SPEAKER PANEL A
SPEAKER 1
– Bob Bardwell, MASCA Advocacy Committee Member
Introduction / Orientation To School Counseling & Speaker Panels
- New vs. old model of school counseling
- The Mass Model – MASCA & ASCA
- Alignment with DESE initiatives
- School counseling frameworks and service delivery
- Based on Massachusetts curriculum framework
- Service delivery sequence
- Reasoning and context for HB 1068
SPEAKER 2
Randall Reback - Researcher, Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College, NY
Research On Social/Emotional Support Services As It Relates To Academic Success
- Research on the relationship between noncognitive skills and success
- Behavioral and psychological disorders affect education attainment, test scores & future outcomes such as juvenile delinquency
- Disruptive students affect behavior and learning of classmates
- Statistics on number of students with mental disorders or mild functional impairment and percent treated
- Effects of greater counselor-student ratio
- Fewer disciplinary incidents
- Lower rate of recidivism for students who already committed a disciplinary offense
Findings from Reback 2010, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
- Introduction to first nationally representative study of the provision, financing, and impact of school-site mental health services for young children.
- Results of states’ adoption of a counselor subsidy or minimum counselor–student ratio
- Reduces the fraction of teachers reporting that their instruction suffers due to student misbehavior
- Reduces the fractions reporting problems with students physically fighting each other, cutting class, stealing, or using drugs
- Greater availability of counselors is also positively related to improvements in student learning and mental health
- Economic reasoning for HB 1068 as it relates to welfare of students and teachers
SPEAKER 3
Joan D'Onofrio – Parent and Educator, MarlboroughPublic Schools
Outcomes of Important Issues Mediated by School Counselors
- Special circumstances, challenges, differences, disadvantages mediated by school counselors
- Development of attitudes to school and learning at elementary level
- How school counselors service the whole child
- School counselors work as a team for NCLB, academic achievement, & equity issues
- MCAS results and school counseling
SPEAKER 4
Gail Okerman – Counselor Educator in School Counseling Program at Fitchburg State & Experienced Elementary School Counselor, MA
The Value of School Counselors – Socially, Emotionally, Academically & Economically
- The scope & focus of services that make school counselors unique
- Multi-level support provided by school counselors & value added
- The role of the school counselor as it relates to school climate
SPEAKER PANEL B
SPEAKER 1
Mary A. Czajkowski - Superintendant of Agawam, MA
Systems Perspective On The Effects Of School Counselors
- School counselors as integral members of the professional team of educators
- Unique qualities that the elementary school counselor brings to a school and school system
- What this means for students, teachers, & administrators
- How beginning this process in elementary school establishes the foundation for success
- Skills taught by school counselors that students need to succeed in school and life
SPEAKER 2
Bridget Dullea - Grade 5/6 School Counselor , AgawamMA
- What do services to you provide to students?
- Social, emotional, academic…
- Individual, group, whole school
- Through consultation with administration, teachers, parents
- Best practices
- What would happen (or who would provide) these services if you/school counselors did not?
- Teachers
- Administrators
- Parents
- How do you determine what students need?
- Data, surveys
- How do you know that you are being an effective school counselor?
- Data (disciplinary referrals, progress reports, attrition rates, absences, grades, test scores, other incidences…)
- Other?
- If you didn’t provide school counseling services and programming, based on experience and data, what kind of students would be most impacted?
SPEAKER 3
Benjamin Bardwell - Grade 3 Student, Whately, MA
A Third Grader’s Experience of School Counseling
My name is Benjamin Edward Bardwell and I am a third grader at the WhatelyElementary School. I really like school but at times it is tough. My school counselor, Mrs. Shafran, is really nice and we talk once and a while. She is very nice and easy to talk to. She helps me when I have a problem and makes me feel calm. I do not know what I would do if she were not there for me.
I think it is really important to make sure that all schools have a counselor, not just the ones who have the money to have one. A school counselor is something that all schools should have no matter what.
Thank you for listening.
SPEAKER 4
Wendy Bardwell –Parent of a Grade 3 Student, Whately, MA
I am the mother of two children, one who completed grades K-6 at the WhatelyElementary School and the other a 3rd grader who you just heard from. Both of my children have had wonderful experiences with Mrs. Shafran. As a parent I am pleased that my children have someone, other than their teacher, to speak to when there are issues around my child’s social/emotional needs, as well as their academic needs.
I have one child who is extremely motivated to excel and benefited from Mrs. Shafran’s wise counsel. She was always available when I had a question and her assistance was critical for Allison when she was ready to transition to the regional junior senior high school. Assisting with the transition piece from one school to another is yet another role that the school counselor plays. Transitions are so significant to a child’s learning and their ability to continue to excel both in and out of the classroom.
My son struggles in school and at times needs someone to help him sort through his feelings and emotions. While Benjamin is not a frequent counselee, Mrs. Shafran has been a steady source of comfort and support. She was particularly helpful to Benjamin in the early elementary years.
I feel that elementary counselors are critical to all elementary students to be successful academically as well as emotionally. Without this in school support my children and thousands of others will be limited in their ability to cope with unfamiliar situations, learn to focus and excel academically and plan for their futures in appropriate ways.
SPEAKER PANEL C
SPEAKER 1 – Abby Dolan, Grade 5 student Groton Dunstable Middle School, Groton, MA
A Student’s VoiceBy: Abby Dolan, a 5th grade student at ______
Why should a school counselor be in every school? First of all, I could not imagine school life without one. I have had some problems in the past and if my school counselor wasn’t there to help, I think it would have gotten much worse. But I did have a school counselor – and that made all the difference - everything turned out okay.
I have learned that 1 out of 4 students report having been bullied in Massachusetts schools. School counselors help us kids who don’t feel comfortable reporting have the courage to do it instead of keeping it to ourselves. We need someone in our school who knows how to help us overcome bullying situations. Without a school counselor in every elementary school, so much that we see and feel as kids would get missed...Things that you adults don’t see or know that happens in school. A school counselor knows how to help us – in the hallways, in the cafeteria, at recess, in our classrooms. They know when something just doesn’t seem right. There are many kids who go through elementary school, middle school, and high school teased and picked on. If there are not school counselors required to be there for us in elementary schools I can see how teasing unnoticed can lead to suicide when kids are older.
Teachers are one thing to go to for help and it’s a good to have them there, but they are not the same and can’t give the same attention to all the feelings that we kids go through in elementary school. Before I brought my problem to a school counselor, I told a teacher, and she took the bully’s side. My school counselor really listened to me and was able to hear both sides of the story and she not only helped me, but also helped the bully. I never felt like my school counselor was taking sides, she helped both of us calmly and I don’t know what would have happened without her help. For these reasons I know that a school counselor needs to be in every school...not should be – but has to be in every elementary school.
Thank you.
Abigail Dolan,
SPEAKER 2 –Shannon Doran, Graduate Student in School Counseling, University of Massachusetts
How Elementary School Counseling Translates into Future Culture & Economy of Massachusetts
- The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guiding mission
- The skills and attitudes that prepare students for life after school and the work world
- The role of the school counselor
- Future outcomes
- Elementary school counselors – a wise investment
THE EQUITY ISSUE –Reducing the Gap – Equal, base-line of support regardless of socio-economic factors in a given school district
Assuming that any student or all students already have the knowledge they need to participate in the community does a disservice to the child and the other students.