I want to thank each of you who took the time to complete the survey about Guidance Services at Pond Cove school. I want to take this opportunity to report out about the survey results, my take-aways, and some action steps for this school year. I am including, as an attachment, the data results collected through Survey Monkey, but also will summarize the findings here.
Summary of Parent Survey Results
There were 119 completed surveys. One of the first questions asked parents to rate potential guidance topics. Of the 18 potential guidance topics, 14 were rated by respondents to be in the important to very important range. The following topics had the highest percentage of parents that rated them to be very important or important; Empathy/Kindness (97.48%), Conflict Resolution (97.46%), Coping Skills (94.95%), Proactive Approaches to Prevent Bullying (92.44%), Peer Pressure (92.37%), Problem Solving (92.30%), and Appreciation for Diversity (91.59%).
In rating Guidance Services in terms of priority, the majority of respondents rated all five of the school counseling services identified as being either a moderate or top priority. 94.87% of survey respondents rated Small Group Work as either a top or moderate priority. 91.45% responded that Consultation with Parents and Teachers should be a top or moderate priority. 90.51% felt that Classroom Guidance Lessons should be a top or moderate priority. 87.18% felt that Individual Counseling should be a top or moderate priority, and 83.48% felt that School Wide Initiatives should be a top or moderate priority.
A little over half of the respondents (55.46%) indicated that they have had direct contact with the School Counselor. Of those that have had direct contact, 93.94% of respondents indicated that it was helpful. In a separate question, the majority of respondents (93.22%) indicated that they would feel comfortable seeking out the School Counselor with a concern. Of those that responded that they would not be comfortable seeking out the school counselor, some of the reasons given included questions about when reaching out would be appropriate and questions of confidentiality.
I apologize for the mistake in formating question 6 (“If your child has had regular time with the school counselor individually or in a group, would you say that experience was helpful”). Because of my mistake in formatting the response options, it’s difficult to provide clear response percentages. Based on the comments provided in this section, it appears that many parents felt positively about their child’s individual or small group time but would like more feedback from me regarding their child’s progress.
Although all the survey results were extremely helpful, I especially appreciate the time it took to write individual comments. I very much appreciated all of the kind words and compliments about the School Counseling program. I also agreed with many of the suggestions regarding how to strengthen the program. It was clear from some of the comments that it would be helpful for me to give more information about my role as a School Counselor and the Guidance Services offered at Pond Cove. Some respondents indicated that they were unclear about when it would be appropriate to contact me as the School Counselor and what the boundaries of confidentiality would be within that conversation. Others indicated that they would like more information about guidance lessons and content, and would like more follow-up during and after their student has had individual or group counseling services.
The Role of the School Counselor and Confidentiality
Let me start by addressing some of the confusion around confidentiality, and my role as a School Counselor and a support to parents. I walk into Pond Cove School everyday with the goal of helping to ensure that every student has a positive school experience. I work to make a connection with every child, teacher, and parent. I believe building relationships is important because it helps all stakeholders feel comfortable in our school building. My experience with building these trusting relationships has been that people become much more comfortable seeking me out when there is a problem or concern, as I emphasize that confidentiality is paramount in my work with students and families.
My work in classrooms is also twofold, I use my classroom guidance time to teach prosocial skills to help students navigate peer relationships and expected behaviors. I also see my classroom time as an opportunity to build and grow relationships with students, so that they feel comfortable working with me if a specific need for support arises. If there is a concern, situation, or dynamic with a student that may impact them at school, I consider it my job to help that student and family through positive and productive strategies within the school environment. With that being said, it is always appropriate -- and I welcome -- parents reaching out to me if they have a concern about their child at school or have a concern that something going on outside of school may be impacting them during the school day.
In terms of confidentiality, I consider anything that a parent shares with me privately to be confidential and will keep to myself, unless that parent and I decide together to share that information with an appropriate member of our school staff. The rare exceptions of when I would need to share confidential information with administrators or outside agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services would include situations where a child is suspected of being harmed or when there is a court order that mandates my involvement. If I feel that a parent has shared with me something that would be helpful for the classroom teacher to know, I will ask that parent if they are comfortable with me sharing specific information with that teacher. If the parent asks me to share information that we have discussed, I will be clear with them what I will be sharing and which parts of our discussion will not be shared. I have included on my website a great article about School Counselors and confidentiality that provides more detail. I take this part of my job extremely seriously, as I feel trust is one of the most essential elements to being an effective School Counselor. My goal is for all Pond Cove parents to feel comfortable seeking me out if they have a concern, question, are looking for support, or are looking for guidance on how to solve a school-related issue. One of the most important things I have learned from these survey results is that I need to do more to inform parents about my role, invite them to reach out to me and take every opportunity to connect, and to make clearer what to expect from me in terms of confidentiality and follow-up. Thank you, again, for providing this feedback so that I can improve and grow in my role and better support students and their families.
Action Steps & Changes for the Coming School Year
I am excited to share with you the work that I have been doing this summer to prepare for the 2015-2016 school year. In addition to surveying parents, I also surveyed teachers in the spring and used the information from both surveys to guide my plans. Two of my major foci this year will be to be more strategic with my time in classrooms, and to communicate more with teachers and parents about the work that I am doing with students in all settings. Over the summer I have created a K-4 “roadmap” for classroom guidance that targets many of the topics that were rated as priorities, but also articulates what skills are expected from students at each grade level in each area. This explicit roadmap will help keep my work in classrooms focused and productive. The roadmap also will make it easier for me to give parents and teachers information on skills that we are working on in each classroom so each will know how to best support current work underway. I have created a School Counseling blog that I plan to use to share information about the current focus in Classroom Guidance, more information about my role as a School Counselor, and information about how I work with students individually and in small groups. I encourage you to check out the blog regularly to stay up to date and feel free to reach out with any questions.
In terms of my individual and small group work, I plan to follow up with parents at least every 6 weeks to discuss progress and make a plan to move forward. When it is appropriate and the work I am doing with students is closely tied to their academics or classroom behavior, I will be using goal sheets that will keep track of strategies and monitor progress. Goals and progress will be shared with teachers and parents.
In conclusion, I will continue to provide a balance of services including classroom guidance, individual and small group work, consultation services, and remain involved in school wide initiatives that improve school culture. I will work to strengthen my communication with parents by frequently updating my blog, communicating more regularly with the parents of students I am working with directly, and taking every opportunity to inform parents about my role as Pond Cove’s School Counselor, and give them information about how I can partner with them. I feel incredibly fortunate to work in such a strong, child-centered community. Thank you so much for your feedback and support. Keep it coming!
Sincerely,
Bri Gallagher
Pond Cove School Counselor
bgallagher@capeelizabethschools.org
207-799-7339
