ADVOCACY PLAN OUTLINE 1.

Briefly, describe the individual or group that is/are the focus of your advocacy and the plan you have developed for the advocacy effort. a. At PES data indicates a significant and disproportionately high number of discipline referrals for African American students. The school consists of only about 28% African American and African Americans constitute for the majority of the discipline referrals. The data is qualitatively defined by behaviors such as hitting, talking back, and repeated disruptions. In addition, for last years EOG data, 67% of white students were on grade level and only 28% were on grade level for reading. Math revealed similar results. The disproportionate ratio could point to a number of intersecting environmental, systemic, and personal factors, yet the isolated consequence of the disciplinary action comes down solely on the individual. Thus, this advocacy plan is directed at the culpritthe individuals ultimately bearing the consequences, African American students, rather than the multitude of possible systemic factors that could be addressed. The advocacy effort is intended to reach individual students in a large-scale way with small group counseling sessions for third and fourth grade students (divided by gender). The assumption that underpins this advocacy plan is that the selected students are not, both in spite of the referrals and as a result of them, able to access and perform to their potential (though this will be verified or disproved through a needs assessment and the screening process). The small groups are designed to give the students an opportunity to access their strengths and implement strategies for success inside and outside the classroom, through open exploration of identity and strengths, goals, and future aspirations, and corresponding concrete strategies that will help them be successful. In conjunction with the personal exploration component, specific personal, social, and academic strategies for the classroom will be covered that are designed to be transferrable to their overarching goals and long-term aspirations. The goal is to make clear, distinct connections between personal aspirations and strengths, dayto-day success in school, and long-term success, or more succinctly, short-term actions and long-term outcomes. Additional advocacy piece: i. Promote staff developmentdeeper understanding of African American culture, barriers/challenges to accessing public school ii. Partner w/local university and/or other advocacy groups seen as experts that would come and educate iii. Working collaboratively with administration iv. Educate vs. target v. Focus on the why vi. =Attitude perception changes within the staff 2. There are two related justifications for engaging in advocacy. These are moral and/or legal (e.g., IDEA, FERPA, etc.). What issue or issues underpin your advocacy plan? a. The issue underpinning this advocacy plan is the moral responsibility school counselors have to give (struggling) student populations strategies to succeed. After examining SWIS behavioral data and noticing significant trends among African American students we have the responsibility to the school and to these

students to draw inferences based on SWIS/teacher/student data, initiate small group based on these inferences, and ultimately advocate for their success. 3. Effective advocacy is data based. What data do you have that supports the need for the advocacy identified in your plan? a. SWIS data indicates there is a disproportionally high number of African American students with discipline referrals b. EOG data indicates that less than half the African American students are performing at grade level c. Student needs assess (to inform individual groups/teacher data and evaluations) 4. What do you hope to accomplish as a result of your advocacy efforts? What are your objectives? a. These groups are designed to give these students the opportunity to thoughtfully and thoroughly explore who they want to be, what they want to accomplish, and what they are capable of as a platform for which to introduce and work on specific strategies transferrable to the classroom. My intention is to empower the students to make clear connections between their actions, academic outcomes, relational outcomes, and emotional outcomes, both short-term and long-term. The theoretical premise is that with consistent reflection of deep personal desires and goals connected to behavior in the present as an undercurrent in each session, the students will be more receptive to specific strategies discussed, more likely to formulate their own, and more likely to use them. Students will be given tools within each domain but will also come up with their own tools based on their own unique skillsets and goals. With each tool there will be thoughtful reflection on how this will help them in the present and long-term, and it will be continually reinforced that small steps in the classroom lead to large-scale change. (fundamentals + big picture). The objective is to see the number of discipline referrals decrease in this population, but ultimately, I would like for the students to leave the group with short-term and long-term goals that are more salient in there daily lives, and are reflected in at least one self-identified strategy that works for them. In addition, I hope that I raise awareness in teachers with the educational piece. 5. What are the barriers that must be overcome if advocacy is to be successful? a. The environmental factors that could be a potential barrier to the effectiveness of this group is the culture in the classroom, the teacher-student dynamic, the culture at home, and the students perception of the group (ex. if the student feels targetedwhether racially or personally, or feels like its because he or she is inherently a student that needs to be fixed.) I think the most efficient, beneficial barrier to address for the purposes of this group would be students perception. (group that is focusing on individuals, the other factors are indirect, and there is greater variability that extends beyond the means of my goal and intention to focus on the breath/depth of change in the individual student rather than contextual change, although teacher education is also included.) This will be addressed by keeping the underlying focus on the group on the individual aspirations and goals, and personal volition in action and strategy execution. So the undertone is ultimately empowerment vs. here is the what we want from you. 6. Identify potential collaborators in your advocacy plan. What expertise will they bring to the effort?

a. My supervisor will be my collaborator in this advocacy plan, as she has experience with many of these individual students and with effective strategies for similar groups she has previously conducted. I will also plan with teachers in drawing from their insights before the group to inform my planning (insight into individual student triggers and behaviors, and also strategies that he or she has found in successful students) during the group to monitor progress, and a followup after the group to account for student progress and ultimately inform future sessions. In addition, I will partner with a local university/advocacy groups to bring an expert in (regarding cultural awareness, differences, and sensitivity) to educate. 7. What risks are associated with the advocacy effort to you personally and the counseling program? What are the potential rewards? a. The risk associated with the advocacy effort to me personally is that I may not be able to accomplish all that I intend to accomplish. To the program it may look as though we are targeting this group in a negative way (way that is rooted in race) and may appear unfair if too much time is devoted to this population in comparison to other students in need/white counterparts who have same behavioral issues. An additional risk is that the group could backfire at the individual level in that it could potentially implicitly reinforce an isolated/minority status, make them feel like theyre different/they need to be fixed, and perpetuate their behavior/cling more strongly to these pieces of their identity. The potential rewards are the intended objectivesequalized ratio of minority discipline referrals to white discipline referrals, and personal goals that are more salient in daily life that promote and regulate positive behavior. 8. In order to be successful, advocates must have certain dispositions. These are: a. the belief that advocacy is a part of their jobs; 8 b. a commitment to their code of ethics; 8 c. the belief that the purpose of education and school counselors specifically is to empower students and their family, 6 d. the belief that caring should underpin educational and counseling practice; and 10 e. a passionate approach to helping. 10 Using a 1-10 scale with 1 being low and 10 being high, please rate your dispositions. Will any of your dispositions have to be strengthened for your advocacy plan to be successful? Although all of these dispositions will need to be strengthened, the ones that will be the most relevant to strengthen for the purposes of this group would be the belief that the purpose of education and school counselors specifically is to empower students. In a school counselors job there are a lot of system-wide, large-scale demands and obligations, various directions to go and multiple directions to be pulled in, and multiple opportunities (for me personally) to forget to focus on each student as an individual worth exploring and empowering on a deep level. 9. Advocacy efforts often require specific skills such as a. assertive communication, 5 b. systematic problem solving, 7 c. small problem-solving group leadership,6 d. conflict resolution, 8

e. forming advocacy teams, 2 f. data and information collection, and 7 g. collaborative leadership skills. 5 Although all of these skills could be strengthened to benefit my advocacy plan, the ones that will be the most beneficial to strengthen for this plan specifically would be collaborative leadership skills, assertive communication, and small problem-solving group leadership skills. All of these skills will constitute effective group management and implementation, and are necessary for an effective group. Using a 1-10 scale, with 1 being low and 10 being high, please rate your skills in these areas. What specific skills will be needed in the advocacy process that you have outlined? 10. What evaluation method(s) could be used to determine the effectiveness of your advocacy effort? SWIS data can be evaluated at the end of the year for school-wide change. To assess the individual change pre/post surveys will be distributed to assess motivation before the group and then motivation to do well after, coupled with strategy identification before and after. On the pre and post survey there will also be an open-ended question intended to asses whether or not there is increased self-awareness (identification of personal goals and personal barriers that keep them from there goals). I will also give the students an opportunity to draft student success plan, which I will follow up with them a few weeks after the group. I will also follow up with teachers to see if they are seeing any changes in student behavior.