Brittany Sill

Fall - SCED 513

October 18, 2017
Assessment Instruments & Process: Report Assignment

1. The additional data that would be helpful in this report would be Tom’s attendance

information, behavioral referrals and additional classroom observations. It is important that

these observations are completed at different times within the classroom as well as in other

classes such as specials. This will help pinpoint the time of day and situations that are causing

the most difficulty. Also, background information on Tom’s family situation will help by

providing additional information to the team. Allowing time and space for the family to share

tasks and situations where Tom show success is important. This information, along with teacher

anecdotes and community connections will help shed light on Tom’s positive interactions within

the community and at school. Lastly, I would want to have Tom complete the 40 Developmental

Assets Survey. This would help identify Tom’s external and internal assets and help identify

building blocks for healthy development. The addition of this information will help present a

whole picture of Tom, instead of solely focusing on the skills he is lagging.

2. Based on the information presented in the report there are many academic and classroom

interventions that could be implemented for Tom. The following are a few ideas to help initially

support Tom:

• Preferential seating

• Teach reminder cues and explain expectations of what “paying attention” looks like. If

needed use a timer to help the student self-monitor on task times.

• Provide advanced warnings and expectations associated with transitions

 • Arrange for a classroom helper to support Tom with transitions, organization and task

directions

• Define, notice and reinforce appropriate classroom behaviors

• Break up tasks into workable and obtainable steps and provide examples and specific

steps for accomplishing the task

• Allow the student to complete task and assignments by alternative methods, including the

use of assistive technology.

The success goals for Tom have been outlined in the report. It is important to work with the

teacher to understand each goal and implement interventions one at a time. Next the teacher will

want to monitor and track intervention data for a minimum of six weeks. This could be a chart

that the student helps complete or a tracking system set up and used solely by the teacher. If an

intervention is not successful, the teacher will not continue implementing after ten weeks.

Lastly, it is important that the school work closely with the family. This will help provide

consistency for Tom for the interventions used at school and home match. Consistent monitoring

and follow-up are necessary to determine the success of each intervention.

3. As the school counselor, focusing on improving Tom’s social interactions, communication

skills, making improvements with task completion, and engagement at school and home is

important. A small group would help support and encourage social interactions and promote

academic success. The small group would focus on strategies for initiating friendships, role-

playing and modeling appropriate social/communication skills, self-regulation tools, goal setting,

self-progress monitoring, and memory skills. It would also be important to talk with Tom’s

parents about signing Tom up for an extra-curricular activity to encourage and reinforce the
skills that are being taught and practiced. Monitoring Tom’s progress will be based on small-

group interactions, one-on-one meetings, group check-ins, activity completion and responses,

and conversations with Tom’s teachers and parents to discuss progress they see in the classroom

and at home.

4. School counselors are in a unique position to support students and families in IEP meetings.

First, school counselors interact with all school personnel daily. These relationships will help

create collaboration between the different members of an IEP team. Secondly, school counselors

can help shift from the typical deficit focus of IEP meetings to strength based. This will improve

the climate of IEP meetings, create a holistic picture of the student and create a more optimistic,

personalized and successful plan for the student. The strength based approach incorporates the

families’ perspectives of the students’ strengths and skills outside of the educational

environment. This information can help create a link to future interventions. Lastly, the school

counselors’ knowledge of group dynamics, communication skills and school climate can help

foster a role of facilitator, model and advocate for students and families. The school counselor

can act as a liaison between families, school personal and community resources. The school

counselor observes the types of relationships the exist between various individuals and groups

within the school. School counselors can use this knowledge to adjust when communication is

one-way, whether the seating arrangement reinforces power dynamics and can ensure the

information presented is in a manner that all parties understand. This will help to connect

families with outside resources that meet the needs of themselves and their student.
5. As a newly hired school counselor, it would be important for me to have a more in-depth

understanding around the different types of assessments used at my site and have a better

understanding of what the assessment results mean. Not only would this help me understand the

information better, but I would also be able to explain the information to families in a manner

that is appropriate and creates a space of understanding. I would also want to learn more about

peer mentors. I think there is a lot to be said about pairing students up to work with either

younger students or older students in a service learning, mentor/buddy situation. This is one

aspect that I want to focus on implementing at my site this year. There are many students who

have been identified as having disruptive behavior in the classroom. Instead of disciplining the

students regularly, it would help to allow time for meaningful connections with other classmates.

This would provide them with an opportunity to be successful and could help educators pinpoint

ways to help support the student. Lastly, as a staff member who either has a small or large role

in the 504, IEP and SIT team process, it would be helpful to attend additional trainings that

review and explain each process. These plans and programs allow schools to support students to

achieve academic success. It is important to continue to work with staff and increase my

understanding to be able to advocate and support families.