Syllabus

SDS 6830: Internship: School Counseling
Spring 2011 - 4 Credits (300 hours)
mailto:crn10898@eagle.fgcu.eduCRN 10843

Instructor	Course Data	Office Hours:	
Russell A. Sabella, Ph.D.
Academic Building 3
Room 269
239-590-7782
OR 239-471-4212
rsabella@fgcu.edu 	Thursdays 
5pm - 8:45pm
WGCU Broadcast 
Building 28
	Tues and Wed
2-5pm or by appt.
SKYPE: Russell_Sabella	

I.	Course Description and Goals: As described in the FGCU Graduate Catalog, the purpose of the internship is to provide one semester of comprehensive participation in a field experience involving counseling and/or guidance activities. Prerequisites are all required core MHS and/or SDS courses. The internship will involve actual professional practice at an approved site with both site and on-campus supervision. Internship is the culminating clinical experience in the counseling program, and is viewed as the equivalent of a semester of full-time professional activity. As such it involves 300 hours, including 120 hours of direct service to clients. Site supervisors should provide no less than one half (½)  hour per week of individual supervision. Proof of liability insurance is required at the start of the internship.  

II.	Course Requirements and Evaluation: The school counseling program in Counselor Education requires students to complete a supervised internship of 300 clock hours begun after successful completion of all previous internships and field experiences. Consideration should be given to selecting internship sites that offer opportunities for students to engage in both individual counseling and group work.  The internship provides an opportunity for the student to perform under supervision a variety of activities that a regularly employed staff member in the setting would be expected to perform.  A regularly employed staff member is defined as a person occupying the role of a professional counselor to which a student may reasonably aspire.  The student’s internship includes the following:

A.	a minimum of 120 hours of direct service with clients appropriate to the program of study;
B.	a minimum of one-half (½) hour per week of individual supervision, throughout the internship usually performed by the on-site supervisor;
C.	a minimum of one and one-half (1.5) hours per week of group supervision; throughout the internship, usually performed by a program faculty member supervisor;
D.	the opportunity for the student to become familiar with a variety of professional activities other than direct service;
E.	the opportunity for the student to develop audio and/or video recordings of the student’s interactions with clients/students/stakeholders; appropriate to the specialization for use in supervision;
F.	the opportunity for the student to gain supervised experience in the use of a variety of professional resources such as assessment instruments, computers, print and nonprint media, professional literature, research, and information and referral to appropriate providers; and
G.	formal evaluation of the students performance during the internship by a program faculty supervisor in consultation with the site supervisor.

	According to ASGW guidelines, as a portion of the 120 hours of direct service, all students should participate in the facilitation of an appropriate group (small and large) for no less than 48 clock hours.

III.	CACREP Competencies

A. FOUNDATIONS OF SCHOOL COUNSELING

•	A.1. history, philosophy, and current trends in school counseling and educational systems;
•	A.2. relationship of the school counseling program to the academic and student services program in the school;
•	A.3. role, function, and professional identity of the school counselor in relation to the roles of other professional and support personnel in the school;
•	A.4. strategies of leadership designed to enhance the learning environment of schools;
•	A.5. knowledge of the school setting, environment, and pre-K—12 curriculum;
•	A.6. current issues, policies, laws, and legislation relevant to school counseling;
•	A.7. the role of racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage, nationality, socioeconomic status, family structure, age, gender, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual beliefs, occupation, physical and mental status, and equity issues in school counseling;
•	A.8. knowledge and understanding of community, environmental, and institutional opportunities that enhance, as well as barriers that impede student academic, career, and personal/social success and overall development;
•	A.9. knowledge and application of current and emerging technology in education and school counseling to assist students, families, and educators in using resources that promote informed academic, career, and personal/social choices; and
•	A.10 ethical and legal considerations related specifically to the practice of school counseling (e.g., the ACA Code of Ethics and the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors). 

B. CONTEXTUAL DIMENSIONS OF SCHOOL COUNSELING

Studies that provide an understanding of the coordination of counseling program components as they relate to the total school community, including all of the following:

•	B.1. advocacy for all students and for effective school counseling programs;
•	B.2. coordination, collaboration, referral, and team-building efforts with teachers, parents, support personnel, and community resources to promote program objectives and facilitate successful student development and achievement of all students;
•	B.3. integration of the school counseling program into the total school curriculum by systematically providing information and skills training to assist pre-K—12 students in maximizing their academic, career, and personal/social development;
•	B.4. promotion of the use of counseling and guidance activities and programs by the total school community to enhance a positive school climate;
•	B.5. methods of planning for and presenting school counseling-related educational programs to administrators, teachers, parents, and the community;
•	B.6. methods of planning, developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating comprehensive developmental counseling programs; and
•	B.7. knowledge of prevention and crisis intervention strategies.

C. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

1. Program Development, Implementation, and Evaluation

a. use, , management, analysis, and presentation of data from school- based information (e.g., standardized testing, grades, enrollment, attendance, retention, placement), surveys, interviews, focus groups, and needs assessments to improve student outcomes;

b. design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of comprehensive developmental school counseling programs (e.g., the ASCA National Standards for School Counseling Programs) including an awareness of various systems that affect students, school, and home;

c. implementation and evaluation of specific strategies that meet program goals and objectives;

d. identification of student academic, career, and personal/social competencies and the implementation of processes and activities to assist students in achieving these competencies;

e. preparation of an action plan and school counseling calendar that reflect appropriate time commitments and priorities in a comprehensive developmental school counseling program;

f. strategies for seeking and securing alternative funding for program expansion; and

g. use of technology in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a comprehensive school counseling program.

2. Counseling and Guidance

a. individual and small-group counseling approaches that promote school success, through academic, career, and personal/social development for all;

b. individual, group, and classroom guidance approaches systematically designed to assist all students with academic, career and personal/social development;

c. approaches to peer facilitation, including peer helper, peer tutor, and peer mediation programs;

d. issues that may affect the development and functioning of students (e.g., abuse, violence, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, childhood depression and suicide)

e. developmental approaches to assist all students and parents at points of educational transition (e.g., home to elementary school, elementary to middle to high school, high school to postsecondary education and career options);

f. constructive partnerships with parents, guardians, families, and communities in order to promote each student’s academic, career, and personal/social success;

g. systems theories and relationships among and between community systems, family systems, and school systems, and how they interact to influence the students and affect each system; and

h.  approaches to recognizing and assisting children and adolescents who may use alcohol or other drugs or who may reside in a home where substance abuse occurs.

3. Consultation

a. strategies to promote, develop, and enhance effective teamwork within the school and larger community;

b. theories, models, and processes of consultation and change with teachers, administrators, other school personnel, parents, community groups, agencies, and students as appropriate;

c. strategies and methods of working with parents, guardians, families, and communities to empower them to act on behalf of their children; and

d. knowledge and skills in conducting programs that are designed to enhance students’ academic, social, emotional, career, and other developmental needs.

•	FEAP Competencies

NOTE: All FEAP competencies are assessed via direct observation, supervision, audio recorded counseling activities, and reports.

FEAP	Assessment	
Assessment: Uses assessment strategies (traditional and alternative) to assist the continuous development of the learner.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Communication: Uses effective communication techniques with students and all other stakeholders.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Continuous Improvement: Engages in continuous professional quality improvement for self and school.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.
- professional development plan	
Critical Thinking: Uses appropriate techniques and strategies that promote and enhance critical, creative, and evaluative thinking capabilities of students.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.
- closing the gap project	
Diversity: Uses teaching and learning strategies that reflect each student's culture, learning styles, special needs, and socio-economic background.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.
- closing the gap project	
Ethics: Adheres to Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Human Development and Learning: Uses a understanding of learning and human development to provide a positive learning environment which supports the intellectual, personal, and social development of all students.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Knowledge of Subject Matter: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.
- closing the gap project	
Learning Environments: Creates and maintains positive learning environments in which student are actively engaged in learning, social interaction.  	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Planning: Plans, implements, and evaluates effective instruction in a variety of learning environments.	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.
- closing the gap project	
Role of the Teacher: Works with various education professionals, parents, and other stakeholders in the continuous improvement of the educational experiences of students	- Audio/Video tape demonstration
- discussion during individual and group supervision.	
Technology: Uses appropriate technology in teaching and learning processes.	- spreadsheets for logging hours
- MS Word tracking for review of articles and paper.
- electronic mail
- charting (closing the gap project)	

•	Recommended Textbooks: 

•	Sabella, R.A. (2005) School counseling principles: Foundations and basics. Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association. 
•	Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't.
•	Howell, R., Patton, S. & Deiotte, M. Understanding response to intervention: A practical guide to systemic implementation ISBN: 978-1-934009-34-5 
•	Jim Collins video at http://bit.ly/6hdR2w
•	Good to Great website at http://www.jimcollins.com/ 

•	Attendance: Attendance at all class sessions is expected and required.  All students are expected to actively participate in class discussions and site meetings so that maximum learning about school counseling and guidance issues can be achieved. Students are allowed two absences without penalty no matter what the format (e..g., individual or group supervision; live or online). 

•	Student Observance of Religious Holidays. All students at Florida Gulf Coast University have a right to expect that the University will reasonably accommodate their religious observances, practices, and beliefs.  Students, upon prior notification to their instructors, shall be excused from class or other scheduled academic activity to observe a religious holy day of their faith. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence. Students shall not be penalized due to absence from class or other scheduled academic activity because of religious observances. Where practicable, major examinations, major assignments, and University ceremonies will not be scheduled on a major religious holy day. A student who is to be excused from class for a religious observance is not required to provide a second party certification of the reason for the absence.

•	College of Education LiveText Statement. The College of Education has adopted the use of Live Text software to assist in the assessment of student's performance and program quality. As a degree-seeking, endorsement or certification student you are responsible for purchasing a membership to Live Text during your first course in the FGCU's College of Education. If you do not have a membership to Live Text, you will need to purchase it immediately. This is a one-time only purchase. Students enrolled in this class will be required to submit critical tasks (assignments that are linked to standards, relevant to the 
field you have chosen). Your work will receive scores in Live Text that will be used to help monitor your demonstration of the standards, receive feedback from faculty on your progression toward meeting them, and certify that you have demonstrated all the required standards and competencies needed. Your documented success on these tasks can contribute to a portfolio that showcases your learning for current and future employers.

•	Grade Policy: Grades assigned for this course will be either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. There will be no plus/minus grades given.  Satisfactory completion means that all course requirements have been met appropriately, and that the student has demonstrated through deed and action their capacity to engage in the professional role of a counselor.

•	Academic Behavior Standards and Academic Dishonesty. All students are expected to demonstrate honesty in their academic pursuits. The university policies regarding issues of honesty can be found in the FGCU Student Guidebook under the Student Code of Conduct and Policies and Procedures sections.  All students are expected to study this document which outlines their responsibilities and consequences for violations of the policy.   The FGCU Student Guidebook is available online at http://studentservices.fgcu.edu/judicialaffairs/new.html

•	Disability Accommodations Services. Florida Gulf Coast University, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the university's guiding principles, will provide classroom and academic accommodations to students with documented disabilities. If you need to request an accommodation in this class due to a disability, or you suspect that your academic performance is affected by a disability, please contact the Office of Adaptive Services. The Office of Adaptive Services is located in Howard Hall 137. The phone number is 239-590-7956 or TTY 239-590-7930

•	Professional Liability Insurance: If you have not already, you will need to obtain and provide proof of professional liability insurance. You may obtain a policy through one of the professional associations such as ACA or ASCA (included if you are a member). Or, you may contact your homeowner insurance provider for an appropriate rider. You will need a minimum of $1,000,000/$5,000,000 protection. Liability insurance is included in your ASCA membership.

•	Background Check: the school systems and various mental health counseling agencies sometimes require anyone who interacts with students/patients to undergo a state and/or federal background check. You may need to do this right away as explained in class.

•	Implementation Strategies:

a.	This class is structured to provide guided and supervised field experiences totaling no less than 300 hours (with minimum of 120 hours in direct client contact) that reflect cumulative, comprehensive, and systemic training in the program to date. Students will be oriented by the university faculty to the field experience requirements and will submit notes, reports, and recordings to the faculty during class session, during field experience meetings, or electronically as appropriate. All students will present a minimum of one appropriate recording of their work in group supervision. And, students will submit to the instructor recordings to be reviewed every two weeks on average. If a student does not submit a recording within a three week period, he or she may be asked to withdraw and receive an Unsatisfactory grade overall. That is, recordings must be consistently submitted on a periodic basis throughout the semester. You simply cannot wait until the last 2-3 weeks to submit all your recordings and expect to pass the internship. 
b.	No specific bibliographic material is planned beyond that used in the co-requisite course.
Please take a few moments to complete the ONLINE form so that I can easily have handy this information while working with your supervisors this semester. 

Course Requirements (Checklist)	

Student

Description	Completed	
Permission from Building Level Principal and School Counselor		
COPY of Professional Liability Insurance		

Two (2) Counseling Action Plans		
Administrator-Counselor Management Agreement		
Counseling & Guidance Schedule (Sample Calendar)		
Final eval by site supervisor (from ANGEL)		
Final FEAPS eval by site supervisor http://bit.ly/feapsform		
Cumulative Log of Activity (spreadsheet)
available online at http://coe.fgcu.edu/counseling-links.html 		
Closing the gap project and PPT report		
Printout of Last page of hours log		
Minimum 5 audio/video samples (in group, individual, or turned in). Minimal one in group supervision.		
Supervision LOG Signature Page		
Summary of Experiences PPT		

Permission from Building Level Principal
and School Counselor
FINAL Internship

Student Name: __________________________________________ 

Date: 	

To the Principal and Counselor: I understand the nature of the counseling internship and will allow the student named above to participate conduct his/her Final Internship at this school.

_____________________________________________
School Name

Principal	Date	
		
Counselor	Date	

Please allow the student to return this form. Or, you can fax this signed form to me at 239-590-7801 or send to:

Russell A. Sabella, Ph.D.
10501 FGCU BLVD SOUTH
College of Education
Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
239-590-7782
rsabella@fgcu.edu

Parent Permission Form

Dear Parent(s),

	My name is _____________________________ and I am currently an internship student in the Counseling program at Florida Gulf Coast University. This course is a requirement for the masters degree in school counseling. The internship experience is designed to help students learn, understand, and gain experience in various counseling and guidance approaches. The internship is conducted under strict conditions and will be supervised by a school counselor and by my university professor. 

I would like to work with your child in the following ways:

Here are several other things that I would like for you to know:

1.	Although my counseling activities are designed to enhance the outcome of your child’s progress in school, there are no penalties for denying permission. Your child’s participation or non-participation will in no way affect his/her academic standing or progress.  It will be explained to your child before participating that he/she may elect to withdraw from participating at any time.
2.	The internship is designed to be a comprehensive educational experience which closely assimilates the job of school counselor. The results of my work will be shared only with my site supervisor (the school counselor), my professor, and the classmates in my supervision course. Feedback that is provided to parents or teachers may be limited by counseling ethics and Florida law. Relatedly, I am required by law to report any suspicion of child abuse and/or neglect.
3.	To get the best experience possible, it is sometimes necessary to audio and/or video record my work to present to my professor for feedback and supervision. All recordings are secured and destroyed at the end of the semester if not sooner.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at work _____________________ or in the evenings at home ______________________. You may also call my professor, Dr. Russell Sabella, at 239-590-7782 or via e-mail at rsabella@fgcu.edu at any time.

Thank you very much for your help!

I have read and I understand the above. I agree to allow my child, ___________________, to participate in the above described counseling/guidance activities AND audio or video tape the meetings.

__________________________________________________	______________________
Parent/Guardian Signature	Date

__________________________________________________	______________________
Parent/Guardian Signature	Date

Closing the Gap (Multimedia) Project	

Closing the gap: According to the ASCA National Model®, the use of data will drive the program. The needs surface when disaggregated data are analyzed for every student. Data are necessary to determine where the school counseling program is now, where it should be and where it is going to go. Needs are identified discrepancies between the desired results and the results currently being achieved (also referred to as the gap).

The purpose of this assignment is for counseling intern students to demonstrate that they can competently:

1.	Use data-drive decision making to detect significant gaps in achievement between one or more students and his/her peers. 
2.	Select appropriate competencies per the ASCA National Standards that need to be addressed
3.	Select appropriate interventions/activities for closing the gap.
4.	Evaluate the outcomes of the interventions
5.	Do a self-advancing, narrated PowerPoint (5-7 slides) that describes:

a.	The nature of the achievement gap (use data to establish the need and illuminate the gap);

b.	A description of the appropriate intervention, including objectives (must be linked to the data, ASCA National Standards, and the Sunshine State Standards)

c.	Description of data collection methods (also linked to data and interventions).

d.	A description of the results (including graphs)

e.	Summary of the results

f.	Recommendations for future interventions including to (With proper resources/support, expand the intervention among more students that would also benefit).
a.	

School Counseling Action Plans	

With in the first 3 weeks, use the ASCA Model template to develop one Curriculum Action Plan and one Closing the Gap Action Plan. Samples are online at http://ascanationalmodel.org/content.asp?pl=21&sl=42&contentid=42 

Sample Weekly Schedule

Hours	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	
8-9
	parent consultation	parent consultation	parent consultation	parent consultation	
9-10
	student planning	individual counseling	guidance	FLEX	
10-11
	FLEX	individual counseling	guidance	FLEX	
11-12
	individual counseling	guidance	guidance	small group	
12-1
	individual counseling	guidance	FLEX	small group	
1-2
	guidance	student planning	FLEX	system support	
2-3
	guidance	FLEX	small group	system support	
3-4
	FLEX	FLEX	small group	individual counseling	

From the ASCA Model:

Sample Hour Distribution

ACTIVITY	Per Week	Total (15 wks).	
Individual Counseling	2	30	
Small Group Counseling	2	30	
Large Group Guidance	3	45	
Crisis Intervention	.5	7.5	
Individual Student Planning	1	15	
Total Hours of DIRECT activity:	127.5	
On site supervision	.7	10.5	
Department meeting	.25	3.75	
Child Study Teams	2.8	42	
Consultations (Teacher/Parents)	3.5	52.5	
In service training	.25	3.75	
Paperwork	4	60	
	Total Hours of INDIRECT activity:	172.5	
	GRAND TOTAL HOURS:	300	

Supervision Signature Page	

Date	Length	Signature of Site Supervisor	

			

			

			

			

			

			

Summary of Experiences PPT	

Create a narrated PPT (or video or write a paper) describing your overall experiences. At a minimum, all of the following must be included to pass the course: 

Experiences in:

1.	Individual counseling
2.	Small group counseling
3.	Classroom guidance
4.	Consultation with a teacher
5.	Consultation with a parent
6.	RtI meeting
7.	Advisement
8.	Student Career Development, Guidance, and/or counseling
9.	Program Management/Action Planning
10.	One School Wide activity (e.g., National School Counseling Week or Career Day)
11.	Review of Crisis Procedures/Policies
12.	What you are able to understand and do better as a result of this internship as compared to when you started. 

Supervision Schedule*	

*Subject to change

Date	4pm -5pm	5-6pm	6-7pm	7-8pm	
1/12/11	ALL GROUP	
1/19/11	ALL GROUP (Meet at the The Atrium)	
1/26/11					
2/2/11	CLASS DOES NOT MEET	
2/9/11	ALL GROUP  (Meet at the The Atrium)	
2/16/11	CLASS DOES NOT MEET	
2/23/11	CLASS DOES NOT MEET	
3/1/11	ALL GROUP (Meet at the The Atrium)	
3/8/11	SPRING BREAK - CLASS DOES NOT MEET	
3/15/11					
3/22/11					
3/29/11	ALL GROUP (Meet at the The Atrium)	
4/5/11					
4/12/11					
4/19/11	ALL GROUP	

Tuesdays with Sabella ☺ 4-5pm

Supervision Roster

1	 Amanda	Allen	
2	 Gentile	Angelo	
3	 Nestor	Avila	
4	 Leslie	Bickett	
5	 Samantha	Dahl	
6	 Lindsey	Dwyer	
7	 Susan	Gayoso	
8	 Terri	Hensley	
9	Chelsea	Hillis	
10	 Nicole	Kirdahy	
11	 Holeigh	Morin	
12	 Kristin	Nestler	
13	 Laura	Svoboda