It's Part 2 of the Small Group Planning podcast episodes. Today I am diving into the planning and implementation of small group counseling.

If you didn't catch Part I, I covered the logistics of getting small groups started, but now we will focus on the curriculum development, group structure, and data collection involved in running effective small counseling groups.

Some highlights from this episode:

1. Importance of standards-aligned small group curriculum planning

2. Using pre and post-assessments to collect data and determine student progress

3. Essential components of an engaging small group structure (feelings check, group rules, icebreakers, main activities, discussion, reflection)

4. Leveraging the Impact membership resources for small group curriculum and support

5. Transitioning students between tiers of intervention based on small group outcomes

Listen in to get a clear roadmap for planning and facilitating small counseling groups that meet the unique needs of your students.

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

In today's episode, I am talking on the importance of creating a classroom calming corner - a designated safe space for students to manage their emotions. I'll be discussing the benefits of calming corners for teachers, counselors, and students, as well as practical steps for setting them up effectively. I'll also touch on how to handle potential pushback from teachers and strategies for implementing a school-wide approach to this valuable tool.

Some highlights from this episode include:

• Identifying Calming corners as a toolkit to help students self-regulate and manage their emotions rather than a punishment

• Highlighting the Benefits of calming corners which include happier teachers, less burdened counselors, and more regulated students.

• How to set up Calming corners so they can be distinguished from the rest of the classroom and include visuals, soft furnishings, and a calm-down toolbox.

• How to address potential teacher concerns and how taking a school-wide approach are key to successful implementation of calming corners.

Listen in and let me know what you think and what you plan to implement.

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!
• Snag my free Curriculum Map Here
• How to create a calming Corner
• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

In this episode, I am discussing strategies for scheduling class lessons for the entire school year. I'm breaking down the benefits of batch work and encouraging you all to plan lessons in advance to save time and reduce stress. We are going to dive into some digital tools like Google Sheets and Airtable that can be used to create checklists and track the status of scheduled lessons.

Some topics covered:

• How to schedule class lessons for the entire school year using batch work so you can significantly improve efficiency and organization.
• Using Google Sheets to create a simple checklist for monitoring the status of scheduled lessons, including teacher names, grade levels, topics, dates, and lesson planning progress.
• Looking into Airtable for a more visually appealing and feature-rich alternative to Google Sheets, allowing for customizable fields, color-coding, sorting, and filtering options to manage classroom lesson planning.
• Learning the Importance of Staying organized with digital tools like Google Sheets or Airtable so you can save time and allow you to focus more on serving students.

Listen in and tell me what you plan to incorporate this school year!

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• Grab my 30-60-90 Day Plan for FREE
• FREE Curriculum Map

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

Welcome back to another episode of School Counseling Simplified.

Today, we're diving into a topic that's crucial for the success of our counseling programs - getting teacher buy-in and support when scheduling those all-important classroom lessons. As we all know, building strong relationships with our teaching staff is key to delivering impactful services to students. And when it comes to those classroom lessons, having the teachers on board can make all the difference.

In this episode, I am sharing some incredibly practical strategies to help you navigate this process and ensure your lessons are welcomed and valued by your teaching team.

Some highlights include:

• Learning how to share the "why" behind the counseling lessons, such as citing data or research on the benefits

• Getting teacher input by conducting a needs assessment survey to understand their perspectives on lesson topics

• Having a backup plan in case some teachers are resistant, such as leveraging administrator support or using alternative scheduling

• Offering "as needed" lessons tailored to specific teacher requests, even if they don't align perfectly with the overall lesson plan

• Emphasizing the importance of ensuring all students receive the counseling lessons, even if it requires creativity and persistence in working with teachers

Be sure to listen in, take some notes and start implementing these strategies to build stronger partnerships with your teachers. Happy listening, friends!

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!
• 30-60-90 Day Plan- FREEBIE
• Grab my FREE Curriculum Map
• Join Stress Free School Counseling
• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

In this episode, host I am sharing game-changing tools for scheduling class lessons as a school counselor. I'm covering three main tech tools - Google Sheets, Calendly, and Google Calendar - that can streamline the scheduling process.

The key highlights include:

• Using Google Sheets to have teachers sign up for available class lesson times, allowing them to take ownership of the scheduling.

• Utilizing Calendly, a free scheduling app that makes it easy for teachers to book appointments for lessons.

• Leveraging Google Calendar to create recurring calendar invites with reminders once lesson times are scheduled.

• The importance of being strategic about your availability and scheduling lessons first before filling in other commitments.

By implementing these scheduling tools and strategies, school counselors can get their class lessons scheduled efficiently in advance, allowing them to better manage their overall schedule and priorities throughout the school year. Listen in and change the game for yourself!

Resources mentioned:

• Curriculum Map Freebie
• Stress Free School Counseling
• Free Training happening TODAY!

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

In this episode, I am sharing my 3-step process for effectively scheduling class lessons at your school. Learn how to determine the location, setup, and frequency of your classroom lessons to feel prepared and deliver engaging counseling sessions.

I know how overwhelming this can be whether you are brand new or a seasoned veteran, but I have nailed down a process so you don't have to recreate the wheel. This process will help you feel prepared and ready to deliver effective counseling lessons.

Some highlights I cover are:

• Join my FREE TRAINING Engaging Individual Counseling Sessions. Struggling with one-on-one sessions? Then this Free live training on using individual counseling curriculum is for you all Live Attendees receive free curriculum set and PD certificate!

• Breaking down the 3-step process for scheduling class lessons: which include, location, materials and frequency!

• Emphasizing the importance of feeling and being prepared to deliver effective counseling lessons.
• My biggest tip for Avoid last-minute stress and engage students better- JOIN IMPACT

Listen in for all the details. You don't want to miss out!

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!
• 30-60-90 Day Plan - FREE
• Curriculum Map- FREE
• Join Stress Free Class Lessons!
• FREE LIVE TRAINING- How to use individual counseling curriculum to engage students and effectively track data!
• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store
• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook Page
• Facebook Group
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

Back to school season is in full swing and I'm popping in today's episode to break down your first 90 days of school. We are going to break down my free 30-60-90 Day plan, so that we can break down that seemingly overwhelming to do list that you have. Tune in and follow along with your freebie in hand!

I'm breaking down each month piece by piece so that you can be create the impact you are wanting to this school year, without the overwhlem.

Some highlights from this episode:

• What to do in your first 30 days- like identifying needs through a needs assessment, meeting with new administrators, introducing yourself to students
• How to establish your counseling caseload in your first 60 days- scheduling class lessons, preparing data collection tools, planning small group curriculum, and organizing school-wide activities.
• Building Conistency in your program- By the 90 day point, you should be implementing your services.
• The 30-60-90 day plan helps break down the overwhelming back-to-school to-do list into manageable, prioritized steps to ensure you're on track in the first few months.
• Having this structured plan in place from the start of the school year will help you be more proactive, organized, and prepared to deliver effective counseling services to students.

Resources mentioned:

• 30-60-90 Day Plan

• Daily Lesson Plans

• Join my IMPACT membership here!

• School Counseling Data Collection Spreadsheets - Caseload and Counseling Log

• School Counseling Data Tracking Tools Bundle - Data Driven Counseling Program

• Stress Free Class Lessons

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!