New Mexico Comprehensive School Counseling Program Guide

Counselor Skills
Leadership | Advocacy | Collaboration | Systemic Change

Systemic Change

MANAGING COMPLEX CHANGE

This section was adapted from the Iowa Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program Development Guide

During the development and implementation of complex change, it's helpful for leadership and participants to be aware of the dynamics of the change process. Designing and implementing a comprehensive counseling and guidance program is a long-term process – five to eight years – that demands dedication, organization, and perseverance. Developing and Managing Your Comprehensive Guidance Program by Norm Gysbers and Patricia Henderson is an excellent source of information on this process.

The following matrix illustrates the change process and its necessary components (trust, vision, skills, incentives and payoff, resources and support, and action plans). It identifies the result when all of the necessary components of change are present, and the result when any one of the necessary components is missing. It applies to individuals, small groups, large groups, and total systems that endeavor to incorporate complex change. Depending upon the missing ingredient, the result may be sabotage, confusion, anxiety, gradual and/or sporadic change, frustration and anger, and false starts that causes change to move so slowly the process bogs down and struggles for survival. When all the necessary components of change are in place, complex change can and will occur.

Editor's Note: For additional information on educational change, see Inviting School Success: A Self-Concept Approach to Teaching, Learning, and Democratic Practice , by William Purkey and John Novak.

Developing a Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program

 The Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin studied the process of change for more than a decade. Out of this research came a number of certified assumptions about change. The following are some of those assumptions:

With these findings in mind, it is wise to set timelines for change in realistic, achievable time frames that allow counselors to continue providing current services while implementing change.

Once the decision is made to move toward a comprehensive school counseling program, counselors need to determine what parts of their present program meet the working definition of a comprehensive school counseling program and what elements of the program are missing that need to be developed. They must also embrace the concept of student development in the three content areas of academic, career, and personal/social development as the basis of the school counseling program and make a commitment to action. The action plan for change can be divided into four phases, laying the groundwork for change, deciding to move toward a comprehensive school counseling program, developing the program components and implementing and evaluating the program.

Phase I – Laying the Groundwork for Change

 Each school district should develop a plan for change that meets the particular needs of its students and the needs of the community. As preparation for change, the guidance supervisor and Professional School Counselors should assume a leadership role in assessing their current programs and in determining what needs to be accomplished for program development and change.

What is the Present School Counseling Program About?

• What type of school counseling program is currently in place? Services model? Duties model?
• Are there a program philosophy, mission statement, program rationale, goals, and student competencies?
• Does the school counseling program description read like a counselor job description?
• Are there activities in place by grade level that are systematically delivered to all students?
• Is there a written monthly/yearly calendar for delivering the activities?
• Is there a job description?
• Is there a program delivery system?
• What parts of the present program are reactive services versus a proactive program?
• Do members of the school counseling staff agree on what the school counseling program is about? Is there consistency among the counselors in the delivery of the program to students?
• Are there parts of the school counseling program that could be more effectively or efficiently delivered in classroom sized groups?
• Is there a written plan in place for the periodic assessment of student needs?
• Is there a written plan in place for the evaluation of student, parent, and staff perceptions of the program and what it should offer?
• What resources are in place for implementing the program?

 How Do Others Perceive the School Counseling Program?

• What are the outcomes of the current program?
• Who does the school counseling program serve?
• How do student, teachers, administrators, and parents perceive the program?

 What Needs to be Done to Develop/Implement a Comprehensive School Counseling Program?

• Make a list of all the comprehensive program elements that are currently in place. Do they fit the definition of a comprehensive school counseling program? It is advisable to include the counselor's role ( see Section 5, Counselor Role ).
• Make a list of program elements that are not in place and that need to be addressed in order to develop a comprehensive program.
• Break down the elements that need to be addressed into specific tasks in order to make the change process more manageable.
• Determine an approach for gathering perceptions of the school counseling program. Surveys? Interviews? Focus groups?
• Establish a timeline for the completion of tasks. Responses to these questions should result in a written description of the school counseling program currently in place and tasks that need to be accomplished in order to provide a new paradigm for the school counseling program. The type of data obtained from a self-study conducted by the school counseling department is essential to moving the process of change forward.

 Phase II – Moving Toward a Comprehensive

School Counseling Program

It is important to show movement toward a comprehensive school counseling program rather than to react to an edict that establishes one within a few days. The question of a need for change needs to be addressed. Counselors must embrace the concept of student development as the foundation of the school counseling program and make a commitment to action.

Building Awareness and Support for Change

• Conceptualize the comprehensive school counseling program for the district.
• Develop strategies for organizing committees and involving stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administrators, Board of Education members, and business and community members) in the program development and implementation process.
• Based on the results of the self-study, build awareness and support for change among staff, administrators, and parents.
• Explain concepts of a comprehensive school counseling program.
• Explain benefits to administrators, staff, and parents.
• Inform curriculum specialists and solicit support and expertise in the development of the guidance curriculum component of a comprehensive school counseling program.
• Schedule visits to area schools that have implemented comprehensive school counseling programs.
• Organize a Steering Committee to focus on what needs to be done. Include no more than ten representatives from staff, administrators, parents, members of the Board of Education, and business and community members.
• Break down activities to be addressed by the committee into manageable tasks. Data obtained from the self-study conducted by the members of the guidance department should provide direction on issues to be addressed by the committee.
• Determine who is responsible for each task.
• Develop a time line for task completion.

Gather Information and Data About the School

Counseling Program

•  Develop a Needs Assessment Instrument to be administered to a sample population of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. This task requires time to develop and administer surveys and collate results, but it is necessary in order to establish direction for the district program. The assessment helps to identify what the community, educational staff, parents, and students need and value from the school counseling program. ( See Section 7 for assessment samples. )

•  Counselors should complete a Time and Task Analysis over a three-/four-month period. This is an important aspect of data collection because it provides documentation on how much time counselors spend on school counseling related tasks as well as the time devoted to non-guidance tasks. (See Appendix for Sample Time Task Analysis Form.)

Establish an Advisory Committee

• Obtain board and administrative approval.
• Organize an advisory committee of no more than eight members to help support the program.
• Approximately two to three meetings should be held during the year. The members are in an advisory role and not that of policymakers.
• Establish limits and degree of participation.
• Call a meeting when you have something to share, such as the following:
• Reviewing drafts of philosophy, mission, goals, student competencies, and need assessment instrument.
• Sharing results of needs assessment.
• Explaining the completed work on program components.
• Reviewing the implementation calendar for the guidance curriculum and individual planning program components.

Keep Staff and Administrators Informed of Progress

• Establish a timeline and identify strategies for providing updates on progress.

 Phase III -- Developing Program Components

It is advisable to begin work on the program components by first addressing the development of the school counseling curriculum using the results of the needs assessment. The results of the assessment should be grouped under the three content areas of academic, career, and personal/social. Finally, determining the percentage of time to be spent on each component is critical to successfully implementing all four components.

School Counseling Curriculum Component

• Based on the results (defined student competencies) of the needs assessment which have been grouped under the content areas of academic, career, and personal/social, determine appropriate topics to achieve the competencies, grades K-12.
• Develop a scope and sequence grid of topics to be introduced at one level and reintroduced at a higher grade level at the various stages of the total guidance program, K-12.
• Categorize the topics under the three content areas to assure a balance in the guidance curriculum offerings.
• Develop a lesson plan that will serve as the format for all lessons. It is important that the lesson format be consistent at each grade level and from one grade level to the next.
• Topics and student competencies should be developmental in nature and expectation.
• Transfer the competencies to a list delineating grade and content area to develop a means of maintaining balance among the three content areas.

Individual Planning Component

• Assess what is currently being done to provide individual planning sessions to all students, grades five through community college.
• Identify the focus of individual planning sessions by grade level.
• Provide planning sessions to all students on an annual basis.
• Identify career planning competencies for each grade level.
• Determine appropriate student competencies and counselor activities for grade level sessions.
• Decide on a written format for the individual planning component that defines student competencies and counselor activities.
• Develop a time frame for the delivery of individual planning sessions by grade level. These sessions should be conducted on an individual basis. If this is not possible, small group sessions should be provided for student planning.

Responsive Services Component

• Put in writing the current responsive services provided to the student population at the elementary, middle, and high school.
• Assess the need for the addition of appropriate school counselor activities.
• Identify target populations that could best be served through small group intervention.

 Systems Support Component

• Put in writing the current systems support activities provided by the Professional School Counselors.
• Are there appropriate counselor activities that need to be added to this component?
• Are there activities being assumed/assigned to the counselors that are inappropriate to their role? If a high percentage of the counselor's time is being spent on inappropriate or non-guidance tasks, there should be discussions with the administration and the supervisor of school counseling that focus on ways to reduce these tasks to a minimum.

 Phase IV – Implementing and Evaluating the Program

In order to implement a comprehensive school counseling program, there must be collaboration and cooperation among building level staff as well as supervisory personnel.

Clarify the Roles of Key Staff Members

• Counselors endorse the comprehensive school counseling program concept and manage the development and implementation of the program.
• Supervisor of School Counseling works with other department supervisors and administrators to develop plans for accessing students.
• Building administrator endorses concept, provides resources, supports, and assists counselors with accessing students in the classroom.
• Teachers endorse concept and accept counselors into the classroom.
• Board of Education and Superintendent endorse concept and provide resources and support.

Approval of the Program

Submit the program to appropriate supervisor, administrators, and the Board of Education for approval.

Review Capacity for Future Change

SUMMARY

School counseling has had to change along with the changes in society and the No Child Left Behind legislation. Counselors no longer serve in traditional roles, or have a traditional focus. The skills that the experienced professional school counselor must develop to meet the needs today are that of being a leader, and advocate, a collaborator/educational team member and an agent for positive change.

REFERENCES

American School Counselor Association. (2003). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs . Alexandria , VA : Author.American School Counselor Association. (2004). The ASCA national model Workbook . Alexandria , VA : Author.

Iowa Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program Development Guide

COUNSELOR SKILLS APPENDIX

 Are You Ready for the ASCA National Model

Steps to Educate Stakeholders About the ASCA National Model

Self-Advocacy and the School Counselor Questionaire

Successful Steps to Advocate for your profession

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