School Counselor Corps Grant Program. Charles E. Dukes Colorado Department of Education

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1 School Counselor Corps Grant Program Charles E. Dukes Colorado Department of Education

2 School Counselor Corps Grant Program Review Grant Intentions Move the focus from generalized counseling to implementing a comprehensive counseling program that develops partnerships with postsecondary and community leaders, collects data to inform the practice, creates personal plans for students and transforms the college going culture.

3 School Counselor Corps Grant Program Review 90 schools in 37 districts and/or Charter School Institute schools were awarded School Counselor Corps funds. In total, the $5 million grant program was able to support 75.5 secondary counselors who provided services to over 82,000 students of which over 38,000 (46 percent) are economically disadvantaged. At the program level, SCCP played a major role in increasing levels of communication between school-based counselors and district personnel. In some cases, the SCCP helped restructure district-wide counseling services to make them more comprehensive and effective. A few grantees reported an increase in classroom instruction provided by the secondary counselors to provide scholarship, college and career awareness.

4 School Counselor Corps Grant RFP Quality of Plan Adopting standards recommended by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA); Providing quality professional development; Using data over time; and Setting measurable goals. Development of Partnerships Institutions of higher education, postsecondary service providers, or community based organizations and businesses; and External education agencies, and/or community, and/or business workforce partners.

5 School Counselor Corps Grant RFP cont Post-Secondary Preparation Providing a culture of postsecondary planning; Developing Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAPs); Involving leaders to increase the effectiveness of postsecondary preparation in the school; Using data to improve existing programs; and Providing access to accelerated coursework and remediation courses. Adequacy of Resources Cost effectiveness; Sustainability of program; and Supplementing of current resources.

6 What Do Counselors Do?

7 The New Essential Question: How Has Student Achievement Increased as a Result of What Counselors Do?

8 Year Three Results The School Counselor Corps Grant Program (SCCP) has been evaluated annually since it began in Evaluation results indicate positive impacts in advancing Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness in Colorado by making gains in the following areas in SCCGP schools: Increased enrollment in academic, postsecondary, and career and technical programs; A rise in the scholarship dollars awarded to students; Steady graduation rate and decrease in the dropout rate; and Increased number of completed Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP).

9 School Counselor Corps Impact on the Dropout Rate and Graduation Rate Year Three findings show that in comparison with non-funded School Counselor Corps Grant schools, the schools receiving School Counselor Corps grant funds decreased (improved) their cumulative dropout rate by.6 School Counselor Corps Grant Program percentage points from to while nonparticipating schools increased their dropout rate by.3 percentage points over this same period. The SCCGP has maintained the graduation rate from to while non-participating schools show declining graduation rates over the same period.

10 School Counselor Corps Impact on the Dropout Rates

11 School Counselor Corps Impact on the Graduation Rate

12 School Counselor Corps Impact on Increasing College Access SCCP grantees were required to submit data related to college, including the number of college and scholarship applications submitted, the number of FAFSA applications submitted and the number of students accepted into a postsecondary institution. In the second year of the program, grant recipients show increases in the following: The number of submitted scholarship applications; The number of college applications submitted; The number of submitted FAFSA forms; and The total amount of scholarships received.

13 School Counselor Corps Impact on Increasing College Access Year Three findings illustrated the positive impact of the program in college related data in the following ways: The number of college applications sent increased by 2,131 (from 9,922 to 12,053). When compared with Year Two, the total amount students received in scholarships increased by $9 million (from $23 million to $32 million). Findings indicate that academic, postsecondary and career and technical preparation course enrollment increased by 49,000 students (from 79,174 to 112,812).

14 School Counselor Corps Impact on Increasing College Access

15 School Counselor Corps Impact on Scholarship Dollars

16 School Counselor Corps Impact Academic, Postsecondary, Career and Technical courses

17 School Counselor Corps Grant Program The legislature approved $4.8 million in distribution for another grant cycle in May proposals were reviewed by CDE and Counseling and Career preparation specialists in the field and 22 were recommended for funding and approved for funding by the State Board of Education. 88 schools will be served and 60.5 new professional school counselor positions will be created.

18 School Counselor Corps Grant Quality of Plan Adopting standards recommended by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA); Providing quality professional development; Using data over time; and Setting measurable goals. Development of Partnerships Institutions of higher education, postsecondary service providers, or community based organizations and businesses; and External education agencies, and/or community, and/or business workforce partners.

19 School Counselor Corps Grant Post-Secondary Preparation Providing a culture of postsecondary planning; Developing Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAPs); Involving leaders to increase the effectiveness of postsecondary preparation in the school; Using data to improve existing programs; and Providing access to accelerated coursework and remediation courses. Adequacy of Resources Cost effectiveness; Sustainability of program; and Supplementing of current resources.

20 Contact Colorado Department of Education Charles E. Dukes (P) (C)