Respond to all 4 students discussion 100 word minimum

Due Sunday JUNE 4, 2023

Must Read: 

**Please write response as a direct response to the classmate. Please don’t write the response addressing the student as a third person. Correct way to response…… 

***Example: Hi James I agree with you and so on….. 

****Example: Please DO NOT say According to Ashley. Because we’re supposed to respond directly to the student.

*****PLEASE RESPOND IN DEPTH

PRACTICUM II**************************************************************

Response 1- Ashley

L. Describe your experiences and your role in building relationships with teachers, parent(s)/guardian(s), administrators, staff, and outside agencies.

At its core, the role of a school counselor is to cultivate trusting relationships. These connections define the dynamics among counselors, students, and parents. (2023) I have intentionally built collegial relationships with my supervisor, personnel, teachers, and students at my practicum site. For instance, when the gate opens in the morning for breakfast, the counselor and I welcome students and guardians, which often leads to conversations, which helps us learn more about the students home life.

I practice being present, actively listening, and consistently showing up, which reveals to those around me that I am committed and a trustworthy person.

Building relationships with teachers is more challenging as they spend most of their time in their classrooms. The chance to converse with them is only during dismissal when the teachers spread out to observe each gate, walking, bus, or pick up. Once the students are gone, the teachers return to their classrooms, and that is an opportunity to converse with them. I have also made following up a priority, for instance, when theirs a student who repeatedly is sent to the counselor or principles office for behavioral issues. If I run into the teacher and students are absent, I will ask the teacher about the student. They seem to appreciate it.

I also notice that students appreciate it when you remember their name, which is often tricky, being at a school with close to one thousand students. I often remember the classroom they are in or the group they spend time in at recess. Students enjoyed interacting with the counselor and started recognizing me more often.

Response 2 – Amelia

• Describe experiences related to any of the following: School structure/program development.

I have been fortunate to have amazing supervisors that include me in the development of new programs and trainings. This can be good as it helps develop my leadership skills and allows me to work with other district leaders.  I have been given/taken the lead in training school site staff. This can become overwhelming sometimes because we our district has 24000 students and has 34 sites. There are 3 people that do what I do at the district, I have learned that when I am taking the lead, I still need to hold my counter parts responsible for also learning the information so that they can support their sites. I have had to redirect people to their contact person and also sometimes have conversations about attending trainings and reading handouts. One thing I hear a lot from school site staff is “We are busy” and have no time to read handouts or trainings. I advise them that all schools are staffed the same and if they are not attending trainings that was their responsibility. It took some time, but the culture is changing, and I am hearing less and less of the “we are busy” and “this is how we have always done it.”  We are launching a new program in our department this upcoming year and I am trying to not take on a leadership role since I will be busy with internship hours, however I know that if I see things being communicated incorrectly or not being implemented correctly, I will step in and help. 

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL******************************************************

Response 3- Stormee

What are some possible interventions you may use to either increase or decrease either appropriate or non-appropriate behavior at school?

In the text, Gresham discusses the negative impacts on students throughout their school careers if they are not provided with the proper effective SEL interventions (2017). In order to effectively increase/decrease either appropriate/non-appropriate behavior at school, I would utilize a few different forms of interventions. First, I would perform a functional behavior assessment, or FBA. This would give me the opportunity to focus on antecedents, behaviors, and consequences by observing and checking in with a student. After my main assessment, I would utilize the multi-tiered system of support, MTSS. This would give me the knowledge to understand what tier they need help in. For tier one students, I would focus on classroom instruction and school wide initiatives in their daily activities throughout campus. For tier two students, I would emphasize individual reflection, small group counseling, and peer mediation. This would be for students who need that extra attention individually or with their peers at school. This is a way to work through those any issues on campus personally with each student. Tier three prioritizes improving students’ mental health and social emotional success through outside referrals and resources. Interventions are dependent on each students needs. If a student is doing well, our interventions choices will help them stay focused and motivated. On the other hand, if the student is struggling with behavior or purpose, then our interventions will address helping them comprehend the repercussions while showing them alternatives to staying intentional.

As school counselors, it is essential to our success to create a dialogue with our students in order for them to comprehend and learn from the lessons we provide. If our students can trust and depend on us to be a supportive adult in their life, they will come to us when they need help. I currently work in a middle school and behavioral interventions are what we focus on. One specific social emotional learning intervention that I have been utilizing with my middle school students is the CICO system. The check-in check-out framework has been extremely effective with students at the intermediate level. I am able to meet with them at scheduled times, and it has been so helpful with keeping my students focused and on track with their goals. Another specific SEL intervention technique that we like to utilize is small group counseling. Especially in middle school, one of our biggest issues is rumors  spreading through class and social media causing drama and fights, Utilizing small group sessions has been extremely effective with breaking down that wall and creating a dialogue between our students. Being able to create that line of communication has helped us realize most of the time, these students just need their chance to be heard. 

Response 4- Angie

• What are some possible interventions you may use to either increase or decrease either appropriate or non-appropriate behavior at school?

 As a school counselor we wear many hats during our day and help students through many different challenges whether it be academically, emotionally or socially. We want to be able to teach our students to have a more positive view of life as well as with their behavior. There are many different types of interventions we can put in place to help support our students whether it be interacting with others of similar challenges or spending time alone to reflect. The first intervention I find to be vital in education would be putting in place gratitude interventions. Studies have shown that, gratitude interventions have proven benefits in increasing happiness and satisfaction (Wood, Froh, & Geraghty, 2010). We want our students to stay motivated and help create a more positive environment for themselves and others around them. Having our students write down their emotions, thoughts or ideas is also a great way for self-reflection which can ultimately lead to more positive interactions and decrease the number of altercations between students. This is something we can do with our students on a day-to-day basis as well as inform teachers and staff of how a simple great job today can go a long way. Another intervention counselors can put in place would be optimistic interventions which help create more positive outcomes since we are helping create realistic expectations. As stated, Evidence suggests that although this may seem to be an easy task, non-directed imagination is a great way for people to understand how positive they are about themselves and others in life (King, 2001). At a young age we want to be able to teach our students to focus on their goals and strengths in order for them to achieve the life they want to create for themselves. As counselors going into classrooms to do presentations on SEL, academics or post-secondary plans we want our students to do activities as well to keep them engaged. Having them reflect in a small summary on where they see themselves in the future will help them gain insight on what they are doing wrong and what they can do better in order to reach their goals. This is great reflection for students who struggle with absenteeism, substance abuse, academically, etc.