Section

Foundational Components

Counseling Program's Mission Statement

The Mission Statement of Airport Elementary is aligned to the Weslaco Independent School District (WISD) Guidance and Counseling Department's mission statement. It is to implement a comprehensive guidance and counseling program in grades PreK-12 to promote overall student success through a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) prevention and trauma-informed intervention, advocacy, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and College, Career, or Military Readiness (CCMR) to meet the needs of the student and WISD community.

The Weslaco ISD guidance and counseling department follows the Texas Comprehensive Developmental Guidance and Counseling Program, which is an integral part of the total educational program. It provides a systematic, planned approach for helping all students acquire and apply basic life skills by making optimal use of special knowledge and skills of school counselors.

This program is based on four components, which are as follows:

Guidance Curriculum- the purpose of the guidance curriculum is to help students acquire age-appropriate knowledge and skills within the scope of the following content areas: self confidence, development, motivation to achieve, decision making, goal setting, planning, problem solving skills, interpersonal effectiveness, and responsible behavior.

Responsive Services- the purpose of the responsive services component is to intervene on behalf of those students whose immediate personal concerns or problems put their continued personal-social, career and/or educational development at risk.

Individual Planning- the purpose of the individual planning system is to guide all students as they plan, monitor, and manage their own educational career and personal social development.

Systems Support- this component describes services and management activities which indirectly benefit students.

Definition

The WISD Guidance and Counseling/Social Work mission is to implement a comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling program for our students in grades Pre-K-12 promoting students success through focus on academic achievement, prevention, and intervention activities, advocacy and social/emotional and career development to meet the needs of the students and community of WISD.

The comprehensive development guidance and counseling program model is embedded into the WISD academic curriculum and covers these strands:

Self-knowledge and acceptance
Interpersonal and communication skills
Conflict resolution
Decision making/problem solving
Motivation to achieve
Goal Setting
Career Planning

We encourage parents to make an appointment with your child's counselor to view the guidance curriculum and discuss what you can do together to create the most successful educational experience possible.

Rationale

Airport Elementary School Counselors believe that students deserve equitable access to high-quality education in a safe and accepting environment structured to foster the learning process. They also believe that all students can succeed when positive relationships are present and fostered by all educational stakeholders in a safe, nurturing, and inclusive environment.

Assumptions

For the Weslaco ISD Comprehensive Counseling Program to be fully and effectively implemented at Airport Elementary, certain criteria must be met as mentioned below.

The school counselors hold a Master's level degree and are certified in school counseling through the State of Texas.
School counselors are responsible for the planning and management responsibilities of the school counseling program.
School counselors and support staff meet to review student data and identify, prioritize, and target student needs.
All students have access to the counseling program and counseling resources regardless of gender, cultural background, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
Parental engagement is part of the decision-making process for the school counseling program. This is accomplished via the advisory council.
Parental involvement is part of the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program.
Campus administration provides financial support for supplies, resources, materials, and staff development opportunities.
Teachers provide input and work with the counselors to support counseling program goals.
School counselors collaborate with school administration and site leadership teams in order to ensure the effective implementation of school counseling services.
School counselors have access to an office/classroom which can be used as a classroom or confidential office space where they can meet with students individually or in groups.
School counselors have access to district developed counseling curriculum that is updated annually and meets the individual needs of our student.

Program Goal Development

Airport Elementary School Counselors employ Panorama, a research-based survey given to students and staff twice a year, in the Fall and Spring. The survey results offer essential data to address the needs of both students and staff.

Counselors utilize this information to formulate an action plan based on the needs assessment. Goals are established from June to August, enabling Administration and Counselors to collaborate on enhancements from the previous school year and introduce new initiatives. These efforts promote continuous growth and improvement in the services offered by campus counselors.

Needs Assessment

Airport Elementary uses Panorama, a research-based survey, along with a school-specific questionnaire to collect data from students and staff. Both quantitative and qualitative surveys are administered twice a year—in the Fall and Winter. The responses from these surveys provide valuable insights to support the needs of students and staff at the school. The survey administration is carefully planned to enable counselors to develop an action plan based on the needs assessment derived from the Panorama survey results.

-Sample Student SEL and Well Being Survey provided to students:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:a78f1727-18e2-447e-b7b0-e96eb60f6a29

-Sample Student Support and Environment Survey provided to students:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:95854b47-781e-4af5-9e02-363242c85239

-Sample Staff Survey provided to all Campus Staff:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:49551307-822c-4b50-80e5-eff52c4d3269

Program Evaluation

The Airport Elementary Counseling Advisory Committee (CAC) evaluates the initiatives and goals of the Counseling department to ensure that foundational components are implemented effectively. They analyze data from the Panorama survey to create an Action Plan based on the feedback from both staff and students. This includes a systematic review of data such as student self-referrals, teacher/staff referrals, and incidents of self-harm.

This data helps assess the effectiveness of the counseling services provided and informs decisions regarding Tier I and Tier II interventions by the Airport Elementary Counselors. In addition to the quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the Winter and Fall Panorama surveys, the CAC also gathers feedback from team members to ensure that goals are met, supporting the implementation of the Texas Model and confirming that the Counseling Program addresses the needs of students.

The fidelity of implementing the Texas Model components is reviewed monthly using the SB 179 Compliance Log. Monthly evaluations include pie charts to track compliance with SB 179 and ensure that the services provided by the Airport Elementary Counselors align with the Texas Model.

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