Introduction
Lane Technical High School is located in the neighborhood of Roscoe Village on the north side of Chicago. This Chicago Public School (CPS) is part of district 299 and is one of the largest high schools in the city with a massive population of over 4,200 students. The student body is extremely diverse with 46.8% Latino, 28.8% White, 10.8% Asian, 9.5% African-American, and 3.1% Multiracial. Lane Tech is meeting its Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and is scoring above the state and district’s average ACT with a score of 23.5.
The Lane Tech counseling department is made up of fifteen counselors and one assistant. Lead by the department chair, eleven of the counselors are generalists, two serve as the college and career counselors, and one functions as the director of records. The students are assigned to each counselor by “division classrooms” which is similar to an advisory classroom or homeroom. Each counselor’s caseload consists of about 385 students.
Because Lane Tech is already RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) certified, we chose to take bits and pieces from their established program as well as include much of our own ideas and creations. After having a conversation with one of the counselors from Lane Tech, we chose to focus on the personal/social needs of the students. We were immediately on board with this plan particularly since Lane Tech’s school culture along with their SIPAAA (School Improvement Planning for Advancing Academic Achievement) plan is tremendously academically and career driven.
The purpose of this comprehensive school counseling program is to serve the needs of all students at Lane. This program recognizes that each student is unique, thus counseling interventions must be tailored to suit a wide range of needs. These needs will be met on three different levels: the individual level, the group and classroom level, and the school-wide level.
This program is also data-driven. A needs assessment was given to students, the majority of whom were freshmen and sophomores, so counselors could better understand what specific needs existed and what students were looking for in an effective counseling department. This data was taken into careful consideration when creating the comprehensive program.
As briefly stated above, Lane Tech’s students are highly driven and academically focused. As a result of this, the counseling department already has programs and services put in place for all academic-related issues, including post-secondary planning. Additionally, in reviewing Lane Tech’s SIPAAA plan created under the guidelines of CPS, it is evident that numerous measures have been taken to ensure the student’s academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, and college-bound opportunities. Therefore, this program emphasizes the personal/social needs of the students reflected in the needs assessment. The counseling groups, classroom guidance lessons, and Closing the Gap school-wide intervention all align with data gathered from the assessment and are centered around personal/social themes.
The counseling program consists of four main sections--Foundation, Management, Delivery, and Accountability. Below is an outline of what is included in each section:
Foundation
Management
Delivery
Accountability
Each section communicates the reasoning behind the decisions made in creating these interventions which all mirror the needs expressed by Lane students in the assessment they completed. Similar to the SIPAAA plan, this comprehensive program will be monitored on an ongoing basis. In sum, because all students deserve access to services that will best fit their needs, this program strives to provide effective personal/social counseling and interventions in a variety of settings for all students at Lane.
The Lane Tech counseling department is made up of fifteen counselors and one assistant. Lead by the department chair, eleven of the counselors are generalists, two serve as the college and career counselors, and one functions as the director of records. The students are assigned to each counselor by “division classrooms” which is similar to an advisory classroom or homeroom. Each counselor’s caseload consists of about 385 students.
Because Lane Tech is already RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) certified, we chose to take bits and pieces from their established program as well as include much of our own ideas and creations. After having a conversation with one of the counselors from Lane Tech, we chose to focus on the personal/social needs of the students. We were immediately on board with this plan particularly since Lane Tech’s school culture along with their SIPAAA (School Improvement Planning for Advancing Academic Achievement) plan is tremendously academically and career driven.
The purpose of this comprehensive school counseling program is to serve the needs of all students at Lane. This program recognizes that each student is unique, thus counseling interventions must be tailored to suit a wide range of needs. These needs will be met on three different levels: the individual level, the group and classroom level, and the school-wide level.
This program is also data-driven. A needs assessment was given to students, the majority of whom were freshmen and sophomores, so counselors could better understand what specific needs existed and what students were looking for in an effective counseling department. This data was taken into careful consideration when creating the comprehensive program.
As briefly stated above, Lane Tech’s students are highly driven and academically focused. As a result of this, the counseling department already has programs and services put in place for all academic-related issues, including post-secondary planning. Additionally, in reviewing Lane Tech’s SIPAAA plan created under the guidelines of CPS, it is evident that numerous measures have been taken to ensure the student’s academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, and college-bound opportunities. Therefore, this program emphasizes the personal/social needs of the students reflected in the needs assessment. The counseling groups, classroom guidance lessons, and Closing the Gap school-wide intervention all align with data gathered from the assessment and are centered around personal/social themes.
The counseling program consists of four main sections--Foundation, Management, Delivery, and Accountability. Below is an outline of what is included in each section:
Foundation
- Statement of philosophy
- Mission statement of the school counseling program
- Program goals
Management
- Advisory Council
- Management agreement
- Sample yearlong calendar
Delivery
- 3 classroom guidance lessons
- 4-session small group
- Closing the Gap intervention
Accountability
- Explanation of process, perception, and results data
- Sample results report
- School counselor performance evaluation tool
Each section communicates the reasoning behind the decisions made in creating these interventions which all mirror the needs expressed by Lane students in the assessment they completed. Similar to the SIPAAA plan, this comprehensive program will be monitored on an ongoing basis. In sum, because all students deserve access to services that will best fit their needs, this program strives to provide effective personal/social counseling and interventions in a variety of settings for all students at Lane.
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