The Boston Connects Program: Promoting Learning and Healthy Development

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1 1 of 5 8/18/ :06 AM Record: 1 Title: Authors: Source: Document Type: Subject Terms: Abstract: Author Affiliations: The Boston Connects Program: Promoting Learning and Healthy Development. Walsh, Mary E. 1 Mary.Walsh.1@bc.edu Kenny, Maureen E. 2 Wieneke, Kristin M. 3 Harrington, Kara R. 3 Professional School Counseling; Dec2008, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p , 4p Article *PROMOTION (School) *ACADEMIC achievement *STUDENT development *EDUCATIONAL programs *PARTNERSHIPS in education *SCHOOL improvement programs The Boston Connects Program is a school-community-university partnership in which school counselors play a pivotal role in coordinating a comprehensive system of preventive services and student supports. The program is designed to promote healthy academic, social-emotional, and physical development for all children; reduce barriers to academic learning; and enhance the health-promoting and growth-fostering characteristics of the urban elementary school environment (Walsh, Barrett, & DePaul, 2007). Consistent with the ASCA National Model (American School Counselor Association, 2005), the Boston Connects approach is programmatic, collaborative, preventive, and data-driven, and it supports the development of all children. This article describes the role of the school counselor in coordinating a comprehensive array of strengths-based supportive and developmental interventions and provides evidence to support the benefits of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Professional School Counseling is the property of American School Counselor Association and its content may not be copied or ed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) 1 Professor, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 2 Associate dean, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 3 Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA Full Text Word Count: ISSN: Accession Number: Database: Academic Search Premier The Boston Connects Program: Promoting Learning and Healthy Development The Boston Connects Program is a school-community-university partnership in which school counselors play a pivotal role in coordinating a comprehensive system of preventive services and student supports. The program is designed to promote healthy academic, social-emotional, and physical development for all children; reduce barriers to academic learning; and enhance the health-promoting and growth-fostering characteristics of the urban elementary school environment (Walsh, Barrett, & DePaul, 2007). Consistent with the ASCA National Model (American School Counselor Association, 2005), the Boston Connects approach is programmatic, collaborative, preventive, and data-driven, and it supports the development of all children. This article describes the role of the school counselor in coordinating a comprehensive array of strengths-based supportive and developmental interventions and provides evidence to support the benefits of this approach. In contrast to the problem-focused approach that has traditionally characterized the profession of school counseling, the field has moved in recent years toward a strengths-based approach. The ASCA National Model (American School Counselor Association, 2005) articulated a framework that supports the academic, career, and personal/social development of every child. Galassi and Akos (2007) have elaborated principles of Strengths-Based School Counseling (SBSC) that enrich the ASCA National Model by focusing on the promotion of culturally relevant strengths and competencies at the individual and environmental levels. Contemporary models in developmental psychology (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Lerner, 2001) provide theoretical support for a strengths-based contextual approach to school counseling by calling attention to the role of strengths in the interplay of individual and contextual factors throughout

2 2 of 5 8/18/ :06 AM the developmental process (e.g., Walsh, Galassi, Murphy, & Park-Taylor, 2002). The Boston Connects Program, a school-community-university partnership designed to promote learning and healthy development, provides an example of a strengths-based approach to student support. The program is grounded in a developmental-contextual framework (Walsh et al., 2002), is aligned with the ASCA National Model (Walsh, Barrett, & DePaul, 2007), and incorporates principles of SBSC. This article describes the Boston Connects program and the pivotal role of the school counselor. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM Located in 14 Boston public elementary schools representing two diverse and low-income neighborhoods, Boston Connects relies on a systemic, school-based approach to promote the academic, social-emotional, and physical well-being of students and to alleviate barriers to learning. With the support of its university partner, Boston College, this collaborative has developed a data-driven approach to the delivery of comprehensive, coordinated student support services. School counselors from the Boston Connects program (a) assist teachers and school staff to identify all students' individual strengths and needs, (b) collaborate with teachers and school staff to develop a tailored student support plan, (c) engage with parents and families, (d) establish partnerships with community agencies, and (e) refer the student and family to the appropriate school- and community-based supports. Boston Connects does not merely tack on supplementary supports for students, but rather it modifies schools' structures so that effective student support becomes an essential component of the educational mission of the schools. Consistent with an SBSC approach, these modified school structures are designed to promote a strengths-enhancing environment (Galassi & Akos, 2007). Boston Connects makes available a continuum of appropriate resources and services that range from prevention to intensive intervention. Boston Connects seeks to promote healthy development across the whole school, while providing early and intensive intervention for a smaller number of students (Adelman & Taylor, 2006). An overview of the program is illustrated in Figure 1. At the school level, healthy development is promoted through a schoolwide social competence and health promotion curriculum that builds on the strengths of all students and assesses the patterns of strengths and risks for each student (base of inverted triangle). For the smaller number of students who display developmental challenges, the program seeks to deliver early intervention by both promoting strengths and addressing risks (middle of triangle). For the few children who evidence serious challenges, the program offers intensive intervention (tip of inverted triangle). Each of these levels will be explored in detail in order to provide examples of ways that this model can be implemented. Consistent with an SBSC approach, Boston Connects seeks to enhance student strengths rather than focus on deficits, even when designing early and intensive intervention services. The ultimate goal is to promote the healthy development of all students, thereby reducing the number of students in need of intensive services. Whole School Prevention Boston Connects implements two schoolwide programs in each school to ensure that strengths-based services are available to all students: a social competence and health promotion curriculum embedded in the New Balance Foundation (NBF) Program for Healthy Development and the Whole Class Review (WCR) Process. New Balance Foundation Program for Healthy Development. The NBF Program for Healthy Development, designed and implemented by Boston Connects with funding from New Balance, includes delivery of health and social competence curricula as well as schoolwide and communitywide programs to promote healthy development. The NBF program delivers to all children in Grades 2-5 a developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant curriculum derived from evidence-based approaches. Over the course of the academic year, weekly lessons addressing social competence skills (e.g., good decision making) and various aspects of health (e.g., nutrition) are delivered in each classroom by certified teachers in coordination with Boston Connects school counselors. An example of a health lesson would be teaching children how to read nutrition fact labels. School counselors and health teachers collaborate to extend the NBF program to the whole school as well as to families and the larger community. For example, school counselors and teachers have implemented a communitywide Health Week involving family members, parents, and community partners. Health Week includes parent nutrition classes and healthy school breakfasts for the school staff, families, and community members. To promote health awareness in the community, outstanding student posters on healthy lifestyles are selected by school and community leaders for display in community agencies and stores. Over the course of the year, the university partner provides seminars for the school counselors and health teachers to support their work with students. For example, a university-based counselor educator with a specialty in multicultural training has assisted health teachers and counselors to identify and build upon culturally relevant student and family strengths. This training has helped teachers and counselors interpret family deferment to teacher expertise as a reflection of cultural respect for educators rather than as disinterest in their children's education. In order to assess the effectiveness of the program, the university project evaluation team has worked with school counselors and health teachers to develop and implement a program evaluation. In turn, the evaluation findings have

3 3 of 5 8/18/ :06 AM contributed to the refinement of health promotion strategies. For example, our evaluation revealed that the self-esteem and social satisfaction of students enrolled in the health curriculum were related to student awareness that body size and shape are influenced in part by genetic factors. As a result, we invited a registered dietician from the university's food services department to work with the health teachers about ways to communicate knowledge about the genetic bases of body size to elementary school children and to convey additional strategies for fostering a healthy body image among youth. Whole Class Review Process. WCR is a focused strategy to identify the strengths of all students as well as to identify community-based enrichment and support opportunities for each student. In the WCR process, the Boston Connects school counselor and other members of the student support team (e.g., principal, classroom teacher, special educator, community agency representative) review each student's academic, social/emotional/behavioral, health, and family strengths and needs. The student support team reviews the information provided by the classroom teacher and makes enrichment recommendations as well as referrals for early intervention. Students with intensive intervention needs are referred to an individual student review for an in-depth consultation. The school counselor communicates with families and various community organizations to ensure that the child and family are linked to resources and services that will promote strengths and reduce risks. In the initial stages of Boston Connects, the review tool focused only on risks; however, more recently the tool was restructured to elicit data about both strengths and risks. As a result, teachers now report more student strengths, suggesting that even a minor protocol change can affect an orientation toward student strengths in contrast to deficits. This protocol change had the ability to impact the orientation of teachers, support staff, and administrators, and thus the overall school climate. The WCR process, which ensures a systematic, comprehensive, and individualized approach, is used to identify and implement strengths-based planning. Given the location of Boston Connects in a major urban area, school counselors are able to connect students, families, and schools to a rich array of community resources. Accessing these strengths-enhancing resources can be a powerful intervention, especially in light of schools' traditional focus on risk reduction programs (e.g., drug and pregnancy prevention). Ironically, students in affluent communities may enjoy these experiences through both their families and their highly resourced schools (Pittman, Irby, Tolman, Yohalem, & Ferber, 2001). For urban youth, the Boston Ballet Citydance program brings dance education to third-grade students and offers scholarships for those with a special interest in dance to participate in Saturday classes. Another program, BalletRox, sponsors the "Urban Nutcracker" performance each year, which includes Boston public school students as performers and audience members. Additionally, music students from a local university offer instrumental music instruction, and university athletes visit kindergarten classes to read to children and provide tickets to university sporting events. America Scores also offers an innovative after-school program with workshops in creative writing, soccer, and community service to inspire young people to lead healthy lifestyles and to be engaged and active citizens. Although some of these resources may be specific to Boston, most communities have a unique array of community resources. If school counselors make these resources available to students within their schools, the strengths-enhancing capacity of the school environment is increased. Early Intervention Through the whole class and individual student review process, students may be identified for early intervention. Recommendations are made by the classroom teacher and the student support team, with the school counselor serving as an advocate to identify potential resources and services for these children. These resources include mentoring (through programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters), tutoring (through programs such as Read Boston), engagement in support groups (such as a support group for adopted children), and programs that build leadership skills (such as Strong Women Strong Girls). Urban Improv offers interactive drama workshops to develop student skills in decision making and conflict resolution. After-school programs build academic skills in specific areas such as science through programs offered by the Boston Children's Museum and the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College. Through such early intervention opportunities, the school counselor can support students who may be at risk, to foster strengths in order to avoid intensive intervention. Intensive Intervention Despite these efforts at positive development and early intervention, some students, as depicted by the tip of the inverted triangle, will inevitably need more intensive intervention. In the Boston Connects model, intensive interventions are intended to be few in number in comparison with positive development and early intervention. Although typical interventions at this level are remedial, such as individual and family counseling and special education, they also may be strengths-enhancing. For example, an after-school program designed for children with behavioral problems seeks to teach self-discipline while also teaching students to rebuild bicycles. ACCOUNTABILITY: SUCCESS OF THE MODEL At a time when education is increasingly data-driven, Boston Connects is a data-based approach empirically assessing needs, measuring a range of outcomes, and continuously revising its practice based on evaluation findings. Consistent

4 4 of 5 8/18/ :06 AM with the goal of strengths promotion and early intervention, our evaluation results reveal that the Boston Connects schools have witnessed an increase in the range of resources and services to which children are referred and a shift in referrals from remedial services to referrals for services that build strengths. For example, between 2003 and 2006 the percentage of students in Boston Connects schools referred for enrichment and other capacity-building services increased from 26% to 43%. In 2006, 100% of students in Grades 2-5 participated weekly in the NBF program. These data document the extent to which school and community resources directed toward early intervention and strengths enhancement have been provided to a larger number of students. As referrals for early intervention and enrichment have increased, referrals for remedial services have declined. In 2002, before Boston Connects was fully implemented, schools relied almost exclusively on special education and/or mental health services, with over 35% of referrals made for special education. Referrals for special education declined to 4% in In 2002, 60% of referrals were for counseling services. By 2006, referrals were distributed across 12 different categories including many strengths-based resources and services (after and before school, classroom interventions, enrichment, family outreach, mentoring, psycho-educational groups, tutoring, counseling, medical, and other service recommendations). Thus, over time, referrals have expanded beyond a primary reliance on remedial counseling and special education to a wider distribution of growth-fostering, less-intensive services. By providing prevention and early intervention services to all students, the Boston Connects model appears to be decreasing the need for intensive services. In schools where the Boston Connects model has existed for 4 years, the percentage of children requiring intensive services has decreased each year. In schools where the Boston Connects model is in its first year, the percentage of students requiring intensive services is significantly higher. Teacher and counselor awareness of and student access to alternate strengths-promoting interventions have allowed school counselors to increase provisions of strengths-based promotion and prevention services to all students. An analysis of counselor activity in the Boston Connects program revealed that counselors invest 23% of their time in engaging in prevention and advocacy and 29% of their time linking students with community agencies (Walsh et al., 2007). The shift in referral types also is reflected in a more than threefold increase in the number of community agencies partnered with schools. While the NBF program is still in its preliminary phases, short-term results demonstrate increases in student health knowledge, self-efficacy for positive health behaviors, healthy eating, and decreases in time spent in sedentary activity. Data have affirmed the interrelationship of health attitudes, behaviors, and social skills, supporting the integrated approach to teaching health and social competence (Kenny, Brogan, Harrington, & Connolly, 2007). Overall, these results indicate that Boston Connects has fostered a strengths-based approach to promoting student assets and to addressing student weaknesses. By incorporating a strengths-based mo del of student support, Boston Connects has shifted the focus of schools from remediation of deficits to strengths promotion and early intervention. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Boston Connects brings the resources of the university and the community to enhance the strengths of urban public school students. The school counselor exerts a pivotal role as a child advocate in coordinating this array of strengths-based resources, not usually leveraged by public schools. Data suggest that this model has moved Boston Connects schools away from a crisis orientation in which most referrals are in response to remedial needs, to a more proactive, strengths-based focus on all students. Although this article describes the role of the school counselor within the Boston Connects program, we believe that this approach can be adapted by other schools, given a commitment to directing resources for early intervention and strengths enhancement and sufficient community, family, and administrative support. DIAGRAM: Figure 1. Boston Connects conceptual framework (adaptation from Adelman & Taylor, 2006). References Adelman, H. S., & Taylor, L. (2006). The school leader's guide to student learning supports: New directions for addressing barriers to learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. American School Counselor Association. (2005). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Galassi, J. P., & Akos, P. (2007). Strengths-Based School Counseling: Promoting student development and achievement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Kenny, M. E., Brogan, D., Harrington, K., & Connolly, M. (2007, August). Health attitudes and social development among urban elementary school students. Poster session presented at the 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco. Lerner, R. M. (2001). Promoting promotion in the development of prevention science. Applied Developmental Science,

5 5 of 5 8/18/ :06 AM 5, Pittman, K.J., Irby, M., Tolman, J., Yohalem, N., & Ferber, T. (2001). Preventing problems, promoting development, encouraging engagement: Competing priorities or inseparable goals? Retrieved March 1, 2003, from Walsh, M. E., Barrett, J. G., & DePaul, J. (2007). Day-to-day activities of school counselors: Alignment with new directions in the field and the ASCA National Model. Professional School Counseling, 10, Walsh, M. E., Galassi, J. P., Murphy, J. A., & Park-Taylor, J. (2002). A conceptual framework for counseling psychologists in schools. The Counseling Psychologist, 30, ~~~~~~~~ By Mary E. Walsh; Maureen E. Kenny; Kristin M. Wieneke and Kara R. Harrington Mary E. Walsh, Ph.D., is a professor, Maureen E. Kenny, Ph.D., is an associate dean, and Kristin M. Wieneke, M.A., and Kara R. Harrington, M.S., are doctoral students. They all are with Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. Mary.Walsh.1@bc.edu Copyright of Professional School Counseling is the property of American School Counselor Association and its content may not be copied or ed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or articles for individual use.