When Student Trust is Compromised

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

The craziness that comes with college notifications in March has been matched by a different kind of madness in February.  The Daily Pennsylvanian reports a former admissions officer at The University of Pennsylvania posted portions of applicants’ essays to her Facebook page.  If this weren’t bad enough, several of them were accompanied by commentary indicating the officer’s amazement, displeasure, and criticism of the essays (see the article at http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/02/former-admissions-officer-mocked-applicants-on-facebook)

If this issue doesn’t set off a fire bell in the head of every school counselor, it’s time to go back on spring break.  Disclosing personal information of any kind is a major violation of client confidentiality, a fundamental part of the counselor- student relationship.  College admissions officers aren’t usually counselors, but they are expected to conduct their work with the same level of respect for the student’s privacy. Posting snippets of application essays online is no better than posting the student’s transcript, even if the students’ names are withheld.

This unprofessional action is made worse when the admissions officer demeans the work of the students.  As the article points out, this breach of professional ethics may lead future applicants—both to Penn and other institutions—to wonder if they can disclose personal information with any assurance it will remain private.  This can put many applicants in a tough bind; offer the sensitive insights explaining a bad grade or a challenging family life and risk having it mocked online, or withhold the information and risk having a college make an admissions decision based on incomplete information.

Penn is wisely declining comment on the matter for now, but the situation offers many lessons for counselors to reflect on and share with their students:

Reassure your students  The Penn incident is getting the attention of counselors and colleges because is it sad—but it’s also garnering attention because it’s rare, and perhaps a first.  Admissions officers may not love every application they read, but they have the professionalism to keep their opinions to themselves—and, with one disheartening exception, the good sense to keep their comments off of social media.  This isn’t a trendsetting precedent others will follow; it’s a mistake that will lead emulators to be fired.  Tell your students the process is safe, and so are they.

Look in the mirror  High schools are close-knit communities, and the most successful high schools create an atmosphere of community support for every student.  At the same time, that closeness can lead to some tough calls with student confidentiality.  How should a counselor respond when a teacher says:

·          “That Jenny is one smart student.  Where’s she applying to college?”

·         “Jim ran two or three ideas past me for his college essay.  Which one did he end up writing about?” 

·         “So, did Eleanor apply for financial aid?”

On the one hand, these are reasonable questions being asked by a colleague.  On the other hand, will the answers to these questions really enhance the teacher’s work with these students, or is this just a well-meaning, but personal, inquiry?

There’s very little chance any school counselor will have to tidy up their social media accounts after hearing about this incident at Penn—but this does provide an opportunity for us to consider when, and where, we share insights into our students’ college plans.

Support your student newspaper  The Daily Pennsylvanian covered this issue with thoughtful research, reflection, and balance—and that only happened because student journalists were allowed to hone their craft.  Keep this in mind the next time a student reporter knocks on your office door, and support the teachable moments that make up student newspapers.

Some Hot Counseling Tips to Warm Up February

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

February is a tough time to be a school counselor.  Your appointment book (virtual or otherwise) is bursting with students who have more needs than you have hours in the day.  Your “other duties as assigned” are filling up far too much of your time, what little budget you had is a distant memory…

..and just when you think things couldn’t get worse, your principal stops by and says “The superintendent needs to know what’s new in counseling.  What do you have?”

Just so we’re all working from the same page here, you should *not* tell the superintendent you have trouble sleeping, poor eating habits, and difficulty focusing on any one task for more than three minutes.  These may be all true, but you are a counselor, and this is February—so none of this is new.

Instead, it’s time to dazzle them, and time to dazzle them with a purpose.

Elementary counselors should look at Guiding the Way to Higher Education:  Families, Counselors, and Communities Together.  For years, the National Association for College Admission Counseling has produced counseling materials to support early awareness of college—awareness that is a must for low-income families and families where college may not be a traditional path after high school.  Guiding the Way is the updated guide designed to help counselors talk about college to students  and families in late elementary and middle school grades—and it’s free.

You share this with your principal because college awareness is one of the biggest issues on the elementary counseling scene right now.  If you’re asked what you’ve done with this information so far, tell them you know it’s a sound resource, and you’re trying to find the time to put together a college awareness night for parents, but you’ll need some time to meet with the PTA representatives to make sure the event meets the needs of the community.

And it’s goodbye, bus duty. http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/Documents/fcct.pdf

Middle school counselors have their own free NACAC resource in Step By Step: College Awareness in Middle School. This college awareness treasure chest helps students build a solid understanding of college by building a solid understanding of self.  Exercises include reflection on the student’s interests and abilities, and tie nicely to career interests and college plans—again, all for free.

You share this with your principal because the interdepartmental options here are limitless.  Step by Stepactivities can fit nicely into the Social Studies, Science, English and Health curricula; casually mention there are more of these out there, if you just had a little time to research them.

And lunch duty is a thing of the past.http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/Documents/SBS_MiddleSchool.pdf

High school counselors have two things to share. Students and parents want to know if good grades can help pay for college.  The answer is www.meritaid.com, the best place for parents and students to begin the hunt for merit scholarships.  Guide them here for a list of colleges (alpha and by state) that offer all kinds of merit money; once they find a potential college, tell them to visit the college’s Web site to confirm the scholarship is still offered.

You share this with your principal to point out all the other great college counseling tips you could learn, if only your high school could find the modest tuition needed to pay for Counseling in the College Selection Process, the college counseling class most school counselors call “the best counseling class I ever took.”  The online version carries 3 graduate credits and costs about $430; more information can be found athttp://www.collegeisyours.com/College_Counseling_Class.html

And suddenly, spring is just around the corner. 

How to Teach 10th Graders About College

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

With college applications submitted and scheduling for next year in full force, 10^th grade students and their parents are starting to ask about college.  The first flowers may not blossom for another month, but the minute junior year schedules are started, sophomores turn on eye towards college, and one eye to you for advice on college.

Whether or not you’ve had your 10^th grade college night, now is the time to introduce Colleges That Change Lives to your aspiring college seekers.  CTCL has been mentioned in this column before, but just to recap:  The first edition of the book was written by Loren Pope, who had toured the country to discover colleges that excelled in working with students, stretching their minds, and providing them with learning experiences that provided the growth everyone expects to see in college.  Mr. Pope has passed on, but CTCL is now in its third edition, and better than ever; it also boasts a very robust Web site (www.ctcl.org) and a college tour program that’s held in August.

Many counselors have found the CTCL resources to be *the* best way to introduce 10^th grade families to college.  It’s a little early for these students to develop college lists, so the real goal of 10^th grade college counseling is to help students understand how to compare colleges.  This creates the perfect time to have the essential talk on what a college is; what makes one college different from another college, and why some colleges that are perfect for your best friend may not be all that great for you.

Enter CTCL.  The first couple of chapters invite readers to look beyond the stress and hype of choosing a college; this helps counselors show families how to begin a student-centered college search that is free of rankings and comparisons to other students.  The remaining chapters talk about the approaches each CTCL college takes in working with students, and why those approaches help student growth. In reading just a few of these descriptions, students and families will develop an appreciation for the qualities that are in an effective college—qualities that are highlighted in the CTCL colleges, but qualities that are in strong supply in all kinds of colleges, to be sure.

I’ve talked about CTCL  with my 10^th grade families, then told them to go visit two local college campuses—any two—to look for the CTCL qualities that exist on those campuses, and to look for the similarities and differences between the schools.  This helps get families past the labels (big v small, rural v urban) to see the opportunities and the atmosphere of each campus.  In some years, I was able to buy a copy of the CTCL book for each 10^th grade family; when that’s not in the budget, it’s just as easy and effective to refer them to the Web site.

These ideas can be powerfully emphasized when these families participate in the CTCL college fairs in the fall.  Each event starts with CTCL director Marty O’Connell talking about how to look for a college; the rest of the evening gives students and families a chance to talk to representatives from each CTCL college, where more comparing and evaluation can occur.

CTCL schools are small private schools, but by seeing the opportunities these schools offer students, your 10^th grade families will look at every college through a thoughtful, personalized lens, and see opportunities at every college to individualize a student’s living and learning experience.  CTCL is a great teaching tool, and now is a teachable moment—make the most of both.

Common Application Changes You Need to Know

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

School counselors received an early but welcome present for National School Counseling Week when Common Application released their essay topics for next year.  The announcement can be found at https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2013/EssayAnnouncementFinal.pdf, and it contains some additional changes counselors will want to keep in mind when working with juniors:

·         Common App has done away with the short essay that was required for all applicants.

·         These essay topics are for the first part of the Common Application.  If an individual college wants students to write additional essays, those will be found in the Supplement section of Common App.

·         The word limit for the new essays has been raised to 650 words, and the essay instructions make it clear that students don’t have to write 650 words—if fine if their essay is complete in less than 650 words, as long as it’s at least 250 words long.

·         At the same time, the new maximum of 650 words will be strictly enforced.  In the past, some students have written well past the maximum; that won’t be allowed next year.

The new offerings leave out what’s been the most popular topic among students—“Write an essay on the topic of your choice.” Counselors were extremely unhappy when this omission was announced in the fall, but the Common Application committee charged with developing the new essay topics made sure the choices would be very broad, allowing students ample opportunity to tell their individual stories. (Full disclosure:  I was on the selection committee.)

Common Application decided to release the new topics at this time to make sure everyone understood a change was coming—one change of many, as Common App prepares to roll out a new version of the entire application, CA4, on August 1^st.  While counselors appreciate the advanced notice, they also wonder if the availability of these new topics might lead juniors to start working on their college essays now, well before their junior year has ended.

Knowing this might happen, Common Application posted this notice on their Facebook page:

JUNIORS: Just because you know what our colleges will ask you to write about doesn't mean you should start writing. It's February 6. You have more pressing things to do. You'll have plenty of time to be a college applicant. For now, just be a student.

It’s important to find ways to reinforce this message with students and parents.  The essays and assignments teachers give juniors are designed to develop the skills colleges want to see in college essays—skills like analysis, critical thinking, and evaluation.  If students can hone those skills now with a lab report, a History paper, or an English essay, they will surely apply them later with a Common App prompt like “describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?”

Students also want to make sure their essays are engaging, and nothing kills inviting writing like too many rewrites. Several college admissions officers say students are writing essays that are “safe”, writing that has good structure, but doesn’t really tell the reader much about the student.  This lack of color will only go up if students agonize over a small essay for up to ten months, or if parents badger them about these essays from now until Labor Day.

College essays are part of an exciting process, but the glory of the Super Bowl comes only to those who master the nuances of training camp.  Common Application has shown students the goal line; now counselors must show them how to get downfield.

Want Better Counseling? Talk About Fit

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

One of the key components of good college counseling is being overlooked by students, parents, the media, and even by some counselors.  It’s the concept of “fit”, or the idea that students will be more successful at some colleges because the campus just feels right to them.  Just like athletes perform better at home than on the road, and writers have favorite places to go to get inspired, students can learn more from their classes and the world around them if their college has the right blend of support, encouragement, and challenge.  That’s fit.

It’s easy to see why fit gets so little press:  it can’t be measured by test scores or grades; it doesn’t lie in the number of books in the library or how it’s viewed by other college presidents, and there’s rarely a connection between fit and the cost of the college. Every student brings different expectations, values, and interests to the college search, so the issue of fit is hard to measure; like buying new shoes or listening to music, you may not be able to describe what you’re looking for, but you know it when it’s there.

The idea of fit is an important one to introduce early to parents and students, before they set up an evaluation system of colleges that’s only based on test scores, grades, and what they hear at the local coffee shop or country club. Most parents can relate to fit by comparing a college search to buying a house; you can sort by neighborhood, price range, and square footage, but still end up with one house that feels like home and six that feel like you’re living on Mars.  Since sixteen year-olds don’t usually buy houses, it’s better to talk to them about favorite bands; if it has a good beat and is easy to dance to, chances are that college is worth careful consideration.

Fit is especially important to keep in mind with students and parents who want to attend the super-selective colleges that admit fewer than 10% of the students who apply.  More families are putting together college lists that only include these low-admitting colleges; the thinking here is applying to 14 colleges that each admit 10% of their students means the student has a 140% chance one of those colleges will admit them.

When presented with this list, counselors are wise to ask why the student has selected these colleges—and once you ask, don’t be surprised if the response is “These are a good fit.”  Parents are hoping the mystique of fit will throw you off your game enough to end the conversation then and there—which is why you need to keep asking questions.  “That’s good to know”, you respond, “Tell me about what you’ve found at these schools that makes you feel that way.”

At this point, the conversation can turn to a discussion of qualities—and that’s the key to success.  By asking the student to describe the comfort they feel at a college that’s right for them, it’s easy to translate the feeling of fit to qualities that can be found at other colleges— including colleges where the student’s chances of admission are greater than being struck by lightning.  This gives the student the opportunity to broaden the range and array of colleges they’re applying to, while creating options the student can consider, accept, and even be excited about.

Data can be helpful in a college search, but when it comes to finding the next school that will offer the best chances for growth and support, there’s no place like fit. 

Building a Foundation of Counseling Support

By Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

Did you ever feel like your boss just didn’t understand what your job is all about?  When it comes to education, a new survey shows you’re not alone.

The Center for Michigan just released the results of its latest survey on public attitudes on education in Michigan.  This is one of the first times students and parents have been asked about education reform efforts in a survey, and since they are the consumers of education, this is being seen by many as a significant step forward.

The results indicate the most support for three key ideas:

·       --  Increased access to early childhood education for the state’s four year-olds

·         --Greater respect, support, and training for teachers both before they enter the classroom and once they’re there

·         --Reducing class size

Just as important, the support for these ideas is equally high among all three groups--teachers, students, and parents all see these areas as essential for better education.

This is excellent news—after all, what educator doesn’t know the importance of having teachers, parents and students all working on the same page?  The discouraging news comes when the survey results are compared to the education priorities announced by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder last week.  His three priorities?

·      --   Increased access to early childhood education for the state’s four year-olds

·       -- Increased use of online learning

·      --  Increased schools of choice, where students from one community can attend the schools of another community.

These huge disparities are going to make for some interesting conversations in Michigan this year—and they serve as an important reminder to all school counselors.  There’s a good chance you know what you’d change in your job, if you had the power to do so.  The changes may be big or small, but at least you know them, just in case someone ever asks.

Here’s the question you might not be able to answer.  If you asked your students and your parents what should change in your job, would they say the same thing?  Would the other counselors in the building?  Would your principal?

If you’re like most counselors, you’re either saying “I don’t know”, or you’re guessing what these other groups might say—but have you ever really asked them?

If not, you should, but not for the reason you think.  It’s certainly true that most discussions about changing counselor workloads go nowhere; someone asks you some questions, completes a form, files it, and the sun comes up the next day. 

So why ask the questions again? To get a sense of what others value in a counselor.  Parents and students who put “more class presentations” on their priority list are telling you they aren’t seeing enough of you.  A fellow counselor who wants to do more on careers is sharing a passion you didn’t know existed.  A principal who wants you to spend more time on school accountability forms is probably going to assign them to you, and soon.

In creating this web of values, counselors can look for the common threads and build consensus for change that may actually lead somewhere.  Parent support gives extra importance to a new program you propose; overlapping interests surprise administrators, which can loosen up budgets and caseloads; cutting edge curriculum can gain unexpected support from everyone, as long as it’s student-centered.

It’s likely that the first and biggest change in Michigan education will be in early childhood education, the common denominator of government, educators, and families.  You can build on the foundation of your program, too—once you know what that is.  As we often say in counseling, it never hurts to ask.

The Column to Pass Along to Your Principal

By. Patrick O'Connor  Ph.D

It’s time to plan ahead to honor a profession that excels in being flexible and going with the flow.  National School Counselor Week is slated for February 4-8; the goal is to raise awareness of the work of school counselors, and to thank school counselors for all they do.

The genuine selflessness school counselors display is both their best attribute and their greatest downfall.  Their job is to support students and families behind the scenes, but those successful efforts often lead administrators, teachers, and other families to wonder just what it is school counselors do—because if their job is done well, no one knows school counselors are there. 

Clearly then, it’s time to make some noise on behalf of school counselors—and if we’re breaking out the party horns, we might as well throw in some streamers and cake as well.  With a little more than two weeks to go, here’s what you can do to honor the helping professionals who are too busy to honor themselves:

Notes from students and parents  School counselors are so busy helping families, they often don’t realize just how much good they do—and there’s nothing quite as discouraging as going home tired at the end of the day, feeling like you ran around a lot and accomplished very little. 

The best cure for counselor confusion is gratitude.  Ask the PTA president, the Student Council, and other key groups to make cards, notes, or even a social media page where parents and students can express their thanks for the presentation in Health class that led to a great career; the refusal to change a schedule that gave them the academic rigor to be admitted to college, or the safe haven to gather thoughts and recover from a crisis. This isn’t about a day at the spa; the best gift a counselor can get is a home-grown, heart-felt “thank you.”

Community demonstrations of thanks  It isn’t too hard to put together a punch and cake reception at a time when students and parents can give thanks in person-- and you can get some nifty giveaways from the American School Counseling Association to celebrate school counselors (http://www.schoolcounselor.org/SCWeekKit_Form.asp)  School accountability reports are rich with data on how many students counselors see, the names of workshops they put on, the lists of colleges and scholarships students earned with a counselor’s help, and more.  Add in a couple of public expressions of thanks from a student or parent, and you have enough material to publish a “Did You Know” column in the school’s daily announcements and Web site, or send to the school board and mayor as the basis for a proclamation.  This shows counselors how much they mean to the community, and raises everyone’s awareness of what they do.

Thank them now, remember them later  The value of school counselors should be celebrated February 4-8 to be remembered all year around.  Find ways to remind teachers of the year-round ally they have in creating more harmonious classrooms, and keep that counselor data in mind during the next round of budget building, when someone suggests “Well, we could cut the counselor.  No one knows what they do, anyway.”

The punch line to the joke “How many counselors does it take to change a light bulb?” is “One—but the light bulb has to want to change.”  National School Counselor Week is an opportunity to shed new light on the depth, importance, and value of everything school counselors do to make schools and communities work more effectively and harmoniously.  Make the most of it—and them.