177. Creating SMART Goals for Your School Counseling Program

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I'm Carol Miller, your host. I'm a full time school counselor and the face behind counseling essentials. I'm all about creating simplified systems, data driven practices, and using creative approaches to engage students.

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Hi everyone and welcome back to another episode of Counselor Chat. I'm your host, Carol, and we are back for another week with some go to strategies for your counseling program.

Today's episode is really all about creating some smart goals. And I thought this would be a great episode for this week because I just finished our smart goal for our counseling program this morning.

So I know a lot of people have asked me in the past about creating smart goals and what they should put in their smart goals. So I thought this would be the great thing to talk about today.

And one simple way to really help understand what a smart goal is for a counseling program is just to understand that it's really about moving from good intentions to a really clear plan for your counseling program.

And I think that's what a smart goal does.

So let me start by asking this.

Have you ever been asked,

what is your counseling goal for this school year?

And then once you were asked that, your mind just immediately you felt like it was just going blank.

Because I know, of course you have goals.

You want your students to feel connected.

You want to improve attendance. You want fewer behavioral referrals. You want students to develop coping skills, build healthier friendships, and just know how to ask for help.

But turning those big intentions into one clear,

measurable goal,

let's face it, it can feel a little overwhelming.

And sometimes I think if we're being honest, we create a goal because someone tells us we need one.

We write it down, we submit it,

and then somehow we become so busy responding to all the things that pop up. The students, the lessons, the groups,

attending all the meetings,

and every single crisis that pops up that we don't look at our goal again until the end of the year.

But here's the thing.

A strong counseling smart goal should not be something we just write and forget.

It really should help us decide what to prioritize and to communicate the purpose of our program.

It helps us gain support from our administration and it maps out our Work across our entire school year.

So we are really going to talk about today how to create a meaningful, smart goal for your school counseling program and then how to use your annual administrator conference to turn that goal into a shared plan and a common vision.

I also want to talk with you guys about how to look at the ASCA National Model and how it can really help connect your counseling work to your school and district priorities while advocating for your role as a school counselor.

So I hope you're ready to get started because we have a lot to talk about today.

As we're talking about goals. Here's what I want you to start with. I really want you to start with your school's priorities.

I think one of the biggest mistakes we can make when writing a counseling goal is, is just starting with an activity. We might say I want to teach six coping skills lessons or I know one year and we were guilty of this in my building.

We,

we want to teach careers to every single grade. We want to focus on that. We want to make sure that we teach at least one,

but hopefully two lessons, career lessons for every single grade.

But we might even say I want to meet with every student and do minute meetings with every students or that we want to start an attendance group.

And I mean, these are all really valuable activities,

but they're not yet student outcome goals.

And a really strong counseling program begins with a student need.

So before you choose your goal,

look at what your school is already working to improve.

What's included in the school improvement plan?

What priorities has your district identified?

What concerns are appearing in your data?

And what are your teachers, your admins, your students,

and your families telling you?

Maybe your school is concerned about chronic absenteeism.

Perhaps the behavior referrals are increasing in a particular grade level.

Maybe students are struggling with student belonging,

emotional regulation,

academic confidence,

or transitions.

The fifth edition of the ASCA National Model,

and it's free on the ASCA website,

you just type in your email,

your name and it sends it right to you so that you can download it like within seconds. But the fifth edition, which is the newest one,

it really emphasizes using achievement data and contributing factors data to identify student needs.

So let me say that one more time. It emphasizes using achievement data and contributing factors data to identify student needs.

Now, if you're wondering what the heck does that even mean? Well, achievement data,

this includes your grades, your benchmark assessments, your promotion rates, graduation rates, or your tests, your test scores. So those achievements and you're contributing factors data that's looking at attendance, discipline,

systemic barriers,

Student perspectives and feedback from your education partners like families, teachers or admin.

In other words,

do not select a goal simply because you found a great lesson or a group curriculum or there's maybe something that you just want to do that you haven't done before.

You have to begin with the need.

Last year I looked at our district priorities and I said, oh, there's actually something in here that I feel like I can help do.

And one of the district priorities was to. It really involved having student led conferences and having teachers do student led conferences with all students twice a year where they define smart goals.

But I really wanted to take that as part of the counseling program too.

And so we hit hard and heavy smart goals and mindsets and growth mindset I should say,

and habits and talked about the habits we needed to really help us work towards our goals.

And we spent a lot of time talking about that last year.

And our, we gave our kids a pre post test survey and we actually measured their understanding of how to set and create smart goals.

And that was our goal last year. That was our smart goal.

So it started with our building needs because our teachers had to do that with their students.

And so we were helping out the teachers, but it was also a district priority.

So we,

we, that's what we did. That's how we chose our goal and that was how we determined what our need was.

And then we just,

we basically, we just chose the counseling strategies that could help address it.

When your counseling goal is connected to a documented school priority, it becomes much easier to explore explained why your program actually matters because you're no longer saying I'd like to run an attendance group.

You're saying our school has identified chronic attendance as a,

as a priority. And here's the group of students that are most effective. And here is how the counseling program can contribute to our school's larger attendance plan.

Just like we were part of our last year,

our district's priority, but we were helping the teachers and we were part of that big plan.

And let me tell you,

that's a really different conversation.

Now most of us have heard the smart acronym before.

I mean a smart goal is specific. It's measurable, achievable,

relevant and time bound.

So specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. I'm not sure if I, I missed the measurable part the first time, but it's smart.

And what I want you to do is I want you to think about what each of these words actually mean within a school counseling program because it's A little bit different.

Now, specific means that the goal clearly identifies the students and the areas of need.

So instead of saying students will improve their behavior, we're going to identify which students, which behavior, and which data. We're using measurable means that we have a way to determine whether that change occurred.

And then what baseline data do you have,

what data will you collect throughout the year, and what will success look like?

So that's our measurable,

achievable means that the goal is ambitious,

but still realistic, given your time, your caseload, your resources, and your role.

Last year it was a lot of work to go in and sit with kids and help them clearly identify a smart goal twice during the academic year.

It was achievable. We did it,

but it was rather ambitious. I mean, we really had to work to make sure that we hit up every kid and we got in there and we made the lessons a priority over the crisis of the day.

So achievable means that it's ambitious but still realistic.

Relevant means that the goal connects to an identified student,

well, an identified student need and aligns with school or district priorities.

So our goal last year was relevant because it was a district priority.

And time bound really means that the goal has a clear beginning and ending point along with opportunities to monitor progress before the final deadline.

So we had said in our goal last year we were going to do it twice for the year.

So we knew that by the end of the first semester, we had to have our first.

We had to have them, we had to talk about smart goals, identify,

have them identify their first goal for the first semester.

And then going into second semester, we had have them look back at their smart, their first semester smart goal, see if they actually did it, and then make a plan for their second semester.

And then at the end of the year, we had to review it. Did they actually meet their second semester goal?

So it was definitely time bound with very clear beginning and ending points.

Now, here's another example.

A really vague goal might be,

I want to help students improve their decision making skills.

students in grades 3, 3 through 5, who receive more, who receive two or more behavioral referrals during the first six weeks of school will reduce repeat referrals by 20% after participating in classroom decision making instruction and targeted counseling interventions.

Now we know which students we're focusing on, what data we're using and the attendant outcome and when we're going to evaluate the results.

we can also measure Changes in students decision making skills with a brief pre and post survey and have that aligned with all our ask A student standards those mindsets and behaviors.

This really gives us more than one way to examine our program's impact.

I think when we collect data we often begin with most of the time with participation data.

We report how many lessons we taught, how many students participated in our groups or how many individual sessions we provided.

And that information that is so important,

but it doesn't always tell the complete story.

If we go back to that fifth edition of the Ask a National model, it really identifies three categories of data that can help us prepare, plan and access our programs.

The first is that participation remember that answers the question who participated in what activities.

The second is that ASCA student standards data.

This measures whether students gained the knowledge and skills connected to the mindsets and behaviors those ask a student standards.

And then the third is our achievement data.

This helps us examine the effect of our work on areas such as attendance, discipline,

academic performance,

promotion or graduation.

So this is that bigger picture data. Are we moving the needle forward?

So let's go back to that decision making goal.

Our participation data might tell us that we had 180 students that received tier one classroom instruction and we had another 14 that that participated in a targeted small group.

Or ask a student standards data might show that students improve their ability to identify possible consequences and select responsible responses instead.

So we are moving they have learned something there. They learned how to they learned the steps of problem solving really.

And then our achievement,

also known as our contributing factors data they that might show a reduction in repeat behavior referrals.

So if we look at our referrals, we're going to see that the same kids names shouldn't be coming up for the same repeated problem.

And together those pieces of information,

they tell a much stronger story than simply saying I taught four decision making lessons.

The lessons are what you did.

But the goal really needs to focus on what we change for students.

Now as we're setting goals for our program,

you really need to bring it to your annual admin conference.

And this should be something that you do every single year.

And I have a great relationship with my principal. We are tight.

We talk multiple times a day.

We work collaboratively together.

I couldn't imagine doing my job without her and I hope that she would say the same about me.

But this morning for example, we sat together and we really talked about our the counseling program SMART goal,

what we're going to do, how we're going to align it to district priorities. And how she's going to help with that as well.

Because like I said, once you have a goal,

you have to bring it to your admin conference.

And this conference,

it's gotta be much more than a meeting where you hand your principal a form and you ask for a signature because there are templates online which are the annual administrator conference template, which, that's basically what you're doing.

You're asking for a signature, going over some stuff.

But this is really, it's a great opportunity for you to really share the expectations of the school year.

And within the Manage component in the fifth edition of the Ask a National Model, it really describes the annual administrator conference as an opportunity to educate admin about the school counseling program's impact and advocate for its organization, the goals, the plans and your use of time.

So this means that this meeting is not just about what you want to do. It's really a collaborative conversation about student needs, school priorities,

your responsibilities,

and the support required to accomplish the work that needs to get done.

Like I said, my principal came in with a plan too of, you know, what we have.

I got it.

She said, I have a teacher's aide this year. I put in for that to help with this.

And we came up with a name for this. Basically our, our TA is there to run what we're going to call the Choices Planning Room or cpr. And this is where we're going to send students in lieu of going to like in school suspension or detention or whatever.

So they're sent down to the office with a behavioral referral. We're going to put them in the CPR room there. The kids are going to work on some think sheets.

And so I'm going to train our person, her name is Jen, on how to use the think sheets with the kids and how we're going to collect data, like how many kids are there,

what they're coming for.

And because we want to have a decrease in our repeats of students coming down for the same basic behaviors, we want to improve behaviors.

So it really has to be a collaborative conversation.

So as you go into your meeting,

if you haven't done one of these before,

you need to discuss four main things you need to explain your need or the need you have to share the data that led you to the goal.

You don't have to bring in a 40 slide presentation or overwhelm your administrator with spreadsheets, but you should bring some data that led you to the goal.

And maybe it's just the district priorities and how you can help you Know with the district,

focusing on the district priorities, but you want to bring enough information to clearly show the problem.

And something that you might say something like this, like our chronic absenteeism rate increased from 14 to 18% and fifth grade had the largest increase.

Student surveys also indicate that many of these students report feeling disconnected from schools.

Now your goal has context.

Second, explain the counseling connection and be clear about how the school counseling program can really contribute to the solution. For example,

I would like to provide Tier 1 lessons on school belonging and help seeking,

creating a targeted attendance group for students who meet our criteria and consult with families and teachers to identify barriers.

So all these things on working with absenteeism and really working on that sense of belonging,

you're not claiming that the counselor alone can solve the problem,

but you're showing how your specialized role really contributes to a larger school wide effort.

After that, you want to clarify what you need from your administrator.

Do you need access to attendance or discipline data?

Do you need protective time for classroom instruction?

Will teachers need to complete referrals or brief progress monitoring forms?

Do you need help communicating the goal to staff?

Will the school leadership team review the data with you throughout the year?

Because administrator buy in becomes much easier when the request is really specific.

So when I went to my principal this morning,

you know, we were talking, I was like, yep, these are the think sheets I want. I already had them ready. I had a binder put together for our CPR person.

I had a list of data trackers that I wanted her to use.

And I also had a presentation made and all ready to go for every single one of our teachers as well. Well as binders made for every single class.

So I have stuff all ready to go. I started it actually last year.

So when you really have the stuff that you need and you're putting it all together and you're talking about,

you know, what you need,

you know,

being ready and prepared. When you go into a meeting,

it makes the buy in much easier because your request is really specific.

Please support. My program is difficult to act upon,

but I need access to updated attendance data every four weeks and protected time to deliver three lessons to fifth grade.

When you go in with that,

it really gives your admins something concrete to support.

When I said I have this all ready to go, what's she going to say?

No, she's going to say, yeah, that's great. Oh, I love this. Oh, let me see it.

And last, you have to discuss how you you're going to measure and report the results.

Let your admin Know that the data, you,

you know what data you're going to collect, when you're going to review it,

how you're going to share progress,

because that shows that the goal is more than a hopeful idea,

but it's really a thoughtful plan.

And like I said, if you can hook it into a district priority,

those district priorities, they're important to principals. I mean, they have to act on those.

So if you are collecting data and showing data, they're going to want that data because they're going to need it to help them prove that they're working towards that district priority.

The and once again, going back to that annual administrator conference meeting,

it's also an important advocacy opportunity. I mean, if you don't have the greatest relationship with your admin or they don't really know anything about a school counseling program,

this is, this is your golden, golden moment.

Because advocacy doesn't always mean making a dramatic presentation about everything the school counselor should or should or should not be doing.

Often advocacy happens through clarity.

And when you show your admin a goal tied to student data,

you describe the direct and indirect services you're going to provide and you explain how you're going to access the results.

You're going to help your admin understand what a comprehensive school counseling program actually looks like.

And you are demonstrating that school counseling includes instruction,

appraisal and advisement,

short term counseling, referrals,

consultation and collaboration.

And you're also showing that your calendar your program throughout the year.

It's intentional.

And this becomes especially important when inappropriate duties begin taking over your time.

Because let's face it, school counselors should spend at least 80% of their time providing direct and indirect services and 20% or less devoted to program planning and student support activities.

So if you have agreed on a counseling goal that requires lessons, small groups, student check ins,

consultation and data review, it really becomes easier to explore. Explain why regularly covering classes,

coordinating, testing,

managing discipline,

or handling clerical duties, how that interferes with your program's ability to really reach its goal.

So instead of saying I don't want to do this task, you can say, I want to make sure I can deliver the activities we agreed upon and remain on track to meet our scheduled outcome goal.

Can we look at another way to cover this responsibility?

And that shifts the conversation from personal preference to program effectiveness.

The goal becomes an advocacy tool because it really makes your priorities and the reasons behind them visible. And like I said, once you map it to a district priority,

that's something that your principal is going to really need from you once you have this goal,

it's time to turn it into a year long map.

When your administrator understands and supports it,

use it to map out your school year.

And a smart goal without an implementation plan can quickly become one more document just sitting in a folder.

But when you begin with that final outcome and you work backward,

you're going to make some magic happen.

And if you want to measure results in May or June,

you need to know what's going to happen in like April.

What progress should you see by January,

what interventions need to begin in October,

and what baseline data do you need in September?

So for me,

we're doing the think sheets.

I know that I have to do training in September with our CPR person.

In the beginning of October, I am going to be going into all the classrooms and talking with all the teachers and the kids about how to use the think sheets and what they are.

And then we are going to be looking at those referrals that are coming in and who's coming down for repeated behaviors. And then we're going to provide some interventions for those as well,

as well as doing the thing sheets with the kids because we want kids to understand their choices and how to do things a little differently.

So you can see as how we're going to start to map out our school year.

Your annual calendar can really reflect,

I think, the major activities connected to your goal.

And your weekly calendar helps you protect the time you needed to really carry them out.

If we go back to that, ask a national model.

This is another idea that's really emphasized in the managed component of that model.

Using the calendars to prioritize the plan and to really publicize the work of your counseling program and what you're doing.

It's not simply your calendar is not simply a record of how busy you are.

It shows how your time is connected to student needs and program goals.

But my friends do not wait until May to determine whether your plan worked.

Schedule progress checks throughout the year. Actually put that in your calendar. Put down when you're going to stop and look at some data and to see how you're doing.

These don't have to be complicated. You might review your data every four, six or eight weeks.

But at each checkpoint ask are we reaching the students we we intended to reach?

Are students gaining the skills that we're teaching?

Are we seeing movement in either attendance or discipline,

academics or whatever your identify area is?

And are there barriers preventing students from participating?

Do we need to adjust the intervention or do we need additional supports from teachers, families administrators or community providers.

This is where a goal becomes a living part of your program.

The goal shouldn't provide direction.

Well, goal should provide direction, I should say, but it should not prevent you from responding to what the data is telling you.

And if something's not working,

that's not necessarily a failure. It's just information for you.

And maybe the group meets at a time when students don't want to miss class. Or maybe the referral criteria are too broad. Or maybe students need more Tier 1 instruction before targeted supports will be effective.

Maybe families have identified a barrier the school has not considered.

Use whatever the information is to adjust your plan.

And at the end of the year,

don't let the results remain hidden in your computer.

Share what happened.

Your report does not need to be lengthy. In fact, a short visual summary is sometimes more effective.

And include the needs you identified, the goal you created, the activities you delivered, and the number of students who participated and then any changes in achievement or contributing factors data.

And if the results were not what you expected,

share what you learned and what you plan to change.

I'm going to be 100% transparent with you.

Our goal last year,

we did not meet it.

We thought we were going to,

but we didn't meet it.

And we were,

we were shy of some of what we wanted to do,

the increase that we wanted to see.

And we realized that, that there were some contributing factors that we hadn't taken into account.

So along the way we did some adjustments and that made some improvements throughout the year.

But we really reported on what we learned throughout the process too,

and that was important.

But overall,

we did good work with the school and we really saw a lot of good things happen as a result. Our kids really understand what smart goals are and they know about habits.

We our target goal was a hundred percent and we were about 85.

So we started with,

of course zero and 85 is really not that bad.

But we were shy of our goal of a hundred percent of our students being able to identify that.

So don't be afraid to, you know,

say,

we tried our best. This is what we learned. We failed or not really we failed. We didn't quite make it. But here's what we learned and here's where we have to go from here.

And then you could say, and here's where we should focus on next.

And I think that's a great thing to work on too,

because that also helps create continuity from one school year to the next.

Before we wrap up, I want to give you guys permission to keep your goal focused.

You don't need a separate goal for every lesson, every grade level,

and every need in your building and your school counseling program.

It will continue to provide a wide range of services,

but it's smart.

A focused smart goal really just identifies one priority area where you want to intentionally measure your impact.

That's it.

It's just one priority area,

and you're measuring the impact.

So, my friends, choose a goal that matters.

Choose a goal connected to student data.

Choose a goal that aligns with work your school's already trying to accomplish.

And choose one that is realistic enough to guide your year instead of becoming one more source of pressure.

Because a strong counseling smart goal should help you answer four questions.

What do our students need?

How will the counseling program respond?

How will we know whether it helped and what support do we need to make it happen?

And when you can answer those questions questions clearly your goal becomes much more than a requirement.

It really becomes a roadmap for your program,

a foundation for collaboration,

and a powerful way to advocate for the work that school counselors do every day.

Once again, bring it to your annual admin conference,

Connect it to the school's priority.

Clarify your role and your use of time,

and build it into your annual and weekly calendars.

And then monitor it throughout the year and share your results.

Because when administrators can see the connection between your time,

your services,

and student success,

they're going to be much more likely to understand and support the comprehensive school counseling program you're working to build.

So until next time,

I hope you have a really great week.

Create those plans.

Bye for now.

Thanks for listening to today's episode of Counselor Chat. All of the links I talked about can be found in the show notes and at counselingessentials.org podcast.

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