March 22, 2006

CAREER TO COLLEGE

AFTER SCHOOL COUNSELING

A SCHOOL COMMUNITY VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM

WRITTEN BY
Luis South, Elem. School Counselor
L.A.U.S.D

The need to address violence within all sectors of our daily life experiences is imperative to the continuation of American society as a whole. Violence permeates the lives of our children as well as adults through media images, talk, actions, inferences, and intangible constructs such as our emotional attachment to symbols like the Confederate flag or a swastika or a word. Education counseling---particularly elementary school counseling---is the vehicle that holds the greatest potential to further develop LAUSD standards for a counseling program in alignment with the California Department of Education’s newly developed results-based school counseling.

Identifying the specific needs of our highest at-risk elementary level students has the greatest potential for positive long-term results. The sooner we identify problems in the lives of our students the greater the potential to effect positive outcomes. Counseling, like education, is a process that needs space and time.

The chart below represents statistical reporting from Los Angeles Police Department concerning the Southwest Division Jan.-Dec. 2005.
 

Though there are consistent decreases in violent crimes, the arrest rates for 2005 continue to be lower in comparison to each of the preceding years 2003 and 2004 (see above chart where columns are highlighted in red). This is an indicator that long-term resolution of reported violent crimes remains deficient. Couple a lagging arrest rate with high recidivism among prison populations demands long term coordination of effort across a wide spectrum of community agencies and organizations. Inculcating anti-violence as a consistent theme within the system-wide public education program (k-12) is imperative to winning the peace. Schools can serve the future of the state by recognizing the merits of education counseling for its potential role in spearheading social tranquility, a cornerstone to developing a viable education setting. K-12 violence prevention strategies and curricula possibly serve as proactive approaches to resolving adult violent crimes.

Forming a collaboration to address violence can best be accomplished in a place were there is a longstanding tradition of school and community participation on a variety of levels. Ideally there needs to be a definable geographic area where schools are utilized as a conscious effort to upkeep and improve community life. As well, such a consciousness recognizes and actively promotes a school’s need to have a strong connectedness to community in order to create and sustain a viable education process.

Jefferson Park and University Village, specifically along Jefferson Boulevard going from Crenshaw east to Figueroa Avenue have fully recognized ongoing school-community-police collaborations already in place extending back for over a decade. Within this two mile corridor are two public education campuses, Celerity Nascent Charter School and 32^nd Street Elementary School. These two schools respectively represent the western and eastern end of the designated corridor along Jefferson Blvd. There are other elementary schools within this corridor, however, both of the aforementioned campuses have unique contrasting features that would help to identify best practices for elementary school counseling programs given a variety of different considerations.

The main focus of this grant proposal would be to compare how different management issues concerning the development of an elementary school counseling program get prioritized. How does each school’s management model balance between actual student needs and the general needs of administration? How does the public school system set up and effectively develop a universal understanding of counseling best practices? Is there a need to distinguish clinical counseling from education counseling? Why? Is there any effort to dialogue about the most productive coordination between education counselors and clinical counselors? Is there a body of documentation that has been developed around these questions from within each public school system? Has the state of California begun to address the practical side of how to develop a “Results-Based Elementary School Counseling Program”? Is the focus of determining the effectiveness of outcomes primarily about education outcome or some other criteria?

To begin answering these questions we will start from the viewpoint that the service---regardless of the individual counselor’s training and discipline---is being rendered in a public school. Whether it be a charter school or a traditional public school an education counseling program best serves the needs of the public school environment if it is supplemental to the educational process. If that is true we are hard pressed to show measurable improvement in student willingness to conform to the rigors of education. So outward gestures of seeing a student move from unmotivated to conscious voluntary emersion or from “easily angered” to socially well adjusted, is measurable. Ultimately measuring the outcomes of an elementary school program has everything to do with preplanning and then follow through, while at the same time being flexible enough to react to unpredictable challenges. Overall, a major goal of any viable education counseling program is to be part of the teamwork that keeps the school running smoothly. An avoidance of applying the most appropriate strategies to correctly identify and resolve at-risk student issues threatens to allow chaos within the school setting and continued social dysfunction as the reality for our future.

Mr. Luis South, elementary school counselor at 32nd Street Elementary School has collaborated with staff at that school to effectively create an awareness among administration, staff, and parents that school counseling is a distinct service which enhances the elementary school student experience. To be clear, education counseling is not clinical counseling.

Education counseling is environmental in scope and practice. Problems are typically addressed and resolved in the physical place where they occur or are having negative impact, the school as well as the classroom setting.

Many issues that are being addressed as disciplinary or in need of clinical counseling intervention services are better addressed by a protocol that remains dedicated to supplementing the mission of the school and district. With this focus in mind, education is the reason why all services exist within a school setting. So the goal of all services, including counseling, is to minimize the time when students are not focused on education while in school. A typical mistake in many school settings is to take misbehaving students out of the classroom to talk about their wrongdoing. This reaction serves as an incentive for students to control when they can expect to be removed from the classroom. Done as a spontaneous or a long-term counseling model, removal of students from the classroom environment can undermine the education process. Short-term removal for the purpose of reorientation to the classroom environment works best and offers a greater education-focused return in a shorter space of time.

Mr. South has been in collaboration with the administrators and parents of Celerity Charter School to effectively institute counseling approaches that have the greatest impact given minimal contact with students in need of counseling services as well as staff working under a variety of pressures.

At 32^nd Street Elementary a full time elementary school counselor is in place. The counselor typically serves as the key person who is called on to substitute for the classroom teacher when they have an emergency or some other circumstance demands the teacher leaves the class. This strategy has been effective in bringing to light the real connection that elementary school counseling is a supplemental service helping to maintain the focus of continuity in the educational program. However, the counselor has continually addressed administration that a viable collaboration requires conscious effort, collaborative meetings that set agenda are essential.

This is beginning to occur. After school is a key point in time when the counselor could form strategies to meet with students and parents to address real needs. The funds to allow this to happen came with the elementary counseling position but have not been accessed by the elementary school counselor.

Celerity Charter School is a brand new school approximately two miles west of 32nd Street. By virtue of being new Celerity is forced to be competitive in the education arena so that administration can develop a reputation of providing an excellent education program. Celerity was not designed with the fundamental need of elementary counseling services in mind. However, the Celerity experience since opening their doors in September 2005, has rapidly lead to the realization that a results-based elementary school counseling program is needed. The staff has encountered a variety of at-risk behaviors that are difficult to approach mainly because no one on staff is extensively trained and experienced to provide the specialized skills that can reduce/alleviate such problems.

At this point in time Celerity has documented to clearly express that having an elementary school counselor would help in the development of their educational program. Based upon the volunteer hours of an experienced L.A.U.S.D elementary school counselor assisting in the development of specialized school counseling services at Celerity, 6-10 hours weekly services by a knowledgeable California State credentialed professional, who fully understands the dynamics of that school setting, would make it possible to have a positive impact strong enough to counteract negative trends among students.

Why should the local traditional school system be concerned to the extent of considering paying for school counseling hours at Celerity? It’s because L.A.U.S.D cared enough about children to create a competing factor in public schools, the charter a new type of public school. The sincerity in making such a move is further validated if the leadership within L.A.U.S.D recognizes the inherent gain of helping a charter to become a model school, and in the process, gain the notoriety of serving all students within the public education system with a quality education. To do otherwise threatens to send a message of unconcern about children of poverty and children, regardless of economic reality, who are in need of education counseling.

The same level of advocacy for the elementary school students attending 32nd Street Elementary School is advisable in order to move beyond the present political climate that pits the traditional public school against charter school. Having one elementary school counselor temporarily serving between the two systems to provide after school and weekend services would help to better identify what are the specific areas of need, within each system, so we can better develop and integrate elementary school counseling services with fidelity.

Mr. South believes that all levels of government and the public school system---including charter schools--- is correct in the movement to establish more quality after school and weekend programs for our at-risk students. By supporting this proposal on a temporary basis (April through June 2006) Los Angeles Unified School District would gain greater insight about how elementary school counseling can be utilized to protect and serve students and their families while, at the same time, understanding better how management models impact the fidelity of education counseling services.

Celerity Charter School has already clearly stated that they are fully supportive of the proposal to be part this collaboration to establish a greater connectedness with L.A.U.S.D elementary counseling strategies.

Time tells all.  Where we go from here matters.
 

Top