School counselors' job descriptions leave room for many unexpected and unplanned activities. The Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland chose to address the challenge of counselors being assigned non-guidance tasks with a combination of approaches. Data collection, development of a transdisciplinary service provision model, revision of the…

This document contains an internal evaluation of guidance services in Scarborough, Ontario schools undertaken to achieve the following: (1) to investigate what guidance services should be provided to Scarborough students (by reviewing curriculum documents, surveying involved persons, and reviewing the success of the service); and (2) to assess how…

The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in northwest Houston has grown extremely fast. During the 2001-2002 school year, an additional 4,000 students were added. Because of this growth, it was difficult for the district to adopt the state model for guidance and counseling programs. Many counselors followed what was recommended but it was…

Comprehensive guidance programs are gaining increased attention. Aspects of these guidance programs were outlined in 1994 in a well-received book, which now has been updated. This new edition offers both the innovative concept (comprehensive school guidance program model) and the practical application of the concept as it has been applied in 14…

This guidance plan was prepared to assist counselors in establishing quality programs with an emphasis on work-related education and training and to serve as a model for developing competency-based and accountable programs at the local level. The first section defines guidance terms and presents an overview of basic premises for guidance program…

Results-based evaluation and assessment of guidance and counseling is a difficult task. How to best evaluate whether the comprehensive guidance program was getting the intended results became an issue for Omaha Public Schools. They set about to draft a framework for measuring student behavior or learning resulting from activities associated with…

For many years the school guidance counselor has played an important role in the education and guidance of students in public schools. School counselors have been historically viewed as an appendage or as an ancillary service to the school's education mission. While the ancillary model has helped some students, it has been inadequate in helping…

Discussion of career counseling focuses on Careers in Computing, a project that was designed to help counsel students in junior high and high school regarding career choices in computer science. Highlights include objectives of the project, a description of kit materials, suggested activities, and distribution and evaluation plans. (LRW)

School counselors agree that for school counseling programs to be successful, parent participation is essential. Involving parents in designing a school counseling program increases the chances that the counseling objectives will be reinforced at home. One effective strategy used by the Dorchester School District in South Carolina is conducting a…

Defines seven characteristics that make a counselor indispensable to the schools of today and tomorrow: (1) humanness; (2) professionalism; (3) expertise as a program creator; (4) team player; (5) facilitator; (6) public relations expert; and (7) futurist. Counselors who work from a strong guidance program and who embody these characteristics are…

Examines the interface between the family and the school. Argues that school counselors have access to both family and school systems and thus are uniquely positioned to engage each component. Discusses triangulation and cautions counselors to maintain an outside position and not become triangled into the family system. (RJM)

Provides for those involved in retaining a child a concise, cumulative report of recent literature and research on elementary grade retention. Most research indicated that elementary school level retention does not effectively increase academic achievement among low-achieving students. Research-based decision making on this issue is a must. (RJM)

Discusses ways to assess patterns of family interactions that influence adolescent career development. Encourages school counselors to investigate the possibility that extremes in family patterns of adaptation, cohesion, and communication may have a significant negative impact on adolescent career development. Timely assessments and interventions…

Many school systems are now in a state of transition due to a lack of supportive personnel because of budget cutbacks, a wider variation of classroom techniques, an increased individualization of instruction, and a changing neighborhood population of school children. Thus, new classroom guidance practices have become both possible and necessary.…

The role which a supervisor is envisaged to play in the Information System for Vocational Decisions (ISVD) is considered. Not only does the ISVD provide career development data/information, but it is intended to assist the client in promoting a sense of personal responsibility for the career decisions he makes. To clarify this latter purpose, the…