CNDV+5330+Developmental+Guidance

Week 1 Discussion: === I attended a small 2A school from grade 1 thru 12 and had the same counselor all the years. After several decades, I still remember the school counselor’s name; however, I do not recall her role as the elementary and middle school counselor. In high school, the school counselor was responsible for scheduling, testing, providing information about scholarship, ordering senior materials for graduation and providing transcripts. === === During my teaching experience, I have had the opportunity to have guidance counselors provide weekly group sessions to my students. I have observed several competencies demonstrated during these sessions such as flexibility, passionate, and creativity. According Dollarhide and Saginak (2012), school counselors change from one activity to the next with little time to regroup and flexible in how they view their time, activities and students’ needs. School counselors that work in schools are passionate and committed to their profession and students as well as their personal excellence. (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012). “In my own research of qualities deemed important by elementary and secondary principals, words used by principals to describe effective counselors were: organized, a good listener, flexible, positive, caring, communicator, humorous, trustworthy, compassionate, honest, approachable, motivated, innovative, organized, knowledgeable, responsible, persevering, and enjoying children” (Frels & Harris, 2012). The school counselors build trusting relationships with students and other members of the school community. === === Over the years, I have seen the counselor’s role change in the school setting from having time to conducting group counseling sessions in the classroom to assessing and collecting data for school accountability. The school counselor must use data to design and implement counseling programs to address how to help the diverse students’ population improve academically. === === “They must be able to understand how to help students tap their strengths to support resilience. They must use data to improve student outcomes. They must advocate for diversity and equity in education, and use diverse and multicultural perspectives to help students to develop academically, vocationally, and personally” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012). === === With these competencies, the school counselor must demonstrate knowledge of the local, state, and federal laws and remain professional and ethical with all stakeholders. I have learned to be flexible through my experience as a teacher, and I possess passionate for the welfare of all students. One challenge I will need to improve is me being too compassionate about my students challenges and understanding it is not personal. ===

Frels, R., & Harris, P. (2012, June 3). Week 1 Introduction to Developmental Guidance and Counseling. Beaumont, Texas, United States of America.
=Week 2 Discussion=

The two models I chosen to compare and contrast are Strengths-Based School Counseling and the Strategic Comprehensive Model because I believe these two models would be easy for me implement. As a national trainer of social justice, these models included meeting the needs for all students regardless of cultural and academic needs. Both models are flexible and emphasize academic achievement and closing achievement gaps for all students. * Promote cultural and context-based development for all students “These guiding principles emphasize the importance of holistic development and evidence-based practices across all three domains of academic, career, and personal/social”(Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 104).Strengths-Based School Counseling programs focus on increasing development assets and promoting strengths and resiliency with positive orientations.It supports student’s development in ethnic and racial identity, manages to increase academic achievement and reduces the achievement gap.The disadvantages to the Strengths-Based School Counseling program are time and money to implement evidence-based practices, interventions and strategies. (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012). The Strategic Comprehensive Model has five components and subcomponents: * Facilitating normal development (prevention and development) * Serving at-risk students (remedial services and referral) * Leadership and program management (leadership, program and personnel evaluation, public relationship, resource development, planning and management/coordination) *School citizenship.(Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 97) Strategic Comprehensive Model is nonprescriptive programs that strategically align needs, interventions, outcomes, and outcome evaluation to intervention and counseling strategies. “Strategic school counseling prioritizes assessing student needs in a strategic way that decreases the chance of marginalizing student populations by creating an inclusive school counseling program that meets the diverse needs of all students”(Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 97). It emphasize counselors have good management and accountability systems to address the needs of all students and avoid limit goals to one section of the mission statement. The “Strategic Comprehensive Model school counseling programs are developmental, preventive, remedial, and emphasizes academic achievement and closing achievement gaps” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012) Reference: Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive School Counseling Programs: K-12 Delivery Systems in Action. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
 * Strengths-Based School Counseling ** is characterized by six major conceptual or organizing principles:
 * Promote evidence-based individual student strengths
 * Promote evidence-based strengths-enhancing environments Emphasize strengths promotion over problem reduction and problem prevention
 * Emphasize evidence-based interventions and practice
 * Emphasize promotion-oriented developmental advocacy at the school level.
 * Life skills development (goal setting/planning, educational development, and career development)