New York State Part 100 Regulations – School Counseling Programs

As per the New York State Education Department, listed in Part 100 of the Commissioner’s Regulations, School Counseling/Guidance Programs are defined as follows:

I. Public Schools: Each school district shall have a guidance program for all students.

II. In grades K-6, the program shall be designed in coordination with the teaching staff to prepare students to effectively participate in their current and future educational programs; to help students who exhibit any attendance, academic, behavioral or adjustment problems; to educate students concerning avoidance of child sexual abuse and to encourage parental involvement.

III. In grades 7-12, the School Counseling Program shall include the following activities and services:

An annual review of each student’s educational progress and career plans, with such reviews conducted with each student individually or with small groups by personnel certified or licensed as school counselors.
Instruction at each grade level to help students learn about various careers and about career planning skills conducted by personnel certified or licensed as school counselors, or by classroom teachers in cooperation with the school counselor.

Other advisory and individual or group counseling assistance to enable students to benefit from the curriculum to help students develop and implement postsecondary educational and career plans; to help students who exhibit any attendance, academic, behavioral or adjustment problems; to encourage parental involvement, provided that advisory assistance shall be provided by teachers or counselors or by certified teaching assistants under the supervision of counselors or teachers; such individual or group counseling shall be provided by certified or licensed school psychologists or certified or licensed school social workers in cooperation with certified and licensed school counselors.

IV. Each school district shall develop a district plan which sets forth the manner in which the district shall comply with the requirements of this subdivision. Such plan should be filed in the district offices and shall be available for review by any individual. The plan shall present program objectives, which describe expectations of what students will learn from the program; activities to accomplish the objectives; specifications of the staff members and other resources assigned to accomplish the objectives; provisions for the annual assessment of the program results.

Note: As a district we understand that this document is fluid as changes are released from the State.

Schalmont Central School District School Counseling Plan

Our comprehensive school counseling model values content, process and accountability. School counselors are integral participants in collaborative programs that guide student achievement. Collaborating with teachers, administrators, community members, and families provides school counselors with information that can direct their programs and provide a foundation for student success. The following are goals of the counseling plan:

• To increase Communication with parents
• To promote understanding of Educational Requirements K – 12
• To promote Profile of a Graduate Core Competencies
• To promote Career/Education awareness and planning
• To promote Social/Personal development
• To increase Community Involvement through program offerings
• To promote Coordination of Services K – 12
• To provide Consultation Services for students and families
• To provide Counseling Services

School District Mission Statement

The staff and community of Schalmont Central School District will provide programs, resources and facilities to foster a positive learning environment. Each individual will be encouraged and assisted to grow emotionally, intellectually, physically and socially to meet the challenges of the future.

Counseling Mission Statement

Schalmont Central School Districts School Counseling Department are driven to provide all our students with a source of academic and personal/social excellence and to promote career-awareness within both a positive and secure learning environment.

Our mission is to implement a comprehensive developmental guidance plan to ensure students have the access to the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to create goals for themselves and have a positive interest towards learning.

We are committed to encouraging all students to strive to be respectful and tolerant citizens. The services provided by the School Counseling Department, in collaboration with other educators will empower students of all race, gender, ethnicity, and special needs to be productive members of our changing society.

Counseling Vision Statement

It is our vision that the students of Schalmont Central School District will gain the skills and independence to achieve academic excellence, personal wellness, cognitive individual growth, and college and career readiness. The framework of the comprehensive school counseling program will foster student growth by implementing our six Profile of a Graduate competencies K – 12, which include:

• Information, communication, and technology literacy – Students utilize technologies to ethically access, evaluate, create, and share information as global digital citizens.
• Critical thinking and problem solving – Students identify and analyze problems, generate questions, and implement well-reasoned solutions.
  Initiative and self-direction – Students exhibit the intrinsic motivation and drive to identify, own, and pursue goals.
• Metacognition (learning how to learn) – Students engage in the process of self-reflection as they develop awareness and resilience as learners.
• Flexibility & adaptability – Students incorporate multiple perspectives, constructively respond to feedback, and demonstrate the ability to manage change.
• Collaboration & teamwork – Students participate respectfully and contribute responsibly in diverse situations to achieve a common goal.

Student Competencies

As a result of a comprehensive counseling program, students should demonstrate the following mindsets and behaviors as outlined by American School Counselors Association:

Academic Development – Standards guiding school counseling programs to implement strategies and activities to support and maximize each student’s ability to learn.

Career Development – Standards guiding school counseling programs to help students, 1) understand the connection between school and the world of work and, 2) plan for and make a successful transition from school to postsecondary education and/or the world of work and from job to job across the lifespan.
Social/Emotional Development – Standards guiding school counseling programs to help students manage emotions and learn and apply interpersonal skills.

The competencies directly reflect the vision, mission and goals of the comprehensive school counseling program and align with the school’s academic mission.

Schalmont Central School Counseling Department Management System

The management system, incorporates organizational processes and tools to ensure that the Schalmont school counseling program is organized, concrete, clearly delineated, and reflective of the school’s needs.

Program implementation

Each counseling department level in collaboration with the building principal will decide how students will be assigned to counselors to ensure that each student has access to the counseling program. In addition, counselors will allocate time to:

• Deliver guidance lessons,
• Provide individual student planning,
• Provide responsive services, and
• Managing system support.
• During the school year, counselors should monitor their time and determine the percentage of time spent in each component of the school counseling program.

Use of Calendars

Monthly calendars are used by counselors to guide program delivery. The Schalmont School Counseling Department’s annual calendars reflect the school’s mission and the vision of having a comprehensive school counseling curriculum.

The annual calendar provides a framework for the school counseling programs and helps guide the counselors in their individual daily and weekly calendars.

Use of Data

A comprehensive school counseling program is data driven. School counselors must show that each activity implemented is part of the program, and was developed from analysis of the students’ needs, achievements, and/or related data. To do this, school counselors need to evaluate process, perception, and results data.

At each level (elementary, middle, and high school), counselors, in conjunction with building administration, will review and discuss data driven needs for the student population. This may include review of graduation rates, attendance, common classroom data and/or standardized test scores.

For every desired competency and result there must be a plan how the desired competency will be achieved. Each action plan should include: competencies addressed, description of activity, timeline in which the activity will be completed, who is responsible for delivery, means of evaluating student success, expected results. (See delivery map)

Schalmont Central School Counseling Department Delivery System

Direct Student Services

The counseling curriculum provides developmental activities that address academic, career and personal/social needs of students K-12. This is accomplished through:

Classroom Activities: school counselors present lessons in the classroom.
Group Activities: school counselors conduct group activities outside of the classroom to address student’s particular needs

Individual Student Planning

Counselors monitor students’ progress so they may achieve success in academic, personal/social, and career areas. This may be accomplished through:

• Individual or Small Group Appraisal: Work with students in analyzing and evaluating abilities, interests, skills, and achievement.
• Individual or Small Group Advisement: Work directly with students on achieving success in personal/social, academic, and career areas.
• Case Management: Monitor individual students’ progress.
• Placement: Collaborate with school staff in determining the best educational setting for students as they meet their academic and social goals.

Responsive Services

School counselors provide support and interventions to meet the needs of students. This is accomplished through:

• Individual and Small Group Counseling: Counseling is provided for students experiencing social, emotional, personal, or academic difficulties.
• Crisis Counseling: Short term counseling that is provided to students, families or staff as an immediate intervention to a crisis.
• Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation: Counseling is provided to facilitate conflicts that may arise between students, teachers, and adults.

Indirect Student Services

Referrals: School counselors provide families with a variety of resources, both inside and outside of school, to better serve our students.

Consultation: School counselors collaborate with families, school staff and community agencies to develop interventions for students.

Interdisciplinary Activities: School counselors collaborate with school staff to implement curriculum across content areas.

System Support

School counselors assess the effectiveness of the counseling program. This is accomplished through:

Teaming: School counselors participate in district wide and building committees.

Professional Development: School counselors regularly participate in training, conferences, and meetings to update knowledge and skills.

Program Promotion: School Counselors provide orientation and information regarding the programs to the greater community via websites, counseling newsletters and presentations.

Program Management and Evaluation: School counselors regularly collect and analyze data to evaluate the program and continue updating program activities.

Scope and Scope and Sequence by Program Levels

To view frameworks by grade, scroll to page 7 of the Counseling Plan. If you have an accessibility issue with the document, please contact Kathie McKeon in the Guidance Office to receive the information in an alternative manner: kmckeon@schalmont.net 518-355-6110, ext. 3047.

Schalmont Central School Counseling Department Accountability System

To achieve the best results for students, Schalmont school counselors will regularly evaluate their program to determine its effectiveness.

Schalmont school counselors use accountability strategies to monitor student achievement and to evaluate and improve the school counseling program. The school counseling program components may be accessed through Data Analysis, Program Results and Evaluation and Improvement.

Data Analysis

Counselors collect, analyze, and report data by specific subgroups and ensure that decisions about student instruction and learning are driven by achievement data for every subgroup.

The process begins with needs and strengths assessment and moves through what changes need to be made. The use of data replaces hunches and hypotheses with factual information instead and guides the school counselor and student support staff in planning and delivering learning support programs for all students.

Program Results

Counselors analyze the school counseling program using information collected through process, perception, or outcomes data samples. This data will be used to inform decisions related to program improvements.

Evaluation and Improvement

Program evaluation and improvement has the following components: self-analysis of the school counselor’s strengths and areas of improvement, analysis of the program’s strengths and areas of improvement, and evaluation of the school counselor’s performance using the Schalmont APPR protocol. In addition, continued Professional Development surrounding College and Career Readiness and pathways to Graduation in correlation with Schalmont’s Educational Ecosystem.