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PURPOSE: The purpose of the guidance curriculum is to help students develop basic life skills. It is the foundation of a developmental guidance program. The developmental guidance curriculum has a scope and sequence for student competency development. The curriculum is taught in small or classroom-sized groups of students by counselors, staff members or other consultants. The curriculum is designed for the use of a variety of materials and other resources. As members of instructional teams, school counselors help to determine how the guidance curriculum is integrated with other instructional objectives.
Goals Of DeSoto ISD Grades 6-8 Guidance Curriculum
Interpersonal Effectiveness
- Anti-Bullying
- Anti-Harassment
- Identifying and managing feelings
- Anti-violence
Responsible Behavior
- Goal setting
- Making decisions
- Motivation to achieve
Problem-Solving Skills
- Academic
- With adults
- With peers
- Personal
Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco
Educational Opportunities
- High School
- Post Graduation
Career Development
Cross-Cultural Effectiveness
- Appreciate their own culture
- Respect others as individuals and accept them for their cultural membership
- Relate effectively with others based on appreciation for differences
Opportunities to provide Guidance Curriculum Objectives
- Advisories
- Classroom settings
- Assemblies
- Student handbook
- Orientation
- Multi-cultural activities
- Career Day
- College awareness activities-College Week
- School wide recognition programs
Counselor’s Role
Program Management
Guidance
Consultation
Counseling
Student Appraisal
Coordination
INDIVIDUAL PLANNING FOR GRADES 6-8
PURPOSE: The purpose of the individual planning system is to assist students to plan, monitor and manage their own educational, career and personal-social development. Schools will use a variety of resources including staff, information and activities to assist students in developing and implementing personalized plans. This may include referral for special educational programs such as gifted, bilingual, at-risk, special education, 504, etc. Parental involvement is essential for coordinated advisement to facilitate appropriate placement decisions for students. Through the individual planning system, students are assisted in
- Being motivated to achieve
- Setting challenging educational, career and personal-social goals
- Making plans for achieving short, intermediate and long term goals
- Assessing their current progress toward their goals
Examples of Individual Planning
- Interpretation of standardized test results
- Career development activities
- Transition from one school level to the next
- Pre-registration for courses for the subsequent school year
- Research for post secondary education and/or training
- Interpretation of requirements necessary for promotion to the next grade
- Registration, orientation and placement of new students
- Referral for appropriate educational services
- Development of positive self-image through limited individual counseling (usually six sessions or less)
Opportunities for Individual Planning
- Individual counseling sessions
- Parent conferences
- Teacher/staff conferences
- ARD meetings
- 504 meetings
- Classroom settings
- Career Day
- College awareness activities
- Assemblies
Counselor’s Role
Program Management
Guidance
Consultation
Counseling
Coordination
RESPONSIVE SERVICES FOR GRADES 6-8
PURPOSE: The purpose of the responsive services component is to intervene on behalf of those students whose immediate personal concerns or problems put their continued person-social, career and/or educational development at risk. Some services are preventive such as interventions with students who are on the brink of choosing an unhealthy or inappropriate solution to their problems or who are unable to cope with a situation. Some services are remedial such as interventions with students who have already made unwise choices or those who are not coping effectively with problem situations.
Counselor Response
- Counseling individuals or small groups of students
- Consulting with staff and parents
- Referring students, parents and staff members to other specialist, special programs or resources
- Facilitating the use of programs and services with other professionals
- Follow-up with students to monitor their progress toward resolution of their problems
Examples of Areas of Response
Personal
- Suicide
- Child abuse and neglect
- Stress
- Substance abuse
- School-age pregnancy
- Gang pressure/involvement
- Harassment issues
- Peer relationship
- Intervention and postvention of a traumatic event
- Grief
- Family issues
Academic
- Academic success
- Attendance
- School attitudes and behaviors
- Study skills
- New student adjustment
- School drop-outs
Opportunities and Personnel to Provide Responsive Services
- Individual and group sessions
- Classroom settings
- Nurse
- Hope Rising – Crisis Response Team
- Community agencies
- Mediation
- 504 meetings
- ARD meetings
- Staff/parent consultation
- Student Resource Officer
- Parenting Education Program
Counselor’s Role
Counseling
Consultation
Coordination
Student Appraisal
SYSTEM SUPPORT FOR GRADES 6-8
PURPOSE: The purpose of the system support component is to provide services and management activities that indirectly benefit students.
Areas Addressed
- Consultation with staff and community for the enhancement of the school environment
- Support for parent education programs
- Participation in district or campus-based school improvement planning
- Assistance in the implementation of the national, state and local standardized testing program
- Participation in continuing education programs
- Guidance program development and management to include appropriate written policies, procedures and guidelines
Opportunities for System Support
- Staff development
- PTA
- Guidance Coordinator workshops/In-service
- District Improvement Team
- Membership in professional organizations
- District and campus planning committees
Counselor’s Role
Program Management
Guidance
Consultation
Counseling
Student appraisal
Coordination
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