Documentation Binder

Last year I posted about my documentation system that I planned on using this year.  I formerly used Google Drive to document students seen, as described in this post, but I felt a little uncomfortable posting student information on the internet.  So as stated, I have switched to a binder system!  I have had several e-mails asking to see how I organized my binder.  I created my binder and decided I wanted to test it out before deciding whether to share it or not.  Well, the verdict is in and I love it! I designed the binder using some documents that I created and then added in alphabetized dividers like these.  I also added some pocket dividers to hold my extra forms.  That way I have plenty blank copies inside my binder to pull from when I meet with a new student or have a new consultation.  These are the ones I like.  Below, I have included pictures of all of the documents I created and if you click the pictures, you can download the forms to use!! So here is how I designed my binder:

At the very front is a blank form where I record students I have seen for individual counseling.  This could be a quick check in, or a long counseling session.  But I record every encounter with a child on this page.  Here is a picture:

If it is a student I am seeing for a longer counseling session or need to take notes on, I will put a star beside their name and then they will get an individual counseling summary sheet which will be filed behind the letter their last name begins with.  The item that says "scale #" refers to the likert scale I use during counseling sessions with students to assess their mood.  Here is a picture of that form:

If it is a consultation I have had about a student (with an administrator, teacher, parent, or community resource person), I will use the consultation summary form seen below.  They will not get their name written on the students seen form, but this will be filed under their alphabetical tab.

Another form I have included in my binder is a getting to know you sheet.  I created my own using the idea found in Diane Senn's Creative Approaches for Counseling Individual Children.  This is something I sometimes use when it's my first meeting with a student.  It helps me to make sure I've covered several different aspects of the child to get a sense of what we may need to work on and to help me get to know them better.

Last but not least, I also wanted to a way to track my small groups.  See below for the form I created to track who is in what group and what we discussed.  These are placed behind my student seen form.  At the end of the year, the students seen form and the small group documentation forms will be filed behind the dividers where extra forms are held.

I hope that you find some or all of these items useful while trying to organize your comprehensive counseling program!  I'm also interested in hearing about your systems and how you stay organized!

New Documentation System

Holy smokes, I've been bad with keeping up with this!  As previously posted, I am currently working as an elementary school counselor split between two schools.  There are full time counselors at both schools and I love having a co-counselor to work with!  As it is my 2nd year in this new position, I have learned many new ways to conduct my counseling program with my caseloads.  Some of my old systems are not necessarily as efficient anymore.  I have already started thinking about new ways to document.  Currently I have been using a notebook with sticky flags to write my student notes in.  (I do not write detailed notes, keep it simple for reference only).  This is also where I write down any parent contacts, meetings, etc. pertaining to students.  Next year, I have decided to officially become a binder person! :)  I still plan to use technology for recording student contacts (see previous post about google forms).  

As far as my individual student notes I will be using a binder system.  In my binder I will also keep my classroom lesson and group schedules and any other information I may need to get to quickly and use as documentation.  I have created two forms that I will put in my binder concerning individual students.  The first form is my individual counseling log.  I like being able to see how many times I see a particular student in a year.  Each year, students will get a new sheet if needed.  There is a place for the date and scale #.  I like to use a likert scale for each session and will record there progress here.

I will also be using a consultation summary sheet to record any parent phone calls, parent conferences, teacher meetings, etc. concerning students.  All of these documents will be organized by last name and I will use alphabetical dividers in my binder.  I will also be coming up with a system to document which groups students have participated in.

You can download my individual counseling form here and my consultation form here.

Having a plan for documentation always makes me feel so smart and organized! :)

I am always looking for new ways to document what I do...what do you use?

New Year, New Look

This has been a full week of workdays, getting ready for our kiddos to return for another successful school year.  I have been working on preparing my room, making plans for my "meet the counselor" lessons, as well as preparing some surveys and other tools for gathering data.  I have also been meeting with teams and collaborating with teachers, parents, and community agencies so that we are prepared to meet our students needs.  Every year, I change things around.  I'm such a perfectionist that I am never satisfied!  I still plan on using technology to collect data, such as minute meetings and rating scales, but I'm always thinking of new ways to get the job done.  I thought I would share some new pictures of my office (since i've rearranged and acquired some things).

Still a mess with donated school supplies

my new shelf for craft supplies and other materials I frequently use.

I am also excited to be switching back to a paper planner. There were things I liked about my google digital calendar, but I missed being able to jot down notes and other useful information, so here's the cute one I got at Target.

 

I am excited to grown even more this year than I have in my past 5 years at this school.  Every year, I change things up and do things a little different.  I am always trying to find better and more efficient ways to run my school counseling program.  I am excited about opportunities for collaboration and professional development this year and I hope to keep you in the loop as I go along.

 

Happy 2013-2014 school year!

Do you Drive?

One thing I love finding are new ways to use technology in my school counseling program.  I have tried more ways than I can count to try and find the best way to document student notes.  My biggest focus this year has also been on collecting data.  I started out by stealing an idea from JYJ counselor's blog about creating a form in google drive to document students i've seen, what for, and which ones need to be followed up with.  I love that I can easily click through the form to document, AND it puts it all into a handy spreadsheet for me to sort and graph to my hearts desire!  (here's the link so you can love it too...plus this awesome counselor blog has so many other useful tips..and she's from North Carolina like me!) This will be so helpful when presenting "what I do" to others in my school as well as stakeholders.  Since I don't know much about creating formulas in spreadsheets from this type of data, I googled how to create a pie chart, and now I have a visual of what types of issues i'm seeing students for--this will help me to decide what I need to focus more time on in classroom guidance and target potential small groups.

 Once I realized how much I LOVED using this form, I thought...why not use a form to document the other things I do? Thus my student rating scale was born.  I had already used a rating scale for some of my "frequent flyers" so that I could track their progress as we meet. This also gives me a starting point for dicussions.  However, I was slaughtering helpless trees to create these beauties.  I created tech-savvy scale and put a link on my iPad and BAM!  Success!  Students love being able to use the iPad...little do they know, they're giving me the data I need. Sneaky, Sneaky!  

I will also be using Google Drive to document how I spend my time, which students I'm seeing in small groups, and will send one out to teachers to find out what times they want me to visit their classes.  Lastly, I made out a list of how I'm going to track data in each aspect of my school counseling program:

Classroom Guidance

·        Teachers sign up for time using Google form, responses recorded in spreadsheet

·        K-2 students will create a class book after each lesson

·        3-5 students will complete a pre and post survey on topics to be covered for the year

Small Groups

·        Students in groups will be documented on spreadsheet to prevent unnecessary repetition

·        Teachers will complete a pre-group assessment on each student entering the group prior to the first meeting

·        Students will complete a pre-group assessment on the first day of group

·        Students will check in each day of group to monitor progress

·        Students and teachers will complete post-group assessments

Individual Counseling

·        Each student who is seen by the school counselor will be recorded on a Google form, responses will be recorded on a spreadsheet.

·        School counselor will use this data to look for trends to be addressed in small group and large group classroom guidance

·        Students who are seen regularly will check-in using a Google form rating scale to track their progress through the counseling process.

School-Wide Programming

·        School Counselor will create a parent survey at the beginning of the year

·        School Counselor will continue to host Coffee with the Counselor, if this time continues to be best for parents.

·        Parents attending Coffee with the Counselor will complete an evaluation

·        Behavior referrals will be tracked monthly using the ORATS notebook in the front office.  This data will be graphed.

·        School counselor will track time spent in a spreadsheet

·        An End-Of-Year report will be provided to all staff members

This made my nerdy organized self feel a little more prepared for next year so that I can really focus on sharpening my saw this summer! :)

How do you use Google Drive in your school counseling program?

Get Organized Without Losing It

For this weeks Friday Find, I wanted to share a resource that I use for Organization groups.  It is part of Free Spirit Publishing's Laugh & Learn Series.  The title is Get Organized Without Losing It by Janet S. Fox.  The back cover reads "Is yoru desk at school a distaster?  Is your school locker a shocker?  Do you spend tons of time looking for things you need to do your schoolwork or homework?"  This book is chock-full of tips and tools to help any child be organized, and covers all aspects of organization from organizing your things to organizing your time.

My favorite part of this book is how inclusive it is!  It  goes over all apsects of organization, and even uses a little humor.  I love that I can make copies of the after school scheduler, homework checklists, and project planner for my students to use.  The book also includes some great chapters on organizing your time, using your agenda, and how to successfully get ready for school (the night before, and the morning of.)  Kids really seem to enjoy the book, and I have enjoyed using it.  It even inclues a note to send to teachers or parents.

I have used this book for all aspects of my counseling program--individual, small group, and classroom guidance--and I've even recommended it to teachers.  In my small groups, I pick certain parts of the book to use, depending on the needs of my students. One year, I decided to make an "Organization Boot Camp" packet that included all types or tricks and tools to help students be organized.  We went through the packet in our group, and then the kids got to take it home.  In classroom guidance, we talked about some of the tips from the book and then got to go through our agendas and cubbies to do some cleaning and organizing!

I hope that you can enjoy this book as much as I have, and check out some of the other books in the Laugh & Learn Series.  Another favorite of mine is Dude, That's Rude!  (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick.  Maybe I'll write about that another day...

It's Finally Here!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the kiddos!  I am so excited to see their smiling faces tomorrow, and to meet some new ones.  This past week has been jam-packed as far as professional development, which has been somewhat stressful, but definitely motivating!  On Wednesday, the counselors all got together to go over our new NC Essential Standards, so that got me thinking about data and what I do to show what I do.  I've decided to re-vamp my whole system, and I'm so excited to see how it goes.  I got a few ideas from fellow bloggers.  I'm going to keep scheduling students, either using Google calendar, or some other source.

I've also been inspired by many other blogs to try some new things. First of all, I've decided to go back to something we were required to do in graduate school.  I will be keeping a log for each day to show how many hours I spent in each activity (direct services, responsive services, etc.).  Also, I was inspired by Lauren Gentry at Cool School Counseling to track my individual students (confidentially) and list what issue I saw them for.  That way, I can create a end of the year report (inspired by Marissa Rex at Elementary School Counseling).

Finally, I'm excited to announce that I will be doing Minute Meetings at the beginning of the year as well as the end of the year.  This idea came from Danielle Schultz at School Counselor Blog.  I was a little nervous as to what the teachers would think of this idea, as it will be another time for me to pull their students, but the feedback has been awesome!  So many teachers have come to me to tell me how excited they are that I will be doing this.  It will allow me to meet with 100% of the students, and provide some excellent data (and referrals).

As I shared earlier, I have been involved in a lot of professional development over the past week.  I'm excited to announce that my school has been chosen to participate in the Leader in Me process!  If you are unfamiliar with the Leader in Me, it is a school wide program based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  We have taught the 7 Habits the past for years, but I cannot wait to become a Lighthouse school!  So far, we have completed the Signature training, which has been life changing!  It has challenged us to look at ourselves and realize our own leadership potential.  I am so excited for this opportunity to grow personally and professionally.  I can't wait to share this with my school staff and my students!

Right on Target!

As many of you have been doing this summer, I'm constantly on the look for items and ideas for the next school year.  I've been making mental notes of all of the ideas I want to try in getting my counseling program running this fall.  Hours have been on pinterest searching for ideas (you can follow my counseling board here http://pinterest.com/tracimh/creative-counseling/).  As a thrifty counselor, one of my favorite shopping spots is the dollar section at Target!  I get so excited this time of year with all of the great stuff they have for $1 that I can utilize in my counseling practices.  Yesterday, I found a few things that I wanted to share with you all.  I'm sure I will be back again many times before the school year starts, but here's what I picked up so far:

Exciting stuff, I know!  Here's my plan so far:

1.  Pipe cleaners---I don't know where to start!  I'm sure these will be used for many craft projects in small groups, hmm, maybe I should go grab more?

2.  Sparkly Pom Pom balls---Last year, I decided that in all of my groups, I would start the first session in the same way.  We would go over our group guidelines and then read the story Have you Filled A Bucket Today?  I think its a great way to talk about respect and working together as a group to help each other...we are all there for a similar reason.  Here comes my pom pom idea...as a behavior management strategy, we will work together as a group to fill our group bucket (I haven't purchased the bucket yet).  I'm thinking of somehow working this into my guidance lessons too.  Any suggestions on that?

3.  Wipe Clean Double Sided Sentence Strips---I was so excited to find these after reading a pin on pinterest about having students practice writing "I statements" in small groups.  These were a must-buy!

4.  Paper Mouse Pad---a mouse pad I can write on???? Whaaaattttt?!  I really love organization, planning, calendars, that type of thing; so when I found this mousepad that has 20 sheets of monthly grids, I was sold!

What bargains have you found for your school counseling office next year?

A day in the life

In response to a comment posted by a graduate student, I'd like to share my daily schedule.  Oh wait, I don't have a daily schedule (kind of)!  As the only school counselor at my school of 500, I present classroom guidance once a month to each class, so I prepare a monthly calendar for guidance lessons.  I also start new groups each quarter.  The rest of my time is filled with individual counseling, planning, phone calls, conferences, touching base with students/teachers, and whatever else comes my way.  Just to give you a picture, I decided to provide you with my schedule for 2 different days (since every day is different!)  I usually make my schedule as I go.  Guidance and groups are already added in, and as I get referrals, I fill my schedule for students and other things.  Students give me their referrals (see my post Need to See the Counselor) and I plan according to need.  I like to have it all planned out for the day (which I keep track of using google calendar).  We operate on a block schedule, so there are only certain times I am allowed to pull kids to work with them (usually during their intervention/enrichment block).    I try to stick to my schedule, but of course, things come up! 

Schedule for Thursday, April 26:

7:20-7:40  Duty in the gym (we have walking club for early arrivals)
7:40-8:00  Prepare for my guidance lesson, hand out appointment passes
8:00-8:30  3rd grade guidance lesson on career pathways
8:30-9:00  Individual counseling with a 4th grader
9:00-9:30  Individual counseling with another 4th grader
9:30-10:30  Unscheduled time--Planning, following up with phone calls, updating my notes, working on Tier paperwork, responding to anything that comes up
10:30-11:00  Individual counseling with 3rd grader
11:00-11:30  Individual counseling with another 3rd grader
11:35-12:05  3rd grade test anxiety group
12:05-1:00   Lunch (I always make a point to schedule this, or else I won't eat), meeting with teachers, following up with students as things come up
1:00-1:30  5th grade test anxiety group
1:40 - 2:10  4th grade guidance lesson on stress
2:10-2:30 Follow up phone calls, touch base with teachers, update my notes, and  check in on students
2:30-3:00  Individual counseling with 1st grader
3:00-3:15  Kids dismiss
3:15-4:15  Faculty Meeting

Schedule for Friday, April 27

7:30-8:30  Planning for day, preparing for 5th grade guidance, hand out my appointment passes
8:35-9:35  5th grade guidance lesson on test anxiety/strategies  (5th grade classes rotate, so I presented to 2 classes in this time)
9:35-10:05  Checked in with teachers, made some phone calls, prepared for students
10:05-10:35  5th grade guidance lesson on test anxiety/strategies (the last rotation)
10:35-11:05  Individual counseling on divorce with a 3rd grader
11:05-11:35  Individual counseling with another 3rd grader
11:45-12:15  3rd grade test anxiety group
12:15-12:30  Checked in with a student briefly...will make an appointment with her next week, but gave her some strategies to try in the mean time.
12:30-1:00  Lunch, planning, responsive services, updating notes, added above student to my calendar
1:00-1:30  Individual counseling with 5th grader
1:40-2:10  4th grade classroom guidance on stress
2:20-2:50  Social skills small group (1st grade)
3:00-3:30 (or usually later...) Dismissal, planning for next week, following up with teachers, catching up on notes for the day, etc.

Organization makes me :)

Current triumphs...

clipart from pamsclipart.com

Lately, I've been trying to "streamline" my way of running the guidance & counseling program at my school.  I want to to be sure that I cross my t's and dot my i's.  One way that I've done this, is by recording appointments in google calendar, as posted last week, and keeping electronic personal notes using Microsoft Access: Issues.  This year, I've decided to keep better track of my guidance lessons so I made a master calendar at the beginning of the year which includes each month down the left side, and the grade level across the top.  That way I was able to come up with what lessons I wanted to do for each month.  This year I have also revamped my lesson plans.  It helps me to better organize my thoughts and includes a section to list the ASCA standards being addressed in the lesson.  I feel like I am making sure that i'm addressing the standards more purposefully now. 

Still in the works...
I'm still planning on reorganizing my notebooks.  Right now I have a general binder with lesson plans, but I want to create a "master notebook" that I can put Organize JUST what I'm using for the current year.  I hope to have under each grade level, each of the lesson plans in order by month.  The thought of this makes my heart sing!  Haha nerdy school counselor alert!

As far as small groups, I keep a folder for each current group with my general lesson plans attached.  I want to make my groups more purposeful as well, so I plan on coming up with lesson plans for each one including the standards as well. 

It's a lot of work, but I feel like this will help make my future planning soooo much easier!!

How do you organize your comprehensive school counseling program?  I would love to hear your ideas!