February 5-9 is National School Counseling Week. Our theme for this week is "Plano Counselors: Building Bridges to the Future." At each level, counselors provide a bridge for students to transition smoothly to the next level. Through the educational planning and course selction process, students are guided to explore fields of interest and possible future careers. With the guidance offered by counselors at each level and consistent teamwork with administrators, teachers and parents, our students will graduate with skills to assist them throughout their lifetime.

Mission and Goals:

Our mission, established 2 1/2 years ago with input from parents, administrators, and community members, is to provide guidance and counseling through a team approach so that students develop emotionally, socially and academically in order to become responsible members of society.

The goals of the program are to

• guide and counsel students toward personal and academic success
• help students explore options for the ever-changing workforce through career and college guidance.
• assist students to develop life coping skills.
• use a team approach as we meet students' needs.
  

In order to serve the needs of the Plano student population, the guidance and counseling program in Plano ISD must be refined and continuously improved. The comprehensive guidance program model provides a system to guide that process. This guidance model originated in the 1970's and was adopted by Texas schools in 1990. It has been used by school districts throughout the nation as well as in other parts of the world. Its concepts are incorporated in our most recent district guidance plan which was approved by the Board in August 1993. Using the comprehensive guidance program process will allow counselors to more fully implement this model.

Rationale:

As we approach the year 2000, major changes are occurring in our society.

• The communication of information is increasing in volume and in speed due to computerization.
• Current research about the brain is changing what we know about the way children learn; therefore teaching methods are also changing.
• Workers are switching careers much more frequently, and the need for careeer guidance is evident.
• Families are looking more and more to the school to be partners with them in guiding their children in developing citizenship traits.
• Our society has become increasingly mobile, with families more frequently changing locations due to other changes in their lives.
• Our concern about increasing crime and random violence creates the need to teach our children how to stay safe.
  

Children affected by society's problems may have more difficulty reaching their learning potential. One of the school counselor's primary tasks is to help students become better learners through the teaching of decision-making, other life skills and citizenship traits. Counselors at all levels assist students to deal with issues that may hinder them from learning. Students who gain skills to cope with life's challenges may then focus more effectively on learning in the classroom.

School counselors have been a part of Plano's education system since the early 1960's when the need for secondary counselors to provide college and career guidance was recognized. As research began to show that early prevention and intervention were important, part-time and the full-time elementary counselors were placed in each Plano ISD elementary school. Today, 88 campus counselors serve the needs of students in our district.

Counseling and guidance has evolved throughout the years from a traditional position approach to a developmental district-wide program. The Plano program is both traditional and developmental. Our goal is to move closer to the ideal - a comprehensive, developmental program that is well-coordinated across grade levels.

During the fall semester of this year, Dr. Norm Gysbers, professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, distinguished author, and internationally known guidance educator spoke to elementary and secondary counselors and principals about a model of comprehensive guidance planning which will allow our counseling program to better meet the needs of Plano students.

What is a Comprehensive Guidance Program?

It is an essential part of a quality educational program which is

• developed with administrative and community support;
• systematically planned, implemented, and evaluated over an extended period of time;
• specifically designed to meet the priority needs of students;
• developmental and focused on building life skills;
  

What does this Comprehensive Guidance Model include?

• A guidance curriculum which provides guidance content in a systematic way to all students. (Just as a sequential program in mathematics is necessary for students to learn intellectually, a K-12 developmental guidance program will provide students the opportunity to grow emotionally and socially.)
• Individual planning which assists students in monitoring and understanding their own development.
• Responsive services which address the immediate concerns of students.
• System support which includes program and staff support activities and services.
  

How do we restructure our program to more closely fit the comprehensive guidance model?

First, we have begun the process of identifying the activities that are part of our present program and categorizing them according to the four components. Additional steps include:

• A time and task analysis which will show us where we are in the process of achieving our goal.
• Identification of student needs from teachers, parents, administrators, and students
• Comparison of our present program to the comprehensive model and recommendations for change
• Examination of staff allocations (counselor/student ratio) and provisions for counselor recruitment
• Identification of ways to assist students to make a smoother transition from level to level through individual planning, system support, and responsive services
• Development of a sequential guidance curriculum to address identified student needs
• Exploration of the uses of technology to make the performance of necessary tasks more efficient

These steps will be accomplished during a 3-5 year time period through the work of counselors, administrators, parents and community members.

Benefits of Collaboration:

As a community, we must continue to work together to provide the education our children need. We must provide bridges to their future, for their future is our future. Parents and teachers look to counselors to lead the way in responding to social and emotional needs as well as educational planning and career guidance needs of students.

In developing programs to address the challenges our students face, we must make the best possible use of counselors' time and professional expertise. Together, counselors, teachers, parents, administrators, and the Board of Trustees create a powerful force to enhance the lives of young people and prepare them for the future. Through our collaborative efforts, children will achieve their potential and become productive citizens in our society.

Education, or Therapy?