The Road to RAMP: Checking the Rear-View Mirror

This is the sixth in a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

This past week a few members of my school counseling team and I met to do a final review of all of our Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) narratives. We had revised all of the supporting materials prior to the end of school, but left the narrative edits for later due to time constraints as well as wanting to have a bit of distance from the school year to be able to take a little bit more of an objective look.  Well, with those edits the application is almost completely finished.  A colleague is in the process of editing our final section, which will be a video summation/reflection of our program, we will have an outside reviewer take a look, and then it will go before our principal and a school board member prior to final submission in October.  However, the bulk of the work is now complete.

Just like that, four-years of work is represented in twelve folders worth of documents on a server.  Humbling.

I have no idea if we will achieve RAMP status or not--only time will tell.  However, as I think back on the last year, or even four years since we really began this process, regardless of what the outcome is I think this journey has been valuable all unto itself.  As with all things in life, I think it is important to ask the question, "What have I learned?"

• Give yourself time.  Lots of time:  Program transformation is, I believe, more successful and more likely to weave itself into the fabric of your school if it is done over a period of years versus a period of months.  Additionally, as we were doing the final writings and edits on our RAMP application, we were able to go back and speak to components from a longitudinal perspective.  The Mission statement in our application is actually the third incarnation of our original Mission statement written four years ago.  Not only could we discuss how we developed the current one, but we could speak to how it had evolved from its previous two ancestors.  Further, the lessons, the groups, the goals, etc. are now standard practice for us.  Our "RAMP" year was not the first year we had done most of these components.  This has given us time to figure out how they fit into our particular school culture, work out any "bumps," and has allowed the components to become fixtures of our program.
• Collaboration is key.  I am so proud of our school counseling team and the work they have done over the last four years to complete this application.  Rome was not built in a day, and neither was RAMP.  If you work on a large team, as I have, you have a variety of people with different backgrounds and strengths.  Some people are probably familiar with the ASCA National Model, some may not be.  Some may be rockstars with technology and data, others may be great at relationship-building and communication.  You owe it to your team to work together to transform your program on the timeline that is best for them, and to do it in such a way that you are utilizing their strengths so that everyone is able to contribute in a way that is comfortable.  You owe it to your team to provide education on aspects of the ASCA Model that they may be unfamiliar with. You owe it to your team to listen to them if it gets to be overwhelming at times.  If your goal is to develop a comprehensive school counseling program, then it is important to make forward progress at the same time your are honoring the team's timeline so that there is buy-in and so that everyone can internalize the process for themselves.  Additionally, to move forward you need the assistance of the other stakeholders in your building--teachers, administrators, parents, and students.  If you have taken the time over the years to build strong relationships with your school community, this will become apparent very quickly as people jump on board to support you in your RAMP application.  I have been so fortunate to get to work with amazing people who have jumped in to give feedback, assist, and cheerlead us through this process.
• Everything interrelates.  I've alluded to this in previous posts, but I think the greatest intellectual gift for me during this process has been that an additional light-bulb went off in my head somewhere in the middle of the year.  The RAMP application process really allows you to see, in action, just how effective a comprehensive program can be towards increasing student achievement and supporting students and families.  When you set clear, reasonable, and measurable goals grounded in outcome data and then develop lessons, groups, and additional programming to support that targeted intervention, it becomes a machine specifically built to help kids be successful.  One cog links with another cog, and suddenly there is momentum across the board and you are having an impact on the entire system, not just an individual piece here or there.
  

The end of this road is in sight up ahead, but I think it is important to keep checking in that rear-view mirror to make sure that you are not only moving towards your destination, but that you are also remembering the journey and how you got there.

The Road to RAMP: Putting It Together

This is the fifth in a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

It's April, and we are in full-fledged RAMP application mode.  Programs and groups are in the process of being completed, narratives are being written, data is being collected, and reflection is occurring at a frenzied pace.  Planning for the final component, the Program Evaluation, is underway.  Why now?  The month of May starts with AP testing, followed immediately by our state End-of-Course exams, and once June hits we are knee-deep in graduation.  For us, this next month is really the best opportunity we have to complete as much of the application as possible.

As we are in the throws of all of these tasks, I cannot get the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together out of my mind.  I have decided that if I ever facilitate a presentation on this stage of the RAMP application, I will first play this video--in my head I've already designed a collaborative learning activity around it.  Take a listen to the whole song and you will understand why:

Bit by bit, putting it together.  
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art.  
But without the proper preparation having just a Vision's no solution, everything depends on execution.  
First of all you need a good foundation otherwise it's risky from the start.
Gathering supporters and adherents...

Sound familiar?  So much of this song encapsulates the RAMP experience.  This is not a do-all-of-it-in-one-year or one-sitting process.  Rather, it takes bits of work over time and then piecing that work into a whole for a successful application.  It is important to have a strong foundation--Mission, Vision, Beliefs--before you begin, as these will inform the rest of your program's components along the way.  However, just having this foundation is not enough--there is importance in how you implement and execute your programming based on these fundamentals, or else you are not going to be able to effect change.  Further, you cannot build a comprehensive school-counseling program in a vacuum--you have to build relationships with stakeholders in order to garner support for your work with students, families, and the school community.

As we have begun to write our narratives, I find that the "nerd" in me is really enjoying "putting it together."  The narratives are forcing us to go more deeply into the work that we have done.  We find ourselves looking back as to what the impetus and data were that compelled us to implement a certain program or set a specific goal.  We are looking at the format of the conversations and collaboration that have occurred, helping us to form a common set of Beliefs in our practice, determining how we use our time, deciding which team members would be responsible for certain programs, and why curriculum fits within certain ASCA standards.  Most important, it is helping us to make the connections between all of the different components of the application for ourselves.  I must admit that I am truly humbled as we are finalizing this process by the amount of work and dedication that our school counseling team has made as a result of this process.  Sometimes you get so caught up in the day-to-day that you forget to take a few moments to step back and see just how far you've come and appreciate how hard everyone has worked.

If you and/or your team are also in the process of "putting it together," here are some things to consider as you compile your data and write your narratives:

• Follow the rubric:  Each component of the RAMP application has specific criteria that can be found in the grading rubric.  There is information about what the expectation is for the entire component, but also separate information that specifically states what the narrative is supposed to cover.  Further, look at the expectations for scores of "4" and "5," as they also contain information pertaining to how a strong narrative should read.
• Gather your data, including longitudinal data:  Collecting the data on the programs and interventions you have currently been running is important, but I am also referring to past years of data, or longitudinal data.  How have your Beliefs, Mission, and Vision come about and been changed and reviewed over the last several years to get to its current incarnation?  What data from past years led you to the program and achievement gap goals in your application?  Were there experiences in previous years that helped you to determine the membership and focus of your advisory council or small-groups?  This would be a great time to also review past needs assessments, either of your entire program or from specific components.  The rubrics for the narratives are often asking for you to give the reviewer some past context for a specific component that is founded in data.
• Do a final check to make sure everything ties back to the goals: This one was key for me.  I will admit to you out there in the blogosphere that I was stuck for the longest time on the curriculum lessons.  Our small-group that we were focusing on clearly supports one of our goals. Our goals, calendars, management agreements, etc. are all supported by our Mission and Vision statements.  However, I was somewhat baffled by how all of our curriculum lessons were going to be measured with outcome data, given that so many of the lessons at the high-school level are focused on post-secondary options and career planning, which is not something that can be easily measured until graduation.  It took two conversations with Super RAMP Mentors for it to suddenly lock--they needed to somehow be lessons that addressed the goals, all of which are mired in outcome data.  Two of our lessons already tied in nicely to two of the goals, and members of the team were able to easily construct a targeted lesson for the third that actually adds a stronger layer to our original program.  Moral of the story: keep asking questions based on the rubrics.  If something still doesn't seem to make sense, e-mail, call, or ask someone in person to make sure that you are on the right track.
• Collaborate on and have someone review your narratives, preferably with the rubric in front of them:  One of my extra-duties this year is to help coordinate our RAMP application.  As such, I am responsible for a lot of the writing of the narratives, keeping us on schedule, and reviewing of materials.  However, for us this is a team process, and it cannot be done alone.  Last week I sat down with another team-member and worked on one of the narratives.  She sat with the rubric in front of her and as I was writing she was asking key questions about what I was including or not including and letting me know if what was clear in my mind was actually clear on paper.  As a result, the narrative is not only well-constructed and understandable, but it contains all of the nuances and components that are asked for in the rubric.  If you are responsible for writing all of them, have someone else look at them and offer comments--if they do not easily understand an idea, then a reviewer might not either, and it is probably worth another look and some revision.  If you are part of a team, have other team members who may have more knowledge of a particular component collaborate with you on the narrative so that it is as full and detailed as possible.  However, ultimately, you want all of the narratives to have the same feel and a similar voice, so it may be best for one person to go through at the end and edit them to make sure the style is cohesive and unified.

If you've been in your data collection year, as we have, you are coming to the end of your road.  While we often have a million things to do as we approach the summer, these narratives really offer us the opportunity to make the connections between our past, our present, and our future, as well as stop and reflect on the amazing transformations that have occurred within our programs, our personnel, and our communities.  By "putting it together," we are able to demonstrate how far we have come as a school and as a profession.  Good luck!

The Road to RAMP: Get Your Group On

This is the fourth in a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

Let's face it--groups abound at the elementary level.  Changing families, lunch bunch, study skills, organization, test taking, friendship and social skills, and secret agent/random-acts-of-kindness, just to name a few.  During my three-and-a-half month elementary internship, I ran three groups of my own and assisted with a few others.  At high-school, it's a completely different story.

I'm going to be honest with you, blogosphere.  The small-group component of the comprehensive-school counseling program has probably been the hardest for us to implement, not from a lack of desire or skill, but because at the high-school level there are a lot of structural impediments to being able to garner the time, space, and access to students necessary to fully develop this aspect of the model.  Mission, Beliefs, and Vision?  No problem.  Guidance lessons?  Done and done.  Program and achievement-gap goals?  We've been doing those for years.  Groups, however...those have taken some time.

This year, however, we are finally up-and-running with multiple groups that cover a variety of academic, personal/social, and college/career topics, or combinations thereof.  Through the process of running groups over the last several years, I have learned through much trial-and-error some thoughts and ideas that might not only assist in how to structure and plan your groups, but garner support from your school community, as well.  Groups are an important part of your school counseling program for several reasons.  First, they give you more bang for your buck.  In a 30 minute time slot, you may get to work with one, two, or three students on an individual basis.  If you use that 30 minutes for a group, you can impact eight to twelve students.  Groups give you more reach into your population of students, helping us to better reach our goal of working with "all" of the kids in our schools.  Secondly, there is a great deal of power when students learn from each other.  In fact, if you work with high-school kids, you know that they are more liable to take-to-heart thoughts and ideas from their peers than from adults.  In my grief/loss group, the consistent feedback at the end was that the most beneficial part of the group was getting to be around other students who had also suffered a major loss and being able to learn from each other's unique experiences.  Through sharing with each other, the students learned much more than if I or another counselor would have worked with them individually.  Finally, groups allow you to target specific needs within your school.  Not every student needs a group on grief/loss or study skills, but when the needs in your building indicate that more than just one or two students would benefit from more in-depth exploration of a subject, groups are a way to address these issues while maximizing your time and reach.  So, how do you go about setting up a group, especially if they are not yet a part of your school culture?

Well ahead of time...

• Examine your calendar for the year and determine what windows of time might work best for running groups.  For example, in September and October we are extremely busy with seniors, freshmen, career lessons, and just getting the school opened.  However, in November and December there was more open-time, so that was a point at which some of our groups could run. In May, our entire school is heavily involved in state end-of-course exams, so that is not a good time for us to be running groups.  The goal is find some spots where you might have some time to realistically devote to a group without overloading your already busy schedule.
• Pull data to determine what group/groups are needed.  This is key.  You might want to run a group on changing families, but if there is no demonstrated need for the group, you have to ask yourself if your efforts would be better spent on a different topic.  You have several places you can get this information.  First, look at your outcome data sources (grades, test scores, attendance, discipline/school safety).  Is there a group you could run that would target one of these sources?  Next, you can look at needs assessment data.  We determined our list of groups this year based on a previous assessment that showed us which areas students felt they wanted additional assistance.  Finally, you can look at anecdotal evidence, but be cautious and do some checks to insure the there really is the need that everyone is perceiving there to be.
• Build relationships with faculty and staff.  You're going to need them when you start to find space for your group as well as possibly utilizing instructional time to run the group.  If your staff knows you and respects you and your work and sees you as a member of the school team, they are more likely to support your upcoming efforts.
• Find a partner.  At the high-school level, we are often pulled in different directions, especially if one of our students is in a crisis.  Finding a group co-leader can help to divide the work-load of planning and running the group, give students another adult to identify with if they need follow-up and additional support, and better insure that the group will stick to its schedule, even if one of you is pulled away for any reason.  Don't be afraid to look a bit outside of your department if you need to--school social workers, school psychologists, and, depending on the nature of the group, teachers or career specialists might be great team-mates.
• Plan like there is no tomorrow.  Determine what the goals are for your group, how you will gather data (process, perception, and if possible, outcome) on the effectiveness of the group, and then what the over-arching structure and layout of the group will be.  You do not have to reinvent the wheel--there are a million curricula and ideas out there, either in books or online.  You will probably need to tweak them for your particular population, but you should not feel like you have to design everything from scratch.  How many sessions will you need?  Determine the schedule for the group that will impact instruction as little as possible.  If you are in a school that has some sort of homeroom/extra period/remediation time built into the schedule, try to work with this.  If your school just has a standard schedule, try to rotate group sessions so that you are not constantly pulling students from the same class.  Make sure to reserve the space you will need well ahead of time, as it tends to go fast, especially if you will be utilizing computers or other technology resources as part of your group.

Right before and during the group...

• Screen the students.  This is extremely important.  You need to gauge their interest and commitment level, give them parent-permission forms, and make sure that they are a good-fit for the group.  Some students are not yet ready for a group and may need more individualized support before beginning a group, especially as it relates to personal/social topics.
• Use parent-permission forms.  This has several purposes.  First, for most of us, there are often policies and regulations in place that state that we have to get parent permission before working with students in groups over multiple session and extended periods of time.  Secondly, this is another opportunity to share the work that you and your program are doing to benefit the school community.  The letter should give a general overview of what the group will be covering, the goals and expected outcomes, and invite communication between you and the parent if there are ever any concerns or issues that pop up throughout the course of the group. 
• Finalize plans.  This should be the point that you determine your curriculum and double check things like space reservations and the schedule to make sure the foundation has been laid for a successful and consistent experience for both the students and you.
• Communicate with teachers.  This is key, and I truly feel this is why I have been able to successfully lead groups at the high-school level.  I create a group in my Outlook e-mail program of all the teachers for all the students who are going to be part of the group, and then I let teachers know the general purpose of the group and what topics we will be covering, how it will benefit them in their work in the classroom, and what the schedule of the group is going to be.  I also send out reminders prior to each session and follow-ups afterwards with attendance and general points that were covered.  In this way, you are keeping teachers in the loop as to why you are pulling students from instructional time, thus involving them versus keeping them out of the process.  Additionally, if teachers see themselves as partners, they can share with you when they are worried about a student in your group, helping you to better intervene or bring up topics of importance in the next session.
• Involve students in determining the group norms and rules.  Every group needs some sort of guidelines, especially with regards to confidentiality if kids start sharing personal information.  You and your co-leader will want to talk about when you have to violate confidentiality as well as the goal of having the group members respect the stories of the other students.  However, let the students have a say in the rest of the norms--they almost always come up with what you would have listed and then some.
• Give yourself time for reflection.  It is important for you and your co-leader to reflect upon each session.  What went well?  What did not?  Do any of the group members need individual follow-up before the next session?  Did you all forget something that you need to remember to bring up the next time they meet? If you went off-topic (and this will happen frequently) was it meaningful and beneficial or should you work to bring the group back into focus more in future sessions? Was there anything that came up in the group that is effecting you?  This does not have to be an hour discussion, but taking a few minutes will help to make sure that you are best addressing both the needs of the group as well as yourselves.

After the group...

• Collect data.  Consolidate your pre and post tests, examine your outcome data, and even do some interviews of students in the group.  Compile that data into graphs and charts and share that with all the stakeholders.  This is key, as sharing this information with the teachers and school community members will show the impact you are having on students, as well as why it is important for you to access students during instructional time.  
• Determine what follow-up, if any, you need to undertake.  Do some students need some continued assistance with individual meetings?  Would it be helpful to do a check-in session a month or so after the final session of the group?  Are there students that would benefit from another group that is slated to be done that year?  You want to make sure that students who may still need to access supports are able to receive them.
• Reflect, reflect, reflect.  When all is said and done, you and your co-leader should take some time to look at the data and determine if the group was a success.  Regardless of if it had the intended outcome or not, some thought should be given to what worked and what didn't and what changes you would make if there is a need for this group again in the future.  This information should also be shared with stakeholders.

You'll notice that most of the work is done prior to the group ever starting.  The time you put in prior to planning, screening, and communicating about your group will pay off tenfold once you get in there and start running sessions.  If you do not know where to start, I would recommend trying to get one group in during your least-busy time of year (if there is one) and have it tie into some form of outcome data--grades, test scores, graduation rates, attendance, or discipline/school safety.  If you can plan a group centered around one of theses data points, you are more likely to get buy-in from your school community.  If, after you've run your group, it is successful, this may allow you to then assess additional needs and develop more groups on a wider variety of topics to better serve your student population.  Good luck! 

The Road to RAMP: Goal Oriented

This is the third in a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

There are twelve components to the RAMP application.  Twelve.  Thirteen if you are re-RAMPing.  You would think that with that many components, you might be able to have some low scores on a few and still come out on top in the end.

You might be wrong.

The third section of the RAMP application is the one where you list your program goals, which should include goals that seek to close an identified achievement gap or gaps.  In my previous RAMP post, I talked about how to find data to determine where your school's needs are in order to develop appropriate interventions.  The program goals take this to the next step and formalize what this data is telling you and what your aspirations are with regards to improving and changing the outcomes.  The thing that you may not realize is that these goals will also take over your entire application.  I am finding that our goals are literally driving the majority of our RAMP train--they are a main part of not only the program goals component, but they also then appear in your annual agreement and as a part of your advisory council.  Additionally, you will very likely have have small groups and curriculum lessons that help to support your goals.  As at least one of your goals should seek to close an achievement gap, that takes care of component number eleven.  Finally, component twelve, the reflection piece, will no doubt also include some musings on your goals.  Thus, it is extremely important to make sure, from the start, that your goals are solid, because if they are not, they could cause your entire RAMP train to derail before it barely has time to get out of the station.

Here are some tips to help you formulate goals that won't cause you to jump the track:

• Base your goals in outcome data.  In my previous post, I talked about the differences between process, perception, and outcome data.  Your program goals for RAMP should be based on outcome data, meaning that they are based in academic data such as grades, test scores, graduation rates, or enrollment in advanced course work, as well as in attendance or school safety.  There is nothing wrong with perception data, but it is not as results oriented as outcome data.  Part of RAMP is showing how you and/or your department are able to effect systemic change within your school community--not just how people think or feel, but about how they act and achieve.
• Make sure there is a demonstrated need.  This ties into the previous bullet point.  Your outcome data needs to show that there is a demonstrated need that justifies your focus and time on a particular project.  Too often we set a goal for something without having a justification for why it is important.  If your goal is to try to decrease the number of suspensions by the end of the year, yet in your school there were only two students suspended the previous year, there may be better uses of your time and year-long focus.
• Use the SMART goal formula.  Many of us work on SMART goal writing and reflection with our students.  I have even heard of elementary students writing SMART goals.  We should expect the same of ourselves.  The SMART goal acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.  You want the goal to be very clear, simple, and precise.  For example, "The Smith High School Student Services Department will increase the enrollment of hispanic students in Advanced Placement classes by 10% from the previous year by June of 2013." "By June of 2013, the Chavez Middle School student services department will reduce the number of full-day absences by 15 % amongst students who have already amassed five or more in the first quarter.  If you are confused about SMART goals and want a place to start, take a look at this handout.  There is also more information in the ASCA National Model, 3rd Edition.
• Make sure they can be tied back to your Vision and Mission.  If your goals cannot be linked in some way to your Mission and Vision, one or the other (or maybe both) will need some serious reflection and discussion.  Hopefully, your Mission and Vision statements discuss your role as a school counselor or school counseling team in helping to remove academic barriers for all students and in creating a positive school climate for your community--this is a great place to start.
• One small-group or one classroom lesson do not a program or achievement goal make.  These goals should be large, over-arching goals that encompass large portions of the school year.  No matter how amazing you or your team are, the chances are very slim of a one-shot lesson or a four-session group in November being the sole agent of change with regards to an identified area of outcome data.  However, lessons and small-groups may certainly be a component of your full intervention plan and provide necessary support to your goals.
• Let the goal simply state the aspiration.  Let the program plan discuss the intervention, methods of data collection, etc..  The goals should be relatively short statements that explain what you hope to improve, with whom, and give some indication of why it may be necessary.  The interventions and the finer points are going to be flushed out in much more detail in the program plan that accompanies it.  You can access the achievement gap/program plan template here--they are also accessible with the purchase of either the hardcopy or digital edition of the ASCA Model, 3rd Edition.  
• Regularly review your progress through the year, and keep notes on your reflections.  We monitor our goals and check in regularly with each other through our department collaborative team meetings.  Through these conversations we keep notes so that as we approach the end of the year, we have information that helps to inform our RAMP narratives as well as our final reflections for our DATA reports.  Further, it helps to keep all of us in our department on track with where we feel we currently stand with the goals.  Because we are looking at outcome data, we are able to regularly see if we are on target to meet our end-of-year aspirations and adjust our interventions as needed.

My wish is that by the end of the year, we have been able to demonstrate, through hard data, our department's impact on the academic achievement of our students as well as our contributions to creating a positive, safe, and college and career going culture within our school.  By giving a lot of time to the writing and designing of our goals, and by having others review them and give us constructive feedback, my hope is that they not only reflect well in one component of the RAMP application, but shine through all twelve.

The Road to RAMP: Data Mining

This is the second in a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

A few weeks ago I was teaching a class of new counselors and one of the topics was "data."  What are the different types of data that school counselors use?  Why do school counselors need to use data in their practice?  Where do you start?

I've learned over the years that school counselors, new or otherwise, are all at very different places with this topic.  Our comfort level with finding, using, and analyzing data seems to be dependent on a wide variety of factors, such as when you were in graduate school, the specific graduate program that you were in, the comfort level of your professors with data-driven practice, and the professional development that you received after graduation supporting the use of data in your counseling program.  Yet, if you are at all interested in working towards RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) certification, it is a world with which you will need to become familiar.  Quickly.

As I wrote about in a prior post, at my school we have really been working towards RAMP for several years.  A large part of that process has been spent in developing a comfort level, as a team, with data.  What I am finding, though, with the RAMP process, is that we are really being forced to go deeper into our data, both to justify our interventions and define our goals (a topic for a later post), as well as to analyze the effectiveness of our programming.  This process is really helping us to tie together our mission, vision, and beliefs with what we do and how we do it, as well as making us ask the question as to what impact all of our programs are having on academic achievement, post-secondary outcomes, attendance, and school safety.  Where, though, do you begin?

First, it is important to know the three types of data that we will work with:

• Process Data:  Process data literally tells us two things--who is effected by the intervention and what did they do?  Thus, 97% of 9th graders wrote a post-secondary goal.  320 seniors took part in a lesson about dating violence.  56 parents participated in an evening program that focused on supporting students' study-skills at home.  This type of data is a place to start--it is helpful in that it can help to show people that you are taking an active role in the school community and are working with students and parents, oftentimes in large groups.  If you are in a situation where you have concerns that your community is unsure of what it is that you do or have the impression that you don't do much, this type of data can help to inform them of your role.  However, it is lacking in that it does not demonstrate the change or impact that your interventions may have.
• Perception Data:  Perception data comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Basically, you are getting a snapshot of people's thoughts, or "perceptions," on a program at a given time.  One way that you might use perception data before a program is to do a needs assessment to see what the perception of your students, parents, teachers, administration, or any combination thereof might be with regards to what they need from you.  For example, if you are trying to determine what groups might be the best use of your time in your elementary school, you can develop a brief questionnaire that asks students to pick their top two out of several options, and maybe follow up with a questionnaire to the teachers and parents, as well.  In this way, you are making decisions about how to utilize your time and resources that reflect what your school community needs, not just what you think they need or what you like to do.  Thus, you may learn that 70% of your students want groups on study-skills and that this is supported with 80% of teachers and parents, versus only 2% of students, teachers, and parents that feel a group on social-skills would be beneficial.  Now, this does not necessarily mean that  you will throw a social-skills group out the window, but it would warrant looking into it further and finding additional sources of data that might support the need.  We also use perception data quite often to see what change has occurred in students feelings, thoughts, or knowledge as a result of our interventions.  Often this is done through either a pre and post test combination, or simply a post test.  These can come in many forms, but asked in developmentally appropriate ways (a choice of two pictures, such as a smiley face and a frowny face for younger students versus a five-point Likert scales for older students) how someone believes they have changed because of your lesson, group, or program.  Thus, there was a 50% increase in 10th graders knowledge of career options as a result of your lesson.  After your lesson on bullying and harassment, 98% of 8th graders could correctly identify the bully, the victim, and the bystander and their roles in the bullying cycle.  Thus, perception data is more powerful than process data in that it can demonstrate change and growth as a result of your program.  However, it is subject to self-reporting, which is not always the most reliable, and does not address the direct impact that the program  has on the academic process.
• Outcome Data: This data was previously known as "results" data, so if you see that term used in prior publications, articles, or entries, realize that they are referring to the same general idea.  Outcome data refers to academic information such as grades and test scores, but also enrollment in rigorous courses and post-secondary planning outcomes.  It also refers to attendance and school-safety.  This is the most powerful data that we can use, as these are the hard numbers that administrators, communities, and state and national entities are tracking.  If you can show that through your intervention grades have improved, test-scores have gone up, enrollment in advanced coursework has increased, more students are applying and being admitted to two and four year colleges, students are coming to school more, or disciplinary incidents have decreased, you are demonstrating that your program is having a direct effect on the academic process, success, and "outcome" of the students in your community.  80% of students who participated in the year-long "Student Success" program saw an increase of .5 or better in their GPA.  Students with five or more unexcused absences that participated in the student-parent program targeting school engagement saw a 65% drop in truancy after two months.  As a result of a school-wide, comprehensive bullying and harassment campaign led by the school-counselors, reported incidents of bullying and harassment were down by 50% from the previous year.  Ultimately, we want as many of our programs to show a change in this data category, as it speak to the true power that school counselors can have on the success of our students.

For more in depth explanation of this information, refer to the ASCA National Model, 3rd Edition.  

So, why do school counselors need to speak this language and use data?  I have been involved in many conversations over the years with practitioners who state that finding data, developing instruments to measure interventions, and analyzing and presenting data takes time away from our direct work with students, which is what we have been trained to do and which is what is most beneficial to students and communities.  There are those that feel that the data-driven movement has taken the humanity out of our profession.  My counter to this is that first, we need data to better make use of our limited time. We all have high case-loads, and some of us in various parts of the country have extremely high case-loads.  By looking at information such as grades and test-scores, broken down by subgroups, as well as needs assessments, we can better target our time with those who may benefit the most from more direct interventions.  Secondly, we need to invest our time and resources on programs that have an impact.  This scenario happens all the time:  You have a speaker come in.  You think the speaker is wonderful.  Other adults think the speaker is wonderful.  No one ever asks the kids what they learned from the speaker, and no one ever follows up to look at academic, attendance, or school-safety data to see if there was any strong, long term impact from the speaker.  Are you really getting the bang for your buck with this intervention, especially if you have taken away from instructional time and spent money to bring this speaker in?  By using data to measure the effectiveness of programs, either with perception data, outcome data, or both, you will quickly determine which programs work and which do not.  This empowers you to justify cutting some things, changing some programs, and developing others based on the true needs of your school.  It also will allow you to ultimately spend more time with students if you are able to do away with some things that have no impact whatsoever on your school community.  Lastly, we need to collect and use data in order to promote, defend, and expand our profession.  As the latest 2012 National Survey of School Counselors from the National Office of School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) tells us, both school counselors and school principals believe that school counselors are ready to take the lead in helping develop students who are college and career ready and chart them on a path to strong post-secondary options.  However, for better or for worse, we need to show our local, state, and national communities just how strong an impact that we are able to have on the academic achievement and outcomes of our students in order to receive the necessary resources and reasonable case-loads that will allow us to do this important work.

So, where do you start?

• Examine data sources that are already available.  Most schools across the country have public "report cards" that breakdown testing data by subgroups.  This can give you an idea pretty quickly of where students are and are not doing well, academically.  You can take this information to your team, administration, or advisory council to begin to develop a program that can address this.  Additionally, look at student grades, graduation rates, attendance, and school-safety data.  This information alone should help to give you some ideas of where there are needs for your services within your building.
• Consider doing a needs assessment.  Take a deep breath--this does not mean do a needs assessment of every student, teacher, or parent in your building.  Target a small population--pick a grade level, do a random sampling, or look at a subgroup that you've found based on information you've gleaned from the previous bullet-point.  In this way, before you develop a program, you can get a better handle on what those students need most.  You may think that your group targeting 7th grade attendance needs help with study-skills, but your needs assessment of them prior to starting may point you in a different direction.
• Find ways to collect data on your programs.  If this is overwhelming, start with one or two, and over the course of a few years add more until you are examining your entire program.  It is important to begin to ask yourself and your team what changes in perception and student outcomes are occurring as a result of your interventions.  You can use paper-pencil pre and post tests or you can use online tools like Survey Monkey and Naviance to gather perception data, and you can go into your school's database to gather the outcome data.  Once you start taking a look at some of the programs that may have been in place for years, you may be surprised by the results.  This can begin some important conversations within your school as to how to best utilize your time and resources.  Some of them may be difficult conversations, but with data you are always able to bring the discussion back to student success and outcomes.
• Share your data.  Regardless of what the data shows, whether effective or ineffective, share your data with stakeholders.  This can be a great thing to do during your advisory council meetings, but you should also feel free to share it with teachers, administrators, and parents as appropriate.  This can be done informally through e-mails, presentations, or newsletters, or you can develop more formalized reports.

If these steps seem like they are just scratching the surface and you are looking for more information on how to compile data and make more formalized DATA reports, I would highly recommend taking a look at Making DATA Work by Dr. Anita Young and Dr. Carol Kaffenberger and available through the ASCA Bookstore.  This book will go into much more detail and give you step-by-step instructions on compiling data, developing instruments to measure programs, and writing a DATA report to share with your stakeholders.  It also includes samples for you to look at that can serve as models.  

Once you begin this process and develop a comfort level with data, you will not only be on your way to RAMP, but you will have begun to find ways to maximize your time with students as well as demonstrate just how powerful the role of a school counselor can be within a school and community.

The Road to RAMP: Paving It With More Than Good Intentions

This is the first in what will be a series of reflections on the RAMP process.

It is 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon.  School ended at 2:05, and I am knee deep in action plans, program goals, and annual agreements.  Where did I put the latest version of the Small-Group Action Plans?  I am writing out my 6th e-mail in 3 hours to our Student Information Assistant asking her to pull more data from the computer system to help better define our achievement gap goal.  Thankfully, she is a genius, and quickly sends me another Excel spreadsheet filled with numbers.

Our data-collection year has begun--RAMP is on!  Do I have enough coffee for this?

Judging by the buzz in school counseling circles, interest in RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) is exploding.  Local and state workshops are filling to capacity, and all around the blogosphere and in the world of Twitter you will find people asking questions and seeking information and resources.  School counselors want to know how they, too, can receive national recognition for a comprehensive school counseling program.

Whoa, slow down there, partner.  First you will need to develop and implement your comprehensive school counseling program.

People will often ask me, "So, you're RAMPing this year?"  My answer is that we've actually been RAMPing for about four years, this is simply our data-collection year.  You see, RAMP is ideally not a one-year, one-time process.  As with many things in life, the end is not anywhere near as important as the journey you will take to get to that end.  RAMP really serves as a capstone, the cherry-on-top of a sundae that has many layers (preferably a few that involve chocolate) and that has taken time, effort, failure, and sometimes major philosophical shifts to build.  The most important part of this process is the transformation that takes place in you, your team, and your school community as a result of implementing data-driven practices and creating a program that works with, targets, and benefits all students.  We, as school counselors, know that change is often scary, and that it can take people a while to buy-in and get on board with things that are new.  This will extend to your own counseling team, as well as your entire building, depending on your current school climate.  If you have no or few components of a comprehensive program already in place and you try to suddenly complete a RAMP application in one year, you run the risk of meeting with a great deal of resistance.  Additionally, you may succeed and have a recognized program, but if no one else in your building or community has really bought into the comprehensive program or fully understands it, how far have you really come?

So, you're excited about RAMP and interested in taking on the transformation of your program.  Where exactly do you begin?

• Get a model.  By model, I mean the ASCA National Model, 3rd Ed.  In this revision, they have really streamlined the information and turned much of it into more of a working document, filled with templates and worksheets to get you and your team thinking and working on specific elements, such as mission, beliefs, and achievement gap programming.  Becoming familiar with the model will help you to begin wrapping your mind around what a comprehensive, data-driven program looks like.  One of the additional benefits of the new model is that there is both a print edition and a digital edition.  Both come with access to templates and worksheets, but the digital edition also has video clips and links to additional resources to further explain and enhance content.
• Educate yourself on the RAMP process and seek out resources.  ASCA has many, many resources to include articles and examples of other RAMP applications so that you are able to see what the expectations are.  One article serves as a checklist to see just how far along in the process your program is and whether you are yet ready to apply for RAMP.  Additionally, there is a link to a monthly checklist for those entering their data-collection year.  Even if you are not there yet, it can give you an idea of what sorts of components need to be in place for a strong application.  Additionally, for those who would like professional development, there is an archived webinar through ASCA about the RAMP process, a podcast about developing a comprehensive program, multiple discussion threads on ASCA Scene, and if there is enough interest in your area, you can schedule an in-person training.  In fact, some of these trainings have already occurred in Maryland, Georgia, and Texas--keep your eyes and ears open for one that may be close to you.
• Take a deep breath...or five.  If you have done the two steps above and a lot of the information was unfamiliar, you might be feeling overwhelmed.  Remember, transformation is a process and it takes time.  You should not expect to have all these things done overnight.  We'll talk more about where you start in a bit.
• Seek mentoring.  If you are fortunate, you are in an area where other schools have RAMPed or you have a district that is working to implement comprehensive school counseling programs across the board.  If this is the case, you probably have support and mentors close to home.  However, what do you do if you if you're in a rural district or in a place which has not yet even heard the whispers of the ASCA National Model?  First, I would recommend looking to local and state school counseling organizations.  There may not be anyone locally to turn to, but there is more than likely someone at the state level who can help to connect you to another practitioner who can give you thoughts and feedback.  Even if this person is not local, use technology like Skype and FaceTime to chat face-to-face over the internet.  Additionally, there is support from online communities such as Twitter through the monthly #scchats that occur.  In fact, Dr. Erin Mason will be moderating a chat on Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at 8 p.m. ET specifically about the RAMP process.  People are out there to help, whether close-by or across the country.
• Build relationships.  This may seem an odd step, but really, you cannot possibly create a comprehensive program or go through the RAMP process without buy-in from stakeholders.  If you are part of a counseling team, you will need to have the support of your whole team in order to move forward, and oftentimes team members are at very different places with regards to a data-driven program.  If you are the lone counselor in your building, you will need the support of your administration, teachers, and other support staff in your building to make this happen.  Collaborative team meetings with your counseling colleagues combined with advisory council meetings that engage parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members are vital to beginning to educate people about why comprehensive programs are important and the impact they can have on student outcomes.  The ASCA Model is a great place to start with ways to engage stakeholders and begin to tackle the foundation upon which you will build your program.
• Speaking of which...where do you begin?  Everyone has to start somewhere, and I must state again that trying to do all of this at once is probably not the best choice for long-term, sustained transformation with community support.  You will know your own situation and school culture best, but the place to begin is with the foundation--Mission, Vision, and Beliefs.  These three things will really help to define and determine the rest of your program, as everything you do, from programs to closing achievement gaps to developing small groups will need to somehow resonate back to these three components.  Next, if you have never collected data before, pick a program or two to really focus on, gathering data before and after the intervention and sharing that information with stakeholders to show the impact of that intervention.  Start small so that it is not overwhelming, but even if you only get information on one or two lessons or groups, by quantifying what you have done and reflecting upon it and what it means for the future, you will have truly begun to examine the effectiveness of what you do.  It may be that as a result of this, you realize that something you have done for years does not have the impact you thought it did, so maybe you should instead focus more of your time elsewhere.  Likewise, it may be that a program turns out to have a strong effect beyond what was ancitipated, in which case it might be time to expand or invest more resources.  This information can be so powerful, especially if the data is tied directly to student achievement (grades, test scores, graduation rates)!  Beyond this, the annual agreement is a great document to really connect what you do with your administration and can serve as a launching-off point to demonstrate where your time really goes versus what may be more effective or ideal.  You can use this document to perhaps negotiate removing some non-counseling duties in favor of tasks that have you working directly with and/or for students.  Finally, doing a targeted needs assessment of students, teachers, or parents can give you some data to help point you in the direction of where you should go next.  For example, if you are trying to determine what groups you are going to run this year, pick a random sample of students (and parents, depending on the age) and poll them to see what the needs might be.  You might be surprised to find that something that you perceived as a huge need is not even on the radar, whereas something else might rise to the top that you hadn't really considered.

By starting small, building key relationships, and making a plan over the long-term that slowly adds components of a RAMP program over time, you will find yourself in your own data-collection year before you know it.