Module 4
In the previous modules, you learned about using the PDSA cycle in making changes to your interventions. This process involves Planning the intervention, Doing the intervention, Studying/Observing the results, and Acting on what is learned. This cycle is also shown in more depth on the top of p. 59 in the Oregon Framework and can be used for making changes based on your program evaluation. Your program evaluation provides the data in the Study/Observing the results component of this cycle and provides the impetus for acting on what you learned from your data analysis.
Once the team has started to implement the CSCP, it will want to put in place a plan to evaluate the program annually. A central goal of program evaluation in the first few years of the CSCP is determining your progress toward full implementation. Four principles are recommended in guiding this process:
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Implementation of a CSCP is not completed in a year but over a period of several years. Program evaluation is an opportunity for identifying next steps toward full implementation and areas for improvement. Think of the assessment as a systems health check of your program. You’ll want to annually check your program to make sure it is functioning properly. The best time to do this is in the spring, which gives you a baseline of data for making decisions on how you will improve your program for the following school year. Note also that a spring program assessment prepares you to sit down with your superintendent in September to review the Division 22 Compliance Report section on OAR 581-022-2060.
The goal of the program assessment is to identify areas of strength and build from them, while also identifying areas needing growth or change. This is a great time to look at program implementation trends over time and it encourages reflection and discussion among the counseling team members about ways to continually improve the program. The results of the program assessment then drive your program goals, professional learning or training needs, and your actions for the following school year.
We invite you to watch this short video created by Wynn Arellano as he shares his perspective on the importance of data and how data tells a story about students.
Program Development Template Module 4
Oregon Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success - Framework, p. 78 – is recommended to be utilized as a tool to review the CSC program as it is being developed, i.e., as interventions are developed and extant activities identified, they can be categorized utilizing this document. This process allows the team to identify additional interventions that should be developed to ensure that each Mindset and Behavior is addressed.
Begin summarizing here the team’s plans here on how it can continue to return to this program review activity over time to incorporate Mindsets and Behaviors interventions into the CSCP.
Modules three and four addressed the fact that many counseling interventions are likely already being delivered throughout the district. Module four addresses how these extant counseling activities can be analyzed by the team to identify the student need addressed by the activity, the program outcome to be achieved, the data stream to be utilized in assessing the efficacy of the activity.
This program management activity will take considerable time particularly as new activities such as the implementation of the SEL Standards unfold.
Summarize here the team’s plan to return to this program review activity over time to incorporate extant and future counseling interventions into the CSCP.
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You can advocate for your CSCP by summarizing and reflecting on what you have accomplished in the past year. Your team can make this process a relatively easy one if you collect data each time you conduct an activity. The program evaluation thus amounts to summarizing the interventions and the results associated with each intervention.
Oregon’s Framework on pages 83-86 provides you with a Program Assessment tool that you can use annually to assess the degree of completion for each of the specified program components. As noted before, implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program is not completed in a year but over a period of several years. This program assessment tool acknowledges some components of your program are yet to be developed, some are in development, and others are completed and fully implemented.
Division 22 Compliance Report. Program evaluation data can be used in formal reporting. A crucial example of this is the Oregon Division 22 Compliance Report. Each year in August, the Oregon Department of Education sends information to district superintendents about the Division 22 Compliance Reports. You can see here the Instructions for Completing the 2023 Division 22 Standards Assurances Process that was sent to superintendents and then the Division 22 Newsletter sent to them as well. Page seven of the newsletter places the spotlight on Comprehensive School Counseling Programs and the rollout of this course in the fall of 2023.
This reporting process requires the superintendent for each school district to indicate whether the district is in compliance with OAR 581-022-2060 as well as the other Division 22 Standards and come up with a plan of action for any OARs out of compliance. It is highly recommended that superintendents meet with counseling program leads to determine the status of the district CSCP plan and school’s implementation of their programs. The Division 22 Checklist for OAR 581-022-2060 provides a tool to facilitate discussion, action planning, and reporting out on compliance with the components of the OAR. The reporting process requires superintendents, by November 1, to make an oral report to their school community, which typically would happen at the October school board meeting and then have the report posted on the district’s website. The final step in the process is to send the report to ODE.
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At the beginning of this course, you reviewed a PowerPoint in which ASCA asked, "How are students different as a result of the school counseling program?" Your CSCP team is accountable for whether the program is achieving the results desired with each of the interventions employed. You have indicated in your program goals the outcomes you wanted your students to achieve for each of the activities implemented. You will find on pages 55-57 in Oregon’s CSCP Framework some questions to utilize in examining program results for your classroom interventions, small group interventions, and closing-the-gap interventions.
Program Development Template Module 4
Summarize here the next steps the Team intends to take to conduct an annual program evaluation.
Summarize here the next steps the Team intends to take in the communication of program evaluation results to your partners.
Summarize here the next steps the Team intends to take to meet with the superintendent each September to review the Comprehensive School Counseling Programs District Compliance Self-Reflection Tool as s/he completes the Division 22 Compliance Report.
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How are counseling personnel in your district currently being evaluated? Are they being evaluated in a manner that truly assesses the quality and quantity of work they do? Does the person evaluating each licensed counseling personnel understand their specific role and function, in accordance with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission scope of work, in developing and implementing a comprehensive school counseling program?
The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission clearly outlines the professional training and scope of work for counseling program personnel. This information can be incorporated into a high quality evaluation tool specific to each type of licensed counseling personnel. To learn more about the scope of work to evaluate, visit the TSPC Administrative Rules for Personnel Service Licenses webpage.
The School Social Work Association of America has provided resources and tools for teams developing School Social Work Evaluations that have been cross-walked with their practice model and service delivery and adapted from the Danielson Group framework. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction created a wealth of resources to support evaluation of School Social Workers including planning for program outcomes, self reflection, and evaluation plans.
To provide evaluation guidance on school counselors, ASCA issued a position statement regarding the School Counselor and Annual Performance Appraisal.
[Insert 4.3 ASCA School Counselor Annual Performance Appraisal PDF here]
While helpful, this statement does not provide examples of exemplary evaluation tools nor does the ASCA National Model provide any examples. There are districts across Oregon who have created evaluation tools that can be modeled such as Salem-Keizer School Counselor Evaluation Tool. There are also exemplary tools developed by the Indiana School Counselors Association, Michigan School Counselors Association, and Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. New Mexico Department of Education and Gresham Barlow School District both have examples of school social worker Evaluation Tools.
Program Development Template Module 4
Summarize here the next steps the Team intends to take to ensure counseling team members are being evaluated with appropriate instruments & procedures.