Twin Rivers Middle School Counseling Program

2014-2015 Advisory Council, November 18, 2014

Fall Meeting Minutes

The fall 2014 Advisory Council meeting took place on Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 in the Counselors’ Suite. Light breakfast items were served from 8:00am to 8:15am as guests arrived, and the meeting content began promptly at 8:15am. 27 members of the Advisory Council were in attendance. Heather Haynes, the 8th Grade Counselor, was unable to attend due to medical reasons. The other remaining Advisory Council members not in attendance were unable to attend due to conflicting meetings and/or appointments.

  1. Jennifer Moore welcomed all participants and thanked them for coming. Kelly Mitchell and Jennifer Moore introduced themselves as the sixth and seventh grade counselors. Jennifer Moore explained that the purpose of the TRMS Advisory Council is to gain feedback from our valued stakeholders on how we can improve our counseling program. She also explained that the format for today’s meeting will be interactive, and questions and comments are encouraged during our discussions.
  1. Jennifer Moore discussed the TRMS Counseling Department’s Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Philosophy. She explained how these beliefs were developed and asked for the group to share input about any items that needed to be changed. Participants approved the statements in their original format.
  1. Jennifer Moore reviewed the TRMS Counseling Department’s 2014-2015 Program Goals:

1)Academic: 100% of students scoring 810 or below on the reading section of the 2014 CRCT will meet academic promotion requirements.

2)Academic: 100% of students scoring 810 or below on the math section of the 2014 CRCT will meet academic promotion requirements.

3)Attendance: The number of students with 15 or more absences will decrease from the 2013-2014 school year.

She also discussed how these goals were adjusted from last school year’s goals to better meet our students’ needs. A behavior goal was removed because TRMS had a very small percentage of discipline concerns in the 2013-2014 school year. An academic goal was added due to the strong emphasis that TRMs places on academic achievement. She then asked for feedback from the Advisory Council members on the program goals. One member shared that she didn’t realize counselors were required to have goals for their program; another member shared that the goals all sounded like they were created to effectively meet the needs of our student population. All members approved the goals in their original format.

  1. Jennifer Moore reviewed the academic counseling interventions that will be implemented in 2014-2015 to help us reach our two academic program goals
  • Individual Counseling/Academic Grade Monitoring (as needed on a weekly basis)
  • Core Curriculum Lessons (Sixth grade units will include an Orientation/General Success Lesson, a Bullying Prevention Lesson and a Career Exploration Lesson; Seventh grade units will include an Orientation/General Success Lesson, a Bullying Prevention Lesson and a Career Exploration Lesson; Eighth grade units will include an Orientation/General Success Lesson, a Bullying Prevention Lesson, a Career Exploration Lesson, and a High School Articulation Lesson)
  • Academic Success Small Groups (group members will be targeted based on 2014 Reading and/or Math Scores below an 810; groups will consist of five sessions covering homework tips, organization, time management and study skills)
  • Tuesday or Thursday 8:20 Peer Leader Help Sessions (Tuesday sessions will offer assistance with organization or tutoring in all academic subjects; Thursday sessions will offer assistance with study skills)
  • After-school Math Peer Tutoring sessions (sixth and seventh grade teachers will make recommendations for tutors and tutees)
  • “Bear Buddy” New to TRMS Program (Due to feedback received at last year’s Advisory Council meeting, the Counselors have created a new “Bear Buddy” program through which any students new to TRMS will be assigned a “Bear Buddy” from their homeroom to show them around on their first day and answer any questions they may have about TRMS. This “Bear Buddy” will also show them how to use various technology resources and will introduce them to their grade level counselor and assistant principal. All “Bear Buddies” were trained by their grade level counselor at the beginning of the school year.)
  • Parent Consultation (via phone or email)
  • Teacher & Administrator Consultation at weekly Kid Talks (Every Monday each grade level holds a “Kid Talk” where academic teachers can raise any concerns they have about students with their counselor and assistant principal.)
  • Student Support Team/Response to Intervention Referral (if needed)
  • Academic Support Resources are available on the TRMS Counseling Website
  1. Jennifer Moore reviewed the Attendance Counseling Interventions that will be implemented in 2014-2015
  • She explained that every Monday, each grade level counselor will monitor her grade level’s attendance. Counselors will individually meet with any students who receive seven or more unexcused absences and will call home to inform parents of this meeting.
  • Every nine weeks, Local School Attendance Committee meetings will take place with Counselors, the School Social Worker & the Principal to discuss any student attendance concerns. For any students with ten or more unexcused absences, a Student Attendance Review Committee Meeting date will be set.
  • Additionally, she explained that there is an established attendance protocol that will be followed (including individual counseling, attendance improvement plans, parent phone calls, attendance incentives and School Attendance Review Committee meetings as needed).
  1. Kelly Mitchell explained the components in a Recognized ASCA Model Program: Vision, Mission Statement, School Counseling Program Goals, ASCA Student Standards, Annual Agreement, Advisory Council, Calendars, Core Curriculum: Action Plan and Lessons, Core Curriculum: Results Report, Small-Group Services, Results Report, Program Evaluation Reflection. She said that the TRMS Counseling Program is already demonstrating all of these components; however, it will be a tedious process to write up all of the supporting documentation.
  1. Kelly Mitchell discussed how TRMS Counselors spend the majority of their time. She explained how much time was spent on each counselor service (individual counseling & consultation, counselor task, core curriculum, large group and small group) during the 2013-2014 school year and to date during the 2014-2015 school year. She also gave examples of what activities might fit into each of the counselor service categories. She emphasized that approximately 70% of TRMS counselors’ time is spent in direct services to students.
  1. Kelly Mitchell discussed what topics are most often discussed during counseling sessions. She described the various topics counselors discuss with students including life skills, academics, crises, behavior, and attendance. She gave examples of student situations that would fit into each category. She also stated how often each topic is discussed for the 2013-2014 school year and to date during the 2014-2015 school year. In addition, she specified which topics would be considered student crises, including, but not limited to: physical abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, self-harm, suicidal ideation or homicidal ideation. She explained that although these crises are rare, they are occurring more frequently this school year and they do consume a large portion of counselors’ time when they do occur.
  1. Kelly Mitchell explained how counselor services varied by month for the 2013-2014 school year and to date during the 2014-2015 school year.
  1. Jennifer Moore facilitated a discussion on input from stakeholders by posing the following questions. Advisory Council Members’ responses are indicated below.
  • What are the most beneficial services we provide?
  • Contacting parents
  • Academic Tracking & Grade Monitoring (four other members agreed)
  • Girl Talk Mentoring Small Group (three other members agreed)
  • Support for teachers (talking to us, guiding us with what to do for students)
  • Talking with students and parents to help walk through issues & help them feel secure
  • Morning peer tutoring & organization Sessions(three other members agreed)
  • Individual Counseling (four other members agreed)
  • Handling Crisis situations (abuse referrals, suicidal ideation, self-harm)
  • Facilitating Weekly Kid Talks
  • Facilitating the Response to Intervention Process
  • Small Group Counseling
  • Core Curriculum Lessons
  • Conference involvement w/parents & supporting teachers during conferences
  • Building rapport with students/creating a safe place for students to come (3 others agreed)
  • Demonstrating your passion for what you do
  • Are there any services or programs that we should eliminate or completely redesign?
  • TRMS Counselors already do an amazing amount
  • Mental health education - awareness is high in today’s society, and as a result, students as teenagers may not possess the capacity to filter what diagnosed issues are and how to differentiate between them and non-issues(This suggestion will be addressed as a breakout session of our 2015 Cluster Parent Night.)
  • None, I think all of the programs counselors provide are super beneficial for parents & students (five other members agree)
  • A Parent session on what to do when your student says “I don’t have any homework” would be helpful. (This suggestion will also be incorporated as a breakout session of our 2015 Cluster Parent Night.)
  • What do we not spend enough time doing?
  • Addressing more behavior issues (students that are frequent disruptions to the whole class)
  • Talking with students who have a disability & helping them feel comfortable with their learning styles and differences
  • Developing a series of lessons about self-awareness, motivation & leadership
  • TRMS Counselors do an awesome job communicating with parents. I wonder if there is a session you could do for teachers to help them understand effective ways to communicate with parents & when to communicate with them. (We used this suggestion to drive our “Y’all Come” topic for teachers in February of 2015.)
  • Parenting Conference with breakout sessions would be great (We designed a Cluster Parent Night with a keynote speaker and various breakout session options for September of 2015.)
  • Helping parents understand how eClass works in middle school would be very beneficial (This will be a breakout session topic at our Cluster Parent Night.)
  • Helping parents understand how to respond when their child tells them something happened at school (for example there are two sides to every story, contact the teacher first, set up an appointment with the counselor)
  • What do we spend too much time doing?
  • Nothing (five other members agree)
  1. Due to the extensive discussion in the previous agenda item, we ran out of time to ask if there was any general feedback, suggestions and/or questions.