REVISED SECTION



The SEMS School Counselors conducted a needs assessment at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year to help with the creation of small groups based upon the needs of the student population. After analyzing the results, the school counselors presented the information to the administration. The mindsets & behaviors were reviewed to determine which ones would be appropriate for a small group setting. Due to the school district requiring certain standards, in regards to the curriculum & the number of groups per year, the school counselors generated a list of groups that met the needs of the students, district requirements, goals for the school year. Students were referred to small group by faculty/staff, parents, self-referral. The school counselors then reviewed the students in need of small group support & categorized them based upon their attendance, behavior, academic performance. Parents were contacted when a student was invited to small group; in which an informed consent was signed and returned. The announcement of groups was placed on the weekly call home, school counseling web page, monthly calendar, & on the school announcements.



Rationale - Building Champions Group was established due to many students having unexcused absences, poor academics, or discipline referrals. The school counselors focus was to review the whole child, while also helping the student to be successful in personal, social, academic, career domains. This is the focus of the the mindset B-LS7; to help students to establish goals in the three domains. We will continue utilizing this group due to its success, goal setting, understanding how to take responsibility, & to offer peer support to students who may be going through similar situations.



Rationale - Girls in Real Life Situations Group was established based upon sixth through eighth grade girls who were struggling with self-esteem, positive coping mechanisms, social skills, decision making. This groups was the focus of Mindset 1, belief in the whole self, which is a focus in helping the girls to feel empowerment & self-confidence in themselves. This group will continue for the next school year due to the its success rate & positive growth from the participants.



Rationale - Mindset Matters group, one for boys &one for girls, was established to help students realize that they are in control of their future. Students were chosen based upon having poor academic grades after the first semester. Mindset 2 was the focus for this group because it showed students that they had the ability to proceed; the goal or purpose for this group. The mindset matters curriculum will continue to be utilized during the next school year due to its high success rate for student academically.



Rationale - The Why Try group was focused on improving students’ behavior to help them to achieve academic success. Students were recruited based upon their discipline referrals for the previous school year. This group was based upon standards set forth by the Effingham County School District Mindset 6, establishing a positive attitude towards work & learning. Next year we will utilize why try for individual counseling sessions in the tier process.



Rationale - Attendance Matters group is focused on students that have been reported truant (11+) unexcused absences or are on the verge of becoming truant. Students were recruited based upon if they were truant the previous year, if they went over five unexcused absences during the first semester. Next year, we will continue to utilize the attendance matters curriculum; however, it will be delivered in individual sessions so that the school counselors can discuss more individualized plans for each student.



For the Building Champions group, this group aligned with our academic goal. However, the goal for the group by the 15th of December, students identified for small group will increase their target area of attendance, academics, or behavior by 25% during the next six weeks small group. Perception data indicated that: A positive percent change of 122 for staff support, 42.31 for enjoy coming to school, &35.25 for believe in doing well at school. A negative percent change of 78 for I think I am a bad kid & 24.77 for the school rules are strict.



After the group, average GPA went from 1.665% to 1.825%, discipline to 0.77% to 0% & attendance from 1.22% to 0.44%. The curriculum and perception data was driven by the ASCA M&B to help aid students in being productive citizens and learning skills to be successful in a global society.

Group Name: Building Champions

Goal: Students are to improve their target area by the end of the group by at least

Target Group: students who have more than one discipline referral, has missed more that 2 unexcused days, or is failing more than one subject.

Data Used to Identify Students: Infinite Campus: Grades, Unexcused Days, & Discipline Referrals

School Counselor(s): Diana Virgil

ASCA Domain, Mindsets & Behaviors Standard(s): Domain: Academic Development & Social/ Emotional Development Behavior Learning Strategies: B-LS 7. Behavior Self- Management Skills: B-SMS 2 Behavior Social Skills: B-SS2 B-SS7

Outline of Group Sessions Delivered: Week 1: - Introduction (What is a Champion) Week 2: Breaking A Sweat (Goal Setting) Week 3: In the Huddle (Integrity & Respect) Week 4: Game Time (Leadership & Teamwork) Week 5: Sitting on the Bench (Self-Control/Positive Mindset) Week 6: The Last Play(Confidence)

Process Data (Number of students affected): 20 male students invited. Nine Students Participated: 2 sixth graders 5 seventh graders 2 eighth graders

Perception Data (Surveys or assessments used): Pretest & post-test consisting of five questions using a four-point Likert scale was used (strongly disagree =0 disagree=1 agree=2 strongly agree = 3) Strongly Disagree and disagree were combined for an average. Agree and strongly agree were also combined for an average. Questions: 1. The staff supports me in a positive manner Pre: Average of 1 Post: Average of 2.22 2. I enjoy coming to school Pre: Average 1.56 Post: Average 2.22 3. I think I am a bad student Pre: Average 2 Post: Average 0.44 4. I believe doing well in the school is important Pre: Average 1.56 Post: Average 2.11 5. The rules at school are too strict. Pre: Average 2.22 Post: Average 1.67 Perception data indicated that: A positive percent change of 122 for staff support, 42.31 for enjoy coming to school, and 35.25 for believe in doing well at school. A negative percent change of 78 for I think I am a bad kid and 24.77 for the school rules are strict.

Outcome Data (Achievement, attendance, and/or behavior data): Goal (1): By May 23, 2018, students identified with more than 5 unexcused absences in the first semester of the 17-18 school year, will decrease the number of students being unexcused more than 10 days by 25% by the end of the second semester. Goal (2): By May 23, 2018, the number of students in ISS/OSS will decrease by 20% from 267 students in the 16-17 school year to 214 or less in the 17-18 school year. Goal (3): By May 23, 2018, at least 50 percent of students identified by failing one subject during the first semester will increase their grades to a C or higher by the end of the second semester. Group (6th -8th Graders) Outcome Data: *Average GPA went from 1.665 to 1.825 comparing October report card to January report card for a 9.61 percent change. *Average discipline referrals went down from 0.77 to 0 for a 100% decrease in new discipline referrals. * Attendance went down from 1.22 to 0.44 for a 63.93% change. Summary: Out of the 9 students, all students improved their grades to C or better in all academic classes on their January 2018 report card, decreased discipline referrals, and decreased unexcused days.

Implications: This group focused on improving academic achievement, decreasing unexcused absences (attendance), and decreasing discipline referrals (behavior). Students were chosen for the group based having a F on their first nine weeks report card (October), having more than 2 unexcused absences, or was failing more than one academic subject. This group addressed the domains of academic development and social and emotional development, as well as the behavior standards B-LS 7, B-SMS 2, B-SS2, & B-SS7. The process data indicated that of the 20 students that were invited to participate, only 55% participated (9 students). The perception data indicated that the three goals utilized were met for each student. Students maintained or increase their academic grades, decreased attendance, and decreased their number of unexcused days. The students felt that at the end of the small group, they had a clearer understanding of how the academic, behavior, and attendance are tied together. The students revealed that after the group, they felt that they had a better understanding of how to find support in areas that may be of concern to them. After analyzing the data and reflecting upon the content of the lessons, we decided to add more questions to the survey. We feel that the material presented in all of the sessions contributed to our main goals, but felt that more insight was needed in how the students felt working within a group. From observation, the group worked great together and cooperated to meet the goals of each session. The lessons not only targeted the our goals, but it helped each student to better understand themselves and the areas that they need help in the most. From the group, we were able to collaborate with various stakeholders to improve student success, not only for middle school, but beyond. By analyzing the perception data, it helped the school counseling department to understand that extra support was needed for students that are not excelling in one of the three areas for success. The outcome data collected from student report cards, grade point average, discipline referrals, and progress monitoring throughout the group demonstrated that an increase in academic performance, and a decrease in unexcused absences and discipline referrals was beneficial for the students. We will continue to monitor and support these students with academic counseling and other services.

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