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!

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?

Class Dojo

As engaging as I try to make my groups, sometimes things don't go as planned.  Students can often lose focus or become silly and rowdy.  Being the counselor can be difficult because there's a line that we dont want to cross.  We want to teach them skills such as self control, anger management strategies, and social skills, but we don't want to be put in the disciplanarian position. 

That being said, I've played around with several different ideas in groups to keep students motivated.  I'm so excited to be starting an idea which I first saw on Pinterest:  Class Dojo.  Several teachers in my school use Class Dojo (a website and iPad app) to monitor student behavior.  Each student has an avatar (a monster) which you can change to the student's picture.  Teachers can modify their behaviors (to add or take away points).  Students will hear a ding when they receive a point and a buzz when they lose a point.  I plan on using the Dojo for each group and points will be awarded for participation, modeling skills (anger management, social skills, self control).  Instead of monitoring each student, I plan on creating an avatar for each group.  They will collectively earn points, and we can even create reports on the program to look at our overall performance and analyze data.  I want to put up a chart on the wall so that we can record their points for each session.  Groups will be able to monitor their progress in comparison to other groups.

What type of behavior management system do you use for classroom guidance or groups?

Data! Data! Data!

Accountability is one of the most vital parts of a successful school counseling program.  It is also one of the most threatening topics for school counselors who are new to it.  I have used data in some ways in the past (such as pre and post self evaluations for students), but I've never really kept track of it the way I should.  This year, our state has changed our standards to be more aligned with the ASCA national standards.  Thus, there is more of a focus on data.  On Monday, the elementary school counselors in my county got together (all day) to talk about our new standards and how we can use data as part of our programs.

Being the only counselor at my school, I was feeling intimidated by the task, but I'm always up for a challenge!  The more I learned about using data, the more I realized that it totally aligns with what my school is already doing through Response for Intervention and Tier!!  A huge lightbulb went off in my head and I definately feel less threatened.  Right now, I'm putting in place an action plan on how I can use data so that it will work for me.  I'm planning on taking baby steps, but I've created a data notebook and here's what I have so far:

1.  I'll be using google documents to create pre- and post- evaluations to be completed by teachers for students who will be in skill building groups (such as self-esteem, self control, anxiety, anger, etc.)  The forms are so easy to create and I really love that when teachers fill out the form, it puts it in a spreadsheet for you (then you can create graphs if you want too!).  I think this will be a valuable resource for me. 

2.  I will be using Leadership grades to monitor progress.  As I've already shared, we are going through the Leader In Me process.  Therefore, we made the school decision to change our "citizenship grade" to a "leadership grade."  I will use this to monitor how much students in my self control group grow.

3.  Calendars!  I keep a yearly, monthly, and daily calendar, all of which I will be saving in my data notebook.

4.  Activity Logs.  In my previous post I shared that I am monitoring my daily activities in a log, all of which will be included in my data notebook. 

5.  Parent Involvement.  I am excited to announce that I will be starting "Coffee with the Counselor."  I have read about several other schools (such as Tabitha at Scrapbook of a School Counselor) who are using this as a non-threatening approach to parent involvement.  I will document this with sign in sheets as well as evaluations. 

I am sure that there will be many more ways that I will learn to use data in my school counseling program, but I am so excited to begin these ideas now so that I can watch my students grow and so that I can grow as a school counselors as well!

What are some ways you use data in your professional school counseling program?