be held. Include:

• The school counseling annual calendar.
• The most important school counseling activities and events for the year for the entire school counseling program.
• Two weekly calendars, one from fall semester and one from spring semester, including as much specific information as possible, designating the percentage of time for direct and indirect student services, program management, and school support aligned with the annual agreement.

See pages 56–57 of The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (third edition) for more information. You may also use the Internet to explore other established school counseling programs for inspiration.

Action Plan and Lesson Plan

The school counseling–core curriculum action plan provides details about how the school counselor will efficiently and effectively deliver the school counseling program, and it includes activities that will help the school counseling program achieve the desired results. Include all core curriculum for the school year. Use the template found on page 69 of The ASCA National Model. Include three lesson plans for activities from the school counseling–core curriculum action plan. Use the ASCA lesson plan template found on page 72 of The ASCA National Model. You will use this information to guide your evaluation reports for the final section. You may modify a lesson plan that you developed for another course, but ensure that you are using the ASCA template for this assignment. See pages 53–56, 69, 72, and 85 of The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (third edition) for more information.

Program Evaluation

“Through application of leadership, advocacy and collaboration skills, school counselors promote student achievement and systemic change that ensures equity and access to rigorous education for every student and leads to closing achievement, opportunity and attainment gaps. Respond to this question: How does your school’s comprehensive counseling program use leadership, advocacy, and collaboration to create systemic change for the benefit of students? (ASCA, n.d., p. 26.) The four elements should be apparent in the response. The response must be 500–1,500 words. See pages 1–10 of The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Program (third edition) for more information.

Reference

Reflect on the significant points from the DeKruyf article. What were your primary takeaways? Articulate where you stand on the continuum of the role of school counselors, from counselor to educator or somewhere in between. Defend your position, citing DeKruyf where appropriate.

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least two other learners. Find at least one learner who places themselves at a different point on the continuum of school counseling identity (counselor to educator) than you. Use this as an opportunity to:

• Ask a question.
• Debate your peer’s position.
• Present supporting information.
• Respond freely to the topic.