CNDV+5380+Foundations+of+School+Counseling

Week 1 Discussion: Hello classmates, my name is Winifred Jackson and I currently teach second grade.I have taught 1 st, 2 nd , 3 rd and 5 th grades for 26 years and the last 20 years I have been at Bramlette Elementary in Longview, Texas.I have been married for 31 years and have two children. I am pursuing a degree in educational technology and needed some courses to complete my second master from Lamar.My campus mentor informed me that I would need some counseling courses to help me when I become an administrator.During my teaching career, I have seen the need to help students and parents handle death, emotional problems, divorce, homelessness, poverty and many more situations.I have learned how to listen and provide some assistance to the situation.This opportunity to take counseling courses will provide me with some insight to how to handle these situations.I look forward to getting started on my first counseling course and having the opportunity to receive it online.



Week 2 Discussion:

Based on the result of the survey, Bramlette Elementary has several areas that needs some work to becoming an effective school.Longview rezoned the schools three years ago and the demographics changed with the new school zone.The school needs to work on environmental issues and student involvement.Bramlette rated 56 percent overall in the characteristics of a school that “works” for students’ academic success. I was surprised to see the results of the survey because I knew our rating dropped from recognized to acceptable.School-Community Relations received the highest score because our principal believes in having parents attend different activities monthly to meet the requirements for a Title I school.This week I planned Texas Public School Week Activities for the parents and community to attend.We had breakfasts for dads, moms, and grandparents.We will have Science Nights for the students and parents to complete activities together.Finally, we will have the dedication ceremony of the new building for the community to attend.Since, Bramlette is an elementary school, we have two extracurricular activities for the students to be involved in after school. They are student council and UIL. I feel that Bramlette next strength is in the area of Learning.Our principal reminds the staff to stay focus on the main thing the children.Our school counselor is involved in the testing process that helping to make the school “work” for student academic success is difficult. Week 3 Discussion:

Bramlette Elementary: PK-5 Total Number of Students: 572 Ethnic Distribution: African American 308 Hispanic 161 White 78 Native American 6 Asian 5 Two or More Races 14 Economically Disadvantaged 475 Limited English Proficient (LEP) 98 Student Enrollment by Program: Bilingual/ESL Education 75 At-Risk 317 Gifted & Talented Education 2 S pecial Education 50 I had to get the information from the district website because we are on spring break. The information was based on the campus 2011 Academic Excellence Indicator System from the Texas Education Agency. The total number of students this year has been as high as 625 students; however, the mobility of our students keeps the numbers fluctuating. Our school is predominant African Americans and Hispanics with a high percentage of the students economically disadvantaged. Week 4 Discussion: After reading this week’s posting, I realized how much data is used within the school systems to determine the success of students.On our campus we have a data room with all state assessment results from the previous year plastered on the wall for all staff members to see daily.Today, each grade level had team meetings in the data room to review the latest STAAR simulations results for the district and our campus. Our principal informed the PK- 2 nd grade teachers that our instruction in math must be rigorous and students should show their work on all word problems.Data is used to drive our instruction and teaching.

As a second grade teacher, I use data to determine the reading level of my students for reading groups and placement in Rigby books.We use Primary Math Inventory (PMI) results to help determine AMI students. I collect data during my instruction to check for understanding and mastery of an objective taught by simply a show of hands or demonstration of activities. There are several sources I use to collect data to reinforce learning and instruction through TPRI, TEKS Checks, Rigby reading, C-Scope assessments, daily reading groups, written assessment, Classworks program.Most of our data is stored from district and state assessment on DMAC, Skyward, and Mizuni for easy access to help with tutorials, ARI, RTI, and AMI.Report cards, attendance, discipline referrals and failure rates are used by our principal to determine the successful of our students on PDAS. The data received on free and reduce lunch applications help to determine our Title I status and determine our economically disadvantaged students on state assessments.Data is the support for our budgets to buy classroom supplies in the four core subjects.

Week 5 Discussion: As I reflect upon transformation from this course, I realized how important a school counselor is to the success of all students.I thought that a school counselor main role in the school was to conduct RTI meetings, serve as the campus testing coordinator, provide help with behavior problems, and help identify community services for parents.After the weekly readings, videos, discussions, and assignments, I realized that the school counselor must advocate for social justice, help to develop partnerships with families and communities, use data to bring a systemic change in the school, and advocate for the success of all students.As a new counselor, I plan to continue advocating for social justice to help eliminate the achievement gap for all students.According to Portman (2009), ”school counselors will be required to develop  skills in cultural mediation specifically to advocate and serve  (a)  linguistic  diverse  students  and  families,  (b)  culturally  competent family partners,  and (c)  community consultants  and social advocates.” The second priority will be to work collaborate with all stakeholders to understand the culture needs of the growing Hispanic population because the campus has increased from 5% to 23% Hispanicsin two years which is the results of the predictions about the demographic change in the Texas population.The next priority will be to use MEASURE to help analyze, identify, connect, and educate stakeholders about school improvement data through the school counseling program.As a new counselor in the 21st century, I must understand the factors that affect student development and achievement by applying the data to help promote the success of all students to all stakeholders.

Reference:

Portman, T. A. A. (2009). Faces of the future: School counselors as cultural mediators. Journal of Counseling and Development, 21-26.