Counselors BLT (Boost Learning Time)

ProjectTucson Unified School District

Improve students/counselor ratioReduce office referrals

Criteria for selection of schools

Large students-to-counselor ratio Students not performing at expected level Large numbers of students living in poverty

Implement

The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (ASCA, 2003)

The Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS, 1999)

Project Status after Year 2Table of Contents

Students-to-Counselor Ratio Recognized ASCA Model Programs School Quality Survey Results Attendance Results Academic Results Counselor time spent in classrooms/small groups Decrease in Office referrals Project students compared to Control group students(results obtained by adding all student scores/totals at each school

and dividing by the number of schools to determine the average school score)

Students-to-Counselor Ratio

Original Ratio in Project Schools

Ratio after 2nd year in the Project

785/1 427/1

Recognized ASCA Model Programs

• Lineweaver• Lynn/Urquides• White

School Quality Survey Results

Percentage of respondents(students, parents & staff) in agreement with statementsregarding student behavior,safety & respect. For example: Students behave inclass. My classroom is acomfortable place to learn. Teachers treat students with respect. Students treat teachers with respect.

03-04

Baseline Year

05-06

84.2 86.6

Attendance Results

Results analyzed Low Kindergarten

attendanceLarge #s of students absent on the 2 immigration protest days in April

RecommendationsExpand Gap groupsEngage the entire staff on strategies to improve attendanceWith a core staff, address absences in Kindergarten

03-04 05-06

93.4 93.2

Attendance Results with Students After Interventions

Selection process - Students attended school less then 90% of the year in 3rd grade.

Interventions – Parents contacted, daily check-ins, weekly meetings, special responsibilities, overall school interest in attendance increased

Results

3rd gr. average

attendance

4th gr. average

attendance

82.4 87.1

Attendance Recommendations

Recommendations for 06-07: Continue tracking these students with needed

interventions Add 25 identified students to replace those

transferring students (newly selected students meet the criteria of below 90% attendance 06-07)

Engage the entire staff in strategies to improve attendance

Begin plans with a core staff to address the universal problem of tardies and absences in Kindergarten

Academic Results

Reading/Math

03-04 05-06

4th grade 44.5/48.2 47.9/50

5th grade 42.9/46.9 48/46.6

Curriculum Guidance Lessons

Project counselors average hours per week in classrooms and small groups Year 1 Year 2

34% 53%

Office Referrals

Average Number of office referrals per school each year

Year 1 Year 2

326.4 157.3

Longitudinal Study**3rd grade students randomly selected from project and control group

schools to be followed in subsequent years

3rd grade

Terra

Nova

Reading

Terra

Nova

Math. Attend.

4th grade Terra

Nova

Reading

Terra

Nova

Math. Attend.

Project Schools

40.4 48 92.7 46.7 49.7 92.6

Control Group Schools

40.1 46 94.8 43.6 45.2 92.9

SCHOOL QUALITY SURVEY RESULTS ENVIRONMENT CATEGORY ONLY

0

20

40

60

80

100

Student Parent Staff

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

The school is clean and well kept. Students behave during class. The school is a safe place for students. Teachers/Students treat each other with respect.

Summary of Project Accomplishments after Two Years

Fully Implemented ASCA program with counselors spending over 50% of their time in classrooms and small groups

Counselors involved in academic program. Student improved achievement in reading is significant.

Attendance stayed the same while a comparable group and the district declined. Attendance of selected poor attending students improved by 5% after interventions.

Decreased office referral by over 100%