MBA School Counseling Program

1
MBASchool Counseling Program

• Jaime Bohan

2
School Counseling Mission

• Consistent with the National Standards for School
  Counseling and the Somers Vision Statement. The
  School Counseling Program is committed to
  assisting students with the achievement of their
  academic, career and personal/social potential.
• American School Counselor Association recommends
  a ratio for Middle School Counselors to be 1250.
• MBA is 1413 students

3
Academic PlanningResponsibilities

• Grade 8
• Coordinate with SHS counselors for 9th grade
  scheduling
• Arrange visit to MBA for presentation
• Review all course selection forms for
  completeness, all signatures, and proper credits
• Consult with parents on choice selection
• Oversee course selection entry
• Take students to computer lab to input
  selections, teach the course entry process,
  review all entries
• Meet with students who are absent for entry
  process.
• Review all course selection during final PPT at
  MBA invite case manager from SHS to PPT, review
  course selections, recommend special education
  courses.
• 8th grade Career Awareness field trip to UCONN
• Review and process applications for students
  applying to schools outside of Somers
• Coordinate Technical/Vocational School Visits to
  visit interested students.
• Review all applications with students and
  parents,
• Complete admission packet-all records and
  recommendations
• Consult with School Counseling Department at
  Technical Schools on behalf of MBA students
• If student is not accepted, ensure proper
  schedule is in place for SHS

4
Academic Planning Responsibilities

• Grade 7
• Meet with all students, each quarter, who receive
  interim reports and also those who receive a F
  on report card.
• Arrange for visits from Technical/Vocational High
  schools to visit MBA for the entire grade.
• Prepare students for the transition to 8th grade
  and class expectations
• Grade 6
• Meet with all students, each quarter, who receive
  interim reports and also those who receive a F
  on report card
• Attend all 504 meetings at SES to create a
  accommodation plan for 6th grade.
• Meet with all students on the transition to MBA
  and introduction to School Counseling

5
Transitions

• Special Education and alternative education,
  arrange private tour of SHS several visits
• Step Up Day to MBA and also to SHS.
• Coordinate with School Social Worker the
  interests of MBA students for Helping Hand at
  SHS, attend Transition 504 meetings at SES and
  create accommodation plans for MBA.
• Prepare students for the transition to the next
  level
• To middle school and high school)

6
Social/Emotional DevelopmentResponsibilities

• Attend to daily crisis situations for
  adolescent middle school students.
• Individual counseling sessions that focus on
  family, friendship, behavior, other adolescent
  issues.
• Daily Friendship Groups for Grade 6 and 8 social
  skills, new student lunch group, female
  adolescent peer groups
• Offer Peer mediations- when mediations are not
  occurring, connect peer mediators with 6th grade
  students to assist with various tasks.
• Support Alternative Education Program, as our
  rooms are connected, with student issues, peer
  issues, family issues.
• Grade 7 Resource Room weekly group meetings that
  focuses on character education topics.

7
Counseling Services

• Individual planning
• Meet with 413 students at least one time
  individually and in a group
• Guided study hall
• Meets daily or every other day for reluctant
  learners-students who are have repeatedly
  received an F on their report card, students
  who do not complete homework, students with
  organization issues.
• Review homework that needs to be completed, work
  on projects, organize notebooks, lockers, review
  for tests and quizzes
• Daily communication with teachers on progress or
  lack of progress
• Develop Plan of Action for students with interims
  and Fs on report cards.
• Create behavior plans for students who display
  reluctancy in learning and display inappropriate
  behavior.
• Meet and review interim reports, quarterly, with
  students (6-8). Develop a plan for improving
  grade before quarter ends, incorporating teacher
  and parent input.
• Meet with all students individually to complete
  career interest inventory yearly. This inventory
  is carried into the high school and used by the
  career counselor.

8
Coordinating

• Coordinate services with outside agencies for
  students and families.
• Complete referrals to agencies for counseling
  support
• Arrange Big Brother/Big Sister students from SHS
  for MBA students.
• Arrange tutor services between SHS and MBA at
  Public Library.
• Contact with staff at SHS to arrange a schedule
  for students to attend tutor services at the
  library, after school
• Facilitate the PPT process for all special
  education students,
• Review referrals to special education, facilitate
  meetings (Level 1 PPT, annual reviews,
  triennial reviews), adjustment of schedules for
  students following meeting, transitional planning
  to MBS and SHS.
• Case manage all 504 students in MBA.
• Ensure student accommodations are being provided
  through regular education classrooms, and then
  facilitate annual meetings to review plans,
  making adjustments where needed.

9
CMT Coordinator

• CT Mastery Testing for MBA-Grades 6-8
• Time 2 months of planning.
• This years testing lasted for 3 weeks
• Daily FOR ALL 3 GRADES
• Arrange all testing material, for that days test.
• Sort, prepare with additional materials and box.
• Deliver all secured materials to each classroom,
  every testing day.
• Oversee administration of testing, monitor for
  security breaches, sick students or refusal
  students.
• Security Breaches-communicate with Director of
  Curriculum, arrange for new testing material and
  administer new test.
• Collect and account for each classrooms materials
  upon completion of testing, every testing day.
• Prepared materials for next days testing

10
CMT Coordinator

• Make appropriate modifications/accommodations for
  Special Education and 504 students finding
  locations for testing, support staff for
  students, arranging computer set ups for typed
  responses.
• Conduct all Make-Up Testing for absent students
• No more than 2 tests administered in one day
• Arrange with students and teachers for
  administration of make up testing
• Administration and monitoring of make up testing
  sessions.
• Time approximate time of 3 weeks.
• Packaging Materials
• Check, review all material and sort all booklets,
  per grade level and testing subject..
• For new students to district
• Gather all demographic information.
• Complete each testing booklet for demographic
  information, special education services,
  free/reduced lunch meals
• Provide staff training through faculty meeting on
  the administration of the CMTs.

11
Curriculum Management

• Deliver, evaluate and revise a planned sequential
  and developmental curriculum to all students
  during Life Skills classes.
• Deliver the school counseling curriculum in a
  classroom setting.
• Deliver 2-3 lessons (6 periods-each lesson) in
  all 3 grade levels.
• Differentiate lessons to address student needs.
• Lessons that are currently being done
• Grade 6 Peer Pressure and Peer Relations
• Grade 7 Communication, Decision Making, Area
  Technical Schools Presentation
• Grade 8 Career Interests, Coping Skills and
  Feelings.

12
School System

• Consult with grade level teams and special
  education department to address student needs,
  413 students.
• New students to the district
• Orientation to MBA, with a buddy to assist with
  transition
• Create and arrange class schedules after
  reviewing academic folder for correct placement
• Provide orientation to MBA, rules, policies and
  expectations
• Getting to Know You session to familiarize with
  new students interests and abilities.
• Update student schedules (throughout school
  year) intervention placement, changes in study
  hall, chorus/band changes
• Adjust report cards-each quarter as needed
• Verify honor roles, communicate with both parents
  and students the calculation of honor roll.
• Calculation of Junior Beta Club and Presidential
  Excellence Academic Award
• Oversee while administrators are out of building
• Act as administrator designee at PPT when
  administrators can not be present.

13
Programs

• Current
• Peer Mediation Programs
• Train 8th grade students on the process of Peer
  Mediation- 1 day training
• Arrange mediators when referrals for mediation
  are completed
• Supervise all mediations
• When students are not involved in
  mediation-arrange mentor friendship with 6th
  students-organization, basic friendship skills,
  basic motivation
• These meetings occur everyday during the school
  day, during the 8th grade students lunch for 20
  minutes
• Friendships groups
• 6th grade groups for social skills, building
  strong friendships, or resolving conflicts with
  friends
• 8th grade groups for surviving adolescence with
  friendship problems, building a foundation for
  high school

14
Programs

• Random Acts of Kindness Week
• Coordinated with SAVE club and Advocate of Good
  Heart Committee
• Students decorated school with hearts with ideas
  for acts of kindness towards one another
• Students and teachers recognized others for acts
  of kindness towards each other, and received
  certificates (this is ongoing)
• Made staff appreciation bags for all at MBA
• No Name Calling Week
• Week to address Bullying and to stop name calling
  in MBA
• Arranged the Advocate of Good Heart Committee
  comprised of 7th grade students
• Students wrote a proposal for the week and
  presented to principal for support in activities
• Students were encouraged to stop name calling
  within the school
• Students made posters, wrote poems and letters as
  admission criteria into a dance for Valentines
  Day

15
Professionalism

• Guidance Advisory Committee-
• meet two times/year to update community members
  on school counseling program at MBA, review
  programs and collaborate on methods for
  improvement
• Somers Comes Together Committee-
• meet two times/year to update community members
  on school counseling program at MBA, collaborate
  with local agencies for additional services
  available to Somers families
• Students Support Team-
• meet one time/6 day rotation, for students with
  behavior or academic challenges-develop action
  plans, review quarterly, take in new referrals
  for students to join specific groups
• Project CHOICE Committee-
• collaborate with SHS and SES for ways to improve
  the CHOICE student experience at MBA
• Meet with CHOICE Students daily, in the morning
  for breakfast, periodic meetings with MBA
  students to ensure all needs are met
• Arrange after school transportation with SES bus
  for MBA students-extra help, extracurricular
  activities
• Crisis Intervention Team-
• ongoing as concerns/issues arise