School Counselors Use a Funnel System to Reach Every Student
Student focused activities and interventions are designed to further student success in the academic, career, and personal/ social domains of their lives. Specific goals are determined by studying data, and various activities that address student needs are planned. These programs would be evaluated for effectiveness on a regular basis and altered based on results.
School counselors use a funnel system to ensure that we reached all students. School wide, classroom, small group, and individual interventions are chosen. We direct our school wide programs at all students. Classroom instruction focuses on many students within the school. The students not showing progress in these large group activities would receive more intensive, personal intervention through small group experiences. A small portion of students who needed even further intervention would receive individual services or would be referred to an outside resource.
School Wide Programming:
School wide programs/ activities involve the entire student population. These programs may look like weeklong awareness campaigns, bulletin boards and posters designed by students and placed throughout the school, or monthly school letters provided to the whole school by the school counselors.
Classroom Instruction:
School counseling curriculum is delivered by school counselors in classrooms, career center, or other school facilities. They may teach or assist in teaching various learning activities to students.
Small Group Interventions:
A school counselor or trained staff member conducts small planned group activities outside of the classroom to address students’ identified needs or interests.
Individual Interventions:
Individual interventions are provided by a school counselor or outside professional, to students who still have unmet academic, career, or personal/social needs after experiencing school wide, classroom, and group interventions. It also may be determined that certain students would not respond well to group activities, and they would be referred directly to individual services.
American School Counselor Association (2005). The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, Second Edition. Alexandria, VA: Author.