Counselor's Forum

Counselor's Forum

This forum is designed to allow counselors to ask questions and receive answers from their fellow counselors.

5/2/06

QUESTION: Phil Marklin (Powder Springs Ferry ES) - We have Several Hispanic Students that are very worried about the present debate about immigration, as several of them are illegals and about half of the parents are. What are some resources or things that can help us to reassure them during this time?

QUESTION: Lara Wilson ( Bells Ferry ES) - On behalf of all elementary school counselors - What are some of the best techniques counselors have used for children with school phobia? Does anyone have helpful articles or resources that they could share?

QUESTION: Lara Wilson (Bells Ferry E.S.) - What evidence can counselors on rotation (meaning that they are part of the special rotation at the Elementary School level) use to prove that counselors should not be on a rotation? This was a question that was posed during our last CSCA meeting.

RESPONSE: Judith Reichenbach (Hightower Trail) - Joy, I know many of us have been discussing the impending 8th grade meetings for retention, the individual plans, and strategies for those plans. Good news! Strategies for the committee to choose from are to be posted in Picasso. As we are not teachers, our best contribution would be in the areas of behavior or emotional issues, not teaching strategies.

QUESTION: Joy Chanin (Simpson MS) - What are some of the specific strategies some of you are using or plan to use to put into the Retention/Placement plans that are now required for EVERY placed or retained student? I know some of you have books you refer to; please let me know specific strategies though. Thank you.

3/15/06

QUESTION: Gail Wylie (Durham MS): How can we convince those that make the decisions that counselor's should not do morning duty because those precious 20 minutes are the perfect time to speak to parents who stop in on their way to work without an appointment AND see students about quick things so that they do not have to be pulled out of valuable class time which also causes an interruption to the class as a whole?

RESPONSE: Judith Reichenbach (Hightower Trail) - You may make a proposal to admin. for a morning parent drop-in (open forum) program using data regarding how many parents leave messages requesting to see you at that time, or how many contacts you could not meet. You might tie in the child's name or problem associated with the parent concern. Sometimes, data speaks for itself. Offer a tradeoff that is beneficial to the school and allows you to do the job for which you are best trained indicating that you are "in a unique position to help break down barriers to student success" if given the opportunity. You have to demonstrate how doing your job is more beneficial to student learning than what you are doing now. I hope this helps.

RESPONSE: Jane Burgess (Dodgen MS) - Here is an interesting link from ASCA which may support your data collection entitled "Why Middle School Counselors?" http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=231

Below are some of the issues/topics submitted by counselors earlier in the year in response to the CSCA Survey - feel free to comment on them in this forum:

Survey results separated into Elementary, Middle, and High School:

Elementary School topics:

• medications

• ideas for small group guidance lessons

• Rotation vs. non-rotation schedules

• A general overview of situations or events which cause concerns when a child is older or developing. Things that affect/effect the developmental growth of a child. EXAMPLES: Touching a child in a loving manner, no counseling during a divorce, what causes a lack of empathy in a child so young, what causes a child to be a perfectionist, why do children not like someone else because they are differant, (result of parents thinking or teaching) how can we reach a child who did not have guidance as a small child, etc.

• school phobia

• parents not taking responsibility for what their children do and say

• how to reach parents that need teaching so that they can help support academics

• time management, setting limits

• handling job stress

• successful small groups

• time management especially with SST

• anger outbursts

• disruptive students

• depression in children

• more concrete guidelines for referral to SST and Sp. Ed.

Middle School topics:

• time management especially with SST and make it more efficient

• addressing the needs of the hispanic population

• fresh classroom guidance ideas

• best practices for reaching the majority of students

• challenges of working at a school "part-time"

• how to have less administrative duties (testing, paperwork)

• advocacy

• retention procedures

• Data collection

• counselor's role - feeling entrenched in academics and having less time for classroom guidance and to see students

• how can we better help new counselors

• Extra counselor positions at HS and other legislative ramifications

• program development

• how can we get records clerks in all MS

• testing coordination

• how can we prove to the governor that counselors make a difference in the schools

• diversity

• at risk students - depression, self carving or cutting

• Katrina survivors – how do we best serve them at this time?

High School topics:

• how other schools handle different procedure/policies/processes

• How they counsel students each day in ISS

• prioritizing the day

• How are other counselors handling/addressing the attendance of their students (ie the calls home at 5 absences, letters at 10 and 15 abs. and the SW referrals?)

• legislative concerns; addressing mental health concerns with students without parental permission

• How they support students with severe emotional problems, often in and out of psychiatric hospitals, with issues such as eating disorders, cutting, etc.

• How they do advisement for both 9th and 11th graders.

• How are other counselors handling/addressing the attendance of their students...ie the calls home at 5 absences, letters at 10 and 15 abs. and the SW referral?....this is consuming tremendous amt of time here. Who/what has/are quicker ways of doing this?

Cobb School Counselor Association