Foundation


 * FOUNDATION **

The purpose of the foundation is to guide the development of the comprehensive school counseling program at Central Kings Manor Academy. Our mission and philosophy statements serve as the backbone of our school counseling program and inform every initiative we implement in this school. Needs assessments are also crucial to the foundation of our program because they indicate what our students and stakeholders are looking for in our school counseling program. Furthermore, The ASCA standards and competencies are central to the foundation because they describe what students should know and be able to do as a result of participating in the comprehensive school counseling program (ASCA, 2005). Finally, this section includes two crosswalking tools, based on the ASCA National Standards, that were utilized to ensure all grade levels were addressed in the comprehensive school counseling program and to demonstrate how the ASCA National Model supports and aligns with the academic goals of Pennsylvania (ASCA, 2005).

Accordingly, this section includes the following components:
 * Mission Statement,
 * Philosophy Statement,
 * Needs Assessments,
 * ASCA Standards and Competencies, and
 * Crosswalks (Developmental & Standards-based)

**Mission Statement of Central Kings Manor Academy Counseling Department** The mission of the Central Kings Manor Academy School Counseling Department is to work in partnership with our stakeholders to fulfill the Academy's mission for each and every student. By providing all students with a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program, we will empower them to explore their academic, career, and personal interests and to develop skills in these areas. By promoting development in this manner, all students will have the capacity to become accomplished and productive citizens ready to enhance the local, national and global community.

**Philosophy Statement** __The counselors in Central Kings Manor Academy believe__:
 * All students have dignity and worth and shall be respected for their individual differences
 * All students are capable of learning when their individual learning styles are considered
 * All students’ needs shall be considered in planning and implementing the comprehensive school counseling program with special attention paid to ethnic, cultural, racial, socioeconomic, sexual difference and other special needs
 * All students shall have access to the comprehensive school counseling program coordinated by state-certified, professional school counselors

__The school counseling program should__:
 * Affirm respect for all students paying particular attention to the students from diverse populations including: ethnic/racial identity, age, economic status, abilities/disabilities, language, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, family type, religious/spiritual identity and appearance
 * Be based on clearly articulated goals and corresponding developmental competencies that reflect the academic, career, and personal/social needs of the students at Central Kings Manor Academy
 * Offer multiple ways to engage students in their academic, career, and personal/social development including classroom, group, and individual activities to ensure the comprehensive school counseling program reaches every student
 * Be planned by the high school professional school counselors with input from all stakeholders.
 * Be evaluated annually by the (administration/director of counseling/advisory committee) based on whether the goals and developmental competencies were met.
 * Be data driven both in terms of identifying the needs of the students and in evaluating the effectiveness of programs.

__All school counselors will:__
 * Advocate for the needs of all students
 * Abide by the professional school counseling ethics as advocated by the American School Counselors Association
 * Participate in professional development to remain abreast on the current practices in the field to ensure Central Kings Manor Academy maintains a quality school counseling program
 * Collaborate and consult with all other stakeholders

**Needs Assessments** At the beginning of each academic year, the counseling department utilizes needs assessments to determine the needs of the various stakeholders in the school system including: students, parents, faculty, and administration. The results of the needs assessments are then integrated into the comprehensive school counseling program. By incorporating the perspectives of all stakeholders, the counseling departments ensures the comprehensive school counseling program is a cooperative effort and an integral part of the total educational program at Central Kings Manor.

Below are resources the counseling department may use to create future needs assessments.


 * 1) [|Sample Needs Assessments.pdf] (Shelton & James, 2005) Sample needs assessments for students, parents, and teachers.
 * 2) [|8f-2 Key to Needs Assessment - student.pdf] (http://www.ascanationalmodel.org/content.asp?pl=11&sl=46&contentid=46) A sample needs assessment for students crafted by the school counselors at Alan C. Pope High School, a Recognized ASCA National Program (RAMP) school, in Marietta, GA.
 * 3) [|Needs Assessment.DOC] A sample needs assessment taken from the New Hampshire Implementation Manual for Comprehensive School Guidance and Counseling

**ASCA National Standards** According to the American School Counselors Association (ASCA), "the school counseling program facilitates student development in three broad domains to promote and enhance the learning process. Standards for each domain provide guidance and direction for states, school systems and individual schools developing effective school counseling programs. Student competencies define the specific knowledge, attitudes and skills students should obtain, and indicators demonstrate skill acquisition" (ASCA, 2005, p. 32).

In total, there are nine standards. Realizing the benefits of starting small when attempting to implement a comprehensive school counseling program, the Central Kings Manor counseling department will focus on one standard and one competency from each standard to form the foundational basis of the comprehensive school counseling program for this academic year. Below you will find the selected standards and competency. The curricular materials provided in the Delivery System section of the Wiki map to these standards and competencies.


 * DOMAIN: Academic Development**
 * Standard B**: Students will complete school with the academic preparation essential to choose from a wide range of substantial post-secondary options, including college.
 * Competency A:A2.4** Apply knowledge of learning styles to positively influence school performance


 * DOMAIN**: **Personal/Social Development**
 * Standard A:** Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others**.**
 * Competency PS:A1:** Acquire self knowledge


 * DOMAIN**: **Career Development**
 * Standard B**: Students will employ strategies to achieve future career goals with success and satisfaction
 * Competency C:B1** : Acquire Career Information

**Crosswalking Tools**

__PA Career Education & Work Standards and ASCA National Standards Crosswalk__ Crosswalking the PA Career Education & Work Standards with the ASCA National Standards demonstrated the degree of overlap that exists between these two sets of standards. Now, when planning our programs and writing lessons plans, we will be able to map our initiatives to both the PA CEW and ASCA Standards in a more informed manner. The crosswalk also showed us how our efforts to incorporate the ASCA National Model at Central Kings Manor also assists us in aligning with state standards. While it was interesting to note the similarities between the two sets of standards, it was also interesting to note the differences. The ASCA National Standards focus more on demonstrating and understanding skills while the PA CEW Standards attend more to the evaluation and assessment of those skills. Another marked difference was the focus on entrepreneurship in the PA CEW Standards as it was not even mentioned in the ASCA National Standards. When reviewing these documents, it was also intriguing to note that despite the obvious focus on career in the PA CEW Standards, the PA CEW Standards still addressed several ASCA National Standard competencies relating to academic and personal/social development thus demonstrating the interwoven nature of student development.