End of the Year Report
Maryville Elementary School Counseling 2020-2021
INTRODUCTION
**Comparisons to previous years' data is unavailable this year due to the pandemic and atypical schedule of the school year (virtual, hybrid, in-person).
School At A Glance 20-21
Students Enrolled: 342
Students in Special Education: 22.52 %
Low Income Students: 73%
English Language Learners: 2.63%
Gifted and Talented Students: 13.74%
Principal: Ann Louise Hance
Instructional Coach: Carrie Compton
Counselor: Kaet Barron
This data is all available from the Kentucky Department of Education School Report Card database.
Email: kaet.barron@bullitt.kyschools.us
Website: http://maryvillecounselor.weebly.com/
Phone: 502-869-2400
Stop! Wait A Minute!
understanding the school year
AUGUST 26: School begins with VIRTUAL LEARNING.
SEPTEMBER 28: K-2 students begin IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION.
OCTOBER 5: K-5 students participate in IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION.
October 12-19: FALL BREAK for all students.
OCTOBER 26: ALL STUDENTS return to VIRTUAL LEARNING.
This continues until JANUARY 15, 2021.
Fall semester included:
- 9 DAYS of IN-PERSON instruction for 3rd-5th grade students and
- 14 DAYS for K-2 students.
JANUARY 19: Students return to IN PERSON instruction on a HYBRID schedule. Half of Maryville Patriots will be at school on Monday/Tuesdays and the other half on Thursday/Friday. All students are REMOTE Learning on Wednesdays.
Students return to IN PERSON instruction for four days a week on March 15, 2021 (Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday).
However, from January 19th to March 15th there were 11 days of IN PERSON instruction that were either made into REMOTE learning days or SNOW DAYS.
This means A students (Monday/Tuesday) had 11 days of IN PERSON instruction. B students (Thursday/Friday) had 9 days of IN PERSON instruction.
Depending on your age and assigned schedule, students would have a total of 18 to 25 DAYS of IN PERSON INSTRUCTION by March 15.
MARCH 15: All students return for 4 days of IN PERSON INSTRUCTION.
APRIL 13: All students return for 5 days of IN PERSON INSTRUCTION.
JUNE 3: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS.
In summary, depending on their grade level and schedule, Maryville students would have ended the 2020-2021 school with:
- A minimum of 66 days of IN PERSON LEARNING
- A maximum of 76 days of IN PERSON LEARNING
As the solo school counselor at Maryville, I had 82 school days where students were in the building and I could potentially meet with them face to face.
COUNSELING BY THE NUMBERS
179: Total number of individual student sessions held IN-PERSON (around 2.2 students a day)
94: Unscheduled sessions with students in crisis or who requested to see me about an immediate problem.
Approximately 53% of all students who saw the school counselor were considered crisis or emergency meetings.
9: Students who received weekly small group counseling for at least 6 weeks (Group counseling was not an option until March 15 when vaccinations were received by staff members and all students returned.)
23: Number of students who received weekly, individual counseling sessions.
8: Students with an IEP or 504 who receive direct counseling services on a routine basis
5: Students labeled GT who received direct counseling services
63: IEP/ 504/ PSP /Attendance Meetings
31: Additional meetings held at parents request.
10: Number of groups held: 6 sessions: Social Skills (first grade boys), 4 sessions: Social Skills (kindergarten girls)
107*: Number of students served through Lunch Bunch meetings. (Lunch Bunches could not occur until March 15 when vaccinations were received by staff members and all students returned.) * One weekly lunch bunch also acted as a group. The purpose behind this particular lunch bunch was friendship building skills. The numbers are only counted in the lunch bunch total.
0: There were not any students assigned to the school counselor for Check In/Check Out practices this school year. This is for several reasons. Behavior RTI could not occur until students were back in the building Spring Semester. Very few students were involved in behavior RTI during the Hybrid schedule due to the increased one on one attention students could receive. Following the full return of all students, spring responsibilities kept the counselor from being able to participate in Check In/Check Out. (More on that later).
111: Individual CPS Reports
0: Mobile Assessments
TESTING INFORMATION
These numbers do NOT include counselor trainings for the tests, test training for school staff, preparation for the tests and clean up related to the test.
12 hours: ACCESS FOR ELLS testing
37 hours: K-Prep Training
INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
Most of these students meet with me once a week, though several have had multiple sessions or even daily check ins. During sessions I used play therapy (i.e. drawing, role-playing, puppetry, etc.), cognitive-behavioral, and other therapeutic techniques as a way to address school counseling goals as outlined by ASCA. Lesson plans are individually based on my clinical judgement, with activities designed to meet students' immediate and long term needs.
Research has shown play is the most effective method of therapy in elementary and primary aged children, especially when working with those effected by trauma. From the outside in, it may appear students come to the counseling office to "play" but in actuality, it is very serious (and very effective) work.
SMALL GROUP COUNSELING/ LUNCH BUNCH
Total Number of Groups: 3
Total Number of Lunch Bunches: 19
Total Number of Students in Small Group Counseling and Lunch Bunches: 117
GROUP FOCUS: Number students served:
Social Skills (1st grade): 6 sessions/ 7 students
Social Skills (kindergarten): 4 sessions / 4 students
Friendship Building Skills: (this was a group, held during lunch bunch time): 8 sessions / 6 students per session, some students repeated and others did not.
LUNCH BUNCH FOCUS: Number of sessions held: 19
Attendance Reward: 4
Incentive/ Reward: 3
Friendship/ Other: 12
CLASSROOM GUIDANCE
Finally, Morning Meetings became the new Classroom Guidance times, with 30 minute blocks reserved each morning. This occurred steadily for multiple weeks until K-Prep took over.
Classroom Guidance lesson plans focused on:
- Character Traits
- Virtual Learning Expectations
- Gratitude
- The Size of our Reactions
Total Classroom Guidance Lessons taught this school year: 83
MEETINGS
63: IEP/504/PSP/Attendance Meetings
31: Additional Parent Meetings
42: Counselor Related Meetings/ District Trainings:
BCPS Elementary School Counselor Meetings (test trainings), OVEC and OVAH Counseling meetings (related more to school counseling related issues), Kentucky Youth Advocates and KDE Community Forums (weekly), district PBIS, district Mental Health Team meetings
17: Trainings (Crisis Response, Building More Resilient Kids, American School Counseling Association Panel Discussions, Kentucky School Counseling Conference, Communicating Mental Health Needs to a Resistant Community)
These numbers also do not include staff meetings, Bullitt Days, leadership team meetings (held weekly), School Climate meetings (held monthly) School Mental Health Team meetings (held monthly) or RTI/PLC meetings (approximately every 3 weeks).
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - STUDENT CONCERN MEETINGS
These meetings provided an invaluable information regarding who was and was not turning in work, who was not making Zoom calls, which students deserved positive recognition and which students/families had not been heard from.
Following each of these meetings, a day was set aside to make home visits to these families. It allowed us to know each family was safe and accounted for, even if they were not getting online or completing work.
During the Virtual and Hybrid weeks of the 2020-2021 school year, 16 student concern meetings were held. Following these meetings, the school counselor and principal made home visits to all families mentioned.
CRISIS INTERVENTION AND RESPONSE SERVICES
Total Number of Unscheduled Sessions: 94
Number of Students Requiring Assistance: 48
Percent not on my Caseload: 91.6%
Mobile Assessments: 0 (This is only a record of completed mobile assessments. It does not include the number of students referred to Project AWARE, Seven Counties or mobile assessments denied by parents.)
Child Abuse Reports: 111
BEHAVIOR and DISCIPLINE DATA
During any school year there is a period we refer to as the "honeymoon" period. It is usually the first few weeks of school when students (and staff) are riding the high of being back in school. Though there are some behavior problems that occur during this time, it is usually more calm. It also helps that most adults have more patience at the beginning of the school year and students are more eager to please ;)
Our honeymoon phase occurred several times last school year (one Covid upside.) We had our period in September/October. Then again in January with the return to in person instruction on a Hybrid schedule.
The hybrid schedule did not see many behavior issues either. Mainly I think because everyone was excited to be back and class sizes were very small. There was not a lot of competition for adult attention. During RTI times for classes, students were sometimes in groups with just one other student and an adult. This has a HUGE impact on behavior.
The referrals resulted at the end of the year, as everyone returned to in person instruction. There were also some incidents on the bus, where we had several driver changes and double runs.
GOALS FOR THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR
- New energy and push behind PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Systems.) This includes: consistency and reinforcement. Regular and routine classroom guidance and IN PERSON Towne Halls.
- Group counseling, both from the school counselor and the reintroduction of the Incredible Years Social Skills program for K-3rd graders.
- Counseling Co-teaching: Mrs. Davis enjoyed having me come into her classroom to work with several students who needed immediate redirection and guidance in particular areas (decision making, social skills, frustration tolerance.) Although my focus was on 1 or 2 particular students, I could also provide attention to the other students in her room. I think this was pretty successful for both of us and the students. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you want me to come into your class at any time (times when you need an extra hand, times where frustrations might build up for a particular student, etc.)
- Routine. Behavior RTI seemed like a puzzle with missing pieces this year and that's because we (meaning I) had gotten out of the habit. This year will be a fresh start and the consistency will definitely bring about improvement.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
FIELD TRIPS: I am hoping this year will bring more field trips to our students. During 2019-2020, we had planned a field trip to the Louisville Zoo, something I have never known to happen in my time at MES. I am hoping this will come to fruition before the end of the school year. We were also hitting up Stage One Family Theatre Productions annually. These are all things I want to bring back into the fold.
**If you have ideas for a field trip or want assistance with helping plan a field trip, let me know!
FUND FOR THE ARTS GRANTS: Another grant we lost due to COVID was the Louisville Visual Arts Mural Grant. We had plans for an after school club where our students would design and paint a mural in our cafeteria. It was to start in March of 2020, so. . .we know what happened there. Fingers are crossed we can accomplish this goal this year.
COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS WEEK and CAREER FAIR: Our annual CCR and Career Fair had to be cancelled in 2020 due to COVID. Because of the schedule changes and uncertainty of 2020-2021, it wasn't even attempted. But in March or April of 2022 it will be back and better than ever (hopefully).
MORE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING ACTIVITIES: One of my goals for 2021-2022 is to meet with every student at least once by Winter Break. This will be done by hosting more lunch bunches with students. I have achieved this goal once before and the impact it had on my relationships with students was incredible.