Transcript Leadership 101: Synergizing Counselor Leadership

Celebrating & Promoting
Counseling Programs
AMERICAN SCHOOL
COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION
JULY 5, 2010
Presenters:
Dianne Thompson, Director
Galen Reavis, Coordinator
Demetria Williams, Coordinator
Gwinnett County Public Schools
GCPS Demographics
 Atlanta Urban Fringe
 160,000+ students…and growing
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0.1% American Indian
28.0% African American
10.6% Asian American
22.1% Hispanic
4.4% Multiracial
34.8% White
 100+ Languages
 130 Schools
 50% Free or Reduced Lunch
Goals of this Session. . .
 To introduce ways to develop and promote the
counseling “brand” to all audiences
 To share suggestions for marketing your counseling
office and programs
 To enhance participants understanding of Advocacy
 To utilize ASCA Model tools to
“Celebrate & Promote Counseling Programs”
The Power of Branding
 A brand is an intangible asset defined by the
expectations people have about an organization or
group.
 It is a management function.
 It is tied to your mission and strategic objectives.
Developing & Promoting the
Counseling Brand
Brand=Reputation
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Define . . . Define your program. What do you stand
for? What do you want to be known for?
Promise. . . What promises do you and your program
make to staff, students, and parents?
Deliver. . . How do you deliver on those promises?
Remind. . . How can you reinforce your brand? By
promoting your successes and “telling your story.”
A Definition of School Marketing
School marketing uses promotional strategies to
educate our target audiences to the value of public
education, in general, and our schools or programs,
in particular, encouraging personal investment and
involvement in the success of the enterprise to the
benefit of all stakeholders.
Elements in the School Marketing Mix
 Building relationships and Engaging your
community (investment/target audience)
 Extending the brand (value)
 Providing a quality and effective education to all
children (service)
 Sharing the good news
(communication/promotion)
Benefits of Marketing
 Furthers the brand. . . Your brand, the school’s, and
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the system’s
Builds the school’s or department’s reputation
Engenders support from local community
Communicates your successes
Can extend a relationship to the wider community
(media)
Marketing Sells the Benefits of a
Comprehensive Program
 People are quick to resist a program or
an idea because they fear change
 It is harder to protest the benefits of
something when they are clearly stated
 Do your homework ahead of time!
Easiest way to sell benefits of
change is to explain that….
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“This will help kids/students because…”
“This is good for students because…”
Asking “Why do you think this is not good for students?”
Asking “How will this not help students?”
Marketing to Your Community
 Audiences
 Students
 Staff members
 Families
 Business partners
 Neighbors
Marketing to Your Community
 Vehicles
 Newsletters
 Message Boards
 Web site/web page
 Electronic Communication
Marketing to Your Community
 Some other vehicles…
 Signage leading to and around the counseling office
 Brochures and flyers tied to specific initiatives, events, etc.
 Word-of-mouth “ambassadors”
 Closed-circuit TV to reach students
 Staff meetings/events to reach staff
 Presentations or booths at parent and community events
Marketing to Your Community
 Tips, Tools, and Tactics
 First
impressions. . . Customer service
 No lost opportunities. . .
Messages in unexpected places
 Events
For families
For community
Marketing to Your Community
 More tips, tools, and tactics…
 T-shirts, magnets, bumper stickers
 Sticky notepads
Counselors… Building Bridges to Student Achievement
From the desk of Your School Counselor
 Banners, signs, posters
 Coffees, brown bags, roundtables
Elbow Partner Activity
Brainstorm some resources in your
county/district/school that you may not
have tapped into at
this point.
21st Century Comprehensive Counseling
Program
21C3 Star Levels
 Blue
 Red
 Silver
 Gold
 Millennium
Program Considerations
 Are the goals of your school’s counseling
department tied to the school mission?
 Are the goals:
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Focused on student achievement
Data driven
Tied to AYP & the school improvement plan
 Is the program proactive & focused on
needs of all students?
 Are you evaluating your program? How?
How are students
different as a
result of the school
counseling
program?
Partnership Agreement
(a.k.a. Management Agreement)
 Develop a relationship with your
Administrator that is not solely based on putting out
fires.
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Earn your administrator’s trust.
Demonstrate that you are competent enough to take on certain
tasks – Include these tasks in your agreement
Show that you are willing to be challenged
Under promise – over perform!!
 Show strong work ethic
 Build rapport with administrator
 Specify Duties & Responsibilities
When asking for change, consider
 How important is the
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issue to counselors?
Why is this important?
How did you determine
the importance of this
issue?
Long term effects on your
counseling program?
What’s the net
benefit/impact on
students?
 Am I prepared to face the
consequences?
 Am I doing this for the
right reasons?
 Will this complicate or
help?
 If I choose to push the
issue, will I be able to live
with myself as a leader?
Pick Your Battles!
It is good to fight for what you
believe in or for what you know
is right, but if you do so every
time, you will quickly die on the
battlefield and be of no help to
anyone.
Advisory Council
 Work with your Administrator
 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
 Include all stakeholders
 Friends and Foes
 Schedule, Reflect, and Adjust
The ultimate measure of a
man is not where
he stands in moments of
comfort, but where
he stands at times of
challenge and controversy.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
Build Support by Identifying
Your Supporters
The politics of change require that you
campaign for change. For change or
leadership to be successful,
it is necessary
to devote a good deal of time
to working the
network of students, teachers,
administrators, and parents.
Program Goals &
Closing the Gap Action Plan
 Who writes/approves them?
 Do they align with school goals?
 What data are they based on?
 Included in your Partnership/Management
Agreement?
 When, how & with whom are results shared?
School counselors must
collect data that
support and link the
school counseling
programs to students’
academic success.
Calendars
 Weekly
 Monthly
 Yearly
 3-5 year Plan
Accessible
Visible
Supporting Your Use of Time
 What data do you collect?
 How do you collect the data?
 5 W’s & How do you share the data?
Classroom Guidance Curriculum
 Why did you choose this topic/curriculum?
 How will you know if it’s effective?
 With whom will you share the results?
 How is the current topic advertised?
 How is the current topic reinforced?
Small Group Curriculum
 How was the group topic chosen?
 Goals of the small group curriculum?
 Share ALL the data
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Process
Perception
Results
Program Evaluation
 Multi-faceted Evaluation
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Needs Assessment
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Event Feedback
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Counseling Program Audit
Impact Over Time
High School Results Reports: Impact Over Time
Examine Student/School
Trends:
Demographics
Academics
Career
Life Skills
Parent Involvement
School
_____________________________
__
School Year______________
Academic year
DEMOGRAPHICS
Date
___________
This information is extremely valuable for school counseling personnel. Collecting these data at
the beginning of the school year
to creat a baseline from which to measure program results. This allows a review of data trends
in all domain areas: academic,
career and life skills.
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
# students enrolled
% students male
% students female
% students white
% students black
% students hispanic
% students asian
% students multiracial
% students other
% students free / reduced lunch
% students ESOL
% students special education
ACADEMIC
% students graduating
Standard A-acquire knowledge,
% students present 165+ school
attitude and skill leading to effective days
learning
% students retained in current
grade level
% 11 grade passing GHSGT
Science
% 11th grade passing GHSGT
Social Studies
% 11th grade passing GHSGT
Language Arts
%11th grade passing GHSGT
Mathematics
% students qualifying for focus
% 10th grade passing Gateway SS
% 10th graders passing Gateway
Science
Average SAT scores-total
Average ACT score-total
# Students taking PSAT
# 9th grade students taking
PSAT
# 10th grade students taking
PSAT
# 11th grade students taking
PSAT
# students taking AP course
# minority students taking AP
courses
# students taking AP exams
# students scoring 3,4,5
# academic lessons taught
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Standard A-acquire the skills to
investigate the world of work in
relation to knowledge of self and
ake informed career decisions
LIFE SKILLS
Standard B-acquire the attitudes,
knowledge and interpersonal skills
to help them understand and
respect self and others
# career lessons taught
# peer mediation sessions
conducted
# students completing career
interest inventories
# students in-school suspension
# students out-of-school
suspension
# Referrals within GCPS System
# Other Community Agency
Referrals
# DFACS referrals
# students served in small groups
Parent Involvement
# parents attending parent
workshops
# parent workshops offered
# parents attending curriculum night
Please note: If activity not listed, add additional category lines. If category does not apply , indicate with N/A
Counselors:
Principal:
Assistant
Principals:
The administration must
understand the VALUE
ADDED by the school
counseling department.
Advocacy Activity
Program Promotion:
What have you tried that worked?
What have you tried that didn’t work?
Directions: Use small post-its to answer
each question, then place response under
appropriate header.
Advocacy
 Focus on results
 View accountability as a necessity
 Exhibits the 3 E’s
High Energy
 Energizes others
 Executes by consistently turning vision into desired
results
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 Lead by example
As a counselor leader &
advocate, one of your
responsibilities is
to make your
administrator
look good!!!
When your
administrator
looks good,
YOU look good!
Most of the important things
in the world have been
accomplished by people who
have kept on trying when
there seemed to be
no hope at all.
--Dale Carnegie
What Happens to Our Good News?
 Internal Audiences
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Staff Newsletters
Portal
What Happens to our Good News?
 External Audiences
 Communiqué
 GCPS Web site
 eNews
 GCPS TV. . . In5, Focus, honor slides
 SCENE (Chamber of Commerce)
What Happens to Our Good News?
 Media
News You Can Use
 News Release
 Pitch
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Sharing Your Good News
 Share information with key personnel:
 Honors
and awards
 Events
 Parent
Night
 Special Programs
 Cluster Meeting
 Counselor activity/lesson
 Special interest
 Publications
Good News…
for your community and beyond:
 Counselor
Recognition
 Dept. Newsletter
 Other Internal
Newsletter
 Website(s)
 Phone Tree
 E-Newsletters
 Postcards/mailings
 PTA meetings
 Open House
 Agenda Book
 School Calendar
 Enrollment Packet
 Counselor Brochure
 School Profile
 Sports Programs
 Counselor Corner
 Answering Machines
 Voice mail
PR Plan
“Everything you do and say is Public Relations.”
- Anonymous
 5 W’s & How
 Resources
 Schedule
 Reflect
"PR is Performance Recognition."
- Douglas Smith
PR Assessment
"Public relations is the planned and
sustained effort to establish and
maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organization
and its publics."
-Institute of Public Relations
Counselor Recognition
 National School Counselor Week
 Promotional Materials
Elbow Partner Activity
Brainstorm some resources in your
county/district/school that you may not
have tapped into at this
point.
Q&A
The root of true
achievement lies in the will to
become the best that you can
become.
--Harold Taylor
Suggested Readings
 The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling
Programs – American School Counselors Association
 ASCA National Model Workbook: A companion Guide for
Implementing a Comprehensive School Counseling Program American School Counselors Association
 Principals and Counselors: Partnering for Student Success –
Educational Research Service & Naviance
 Developing the Leader Within You – John C. Maxwell
 Developing the Leaders Around You – John C. Maxwell
 How to Thrive As a Teacher Leader – John C. Gabriel
 Becoming a High Performance Mentor – James B. Rowley
 When Generations Collide – Lynne C. Lancaster & David Stillman
References
American School Counselor Association, (2010).
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/
Covington, M., & Grant, D., (2006). The New School Leaders. American School
Counseling Association: School Counselor. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/printarticle.asp?article-889
Gabriel, J.G., (2005). How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader. Alexandria, VA:
Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Maxwell, J.C., (1993). Developing the Leader Within You. Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson.
Meyers, P., (2005). Relationships Are Everything. American School Counseling
Association: School Counselor. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/printarticle.asp?article-772
Nichter, M., & Nelson, J., (2006). Educating Administrators. American School
Counseling Association: School Counselor. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/printarticle.asp?article-888
Real leaders are
ordinary people,
with extraordinary
determinations.
--John Seaman Garns
Contact Information
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Office of Advisement & Counseling
52 Gwinnett Drive
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
770.277.4488
Dianne Thompson, Director
[email protected]
Galen Reavis, Coordinator
[email protected]
Demetria Williams, Coordinator
[email protected]
http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/advcounselweb.nsf/pages/Home