The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) identifies academic, career, and social/emotional as the three domains within a comprehensive school counseling program. Using a collaborative approach, professional school counselors frame their programs with the ASCA National Model and the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. One of the guiding principles of a comprehensive school program is preparing all students for success beyond high school. ASCA’s position statement, School Counselors & Individual Student Planning for Postsecondary Preparation, states:
The focus of academic and career planning is threefold: to help students acquire the skills to achieve academic success, to make connections between school and life experiences, and to acquire knowledge and skills to be college and/or career-ready upon high school graduation.
Corsava Cards provide a fun, interactive tool for school counselors to engage students and adults in college readiness activities. Here are a few examples of the specific audiences and partnerships that support the use of the cards.
Classroom Guidance
School counselors today deliver direct services to students in multiple ways, including classroom guidance. With the ability to provide direct instruction to students, Corsava Cards are a natural fit. Using the classroom setting, school counselors can assign students in pairs or small groups to complete the card sort after demonstrating the process. One student assumes the role of facilitator while the other student completes the sort. If additional students are in the group, they can be the timekeeper or the recorder for questions that arise. Conversation about choices and terms arise, leading to additional knowledge of factors pertaining to college choice. Many states mandate Individual Learning Plans (ILP) or Individual Graduation Plans (IGP) documenting students’ progress toward graduation and college and career readiness. Corsava Cards are a strong tool supporting the IGPs and ILPs. Recently, a school counselor posted in a private Facebook group about a research project called "Year in the Life of Freshman Me." Students have the option of presenting their results as creatively as they want, in a format supporting their individual talents. The cards could serve as another tool to enhance the conversation about college expectations. When I was the counselor-in-residence for the Rhode Island School Counseling Project, a partnership between Providence College, the RI School Counselor Association and the RI Department of Education (RIDE), I spent numerous hours helping school counselors evaluate the effectiveness of myriad practices and resources in their school counseling programs. For example, many schools conducted career fairs to help students connect their academic work with their future selves. Using feedback from pre and post surveys taken by the students, school counselors and I then used the data to evaluate the effectiveness of the career fairs. I worked with the RIDE and many school districts in RI to create ILPs, a state mandate. School counselors were and still are integral to facilitating the implementation of ILPs. Focusing on the academic, career and personal/social domains, I visualize a card sort highlighting college factors as an opportunity for substantial conversation between teacher, student, parent and school counselor.
Collaboration with Classroom Teachers
School counselors often face many barriers to implement guidance curriculum. Large caseloads, assignment to non-guidance tasks like test coordinating, and time constraints have resourceful school counselors teaming with classroom teachers in creative ways. Using the cards as the starting point, English language arts teachers may assign essays on the college choice process. Social studies teachers might focus on the geographical aspects of students’ choices, along with the cultural components of each region. Focusing on Student Resources or Campus Culture, health education teachers can connect their curriculum goals by discussing ways to maintain physical and mental health on a college campus. Reviewing careers in STEM gives science teachers the opportunity to connect the dots between classroom material and the world of work. Within the math curriculum, there are myriad possibilities around calculating the cost of college, including transportation costs and all those hidden fees. Physical education teachers can stress the importance of staying physically active on a college campus and have guest speakers from local colleges present information on club and intramural sports. Classroom curriculum and guidance curriculum have areas of overlap; thinking outside of the box creatively lends itself to delivering guidance curriculum and creating a college-going culture across the disciplines. Corsava Cards can bridge the gap between the two and provide value to the student. This is in alignment with the ASCA National Model, which recognizes "collaborating with teachers to present school counselor core curriculum lessons" as essential to an effective comprehensive school counseling program. I am a former social studies teacher so when I became a school counselor I worked with my colleagues in that department to explore ways the social studies curriculum overlapped with the school counseling curriculum. The two departments developed a sense of professional respect for each other’s work, which led to further collaboration. For example, all juniors in my former high school took U.S. History, so that was a natural place to collaborate. When the school counseling department struggled to find the time to administer career assessments to all of our ninth graders, we partnered with the Business department. All ninth graders took computer literacy and with a computer-based career assessment, both departments were able meet their curricula goals.
Staff Development
Ongoing professional development is an important part of an educator's career. As a school counselor, I participated in hours of professional development helping me learn how to improve our school counseling program to benefit all students. My former high school structured school level professional development by departments, with every department determining its agenda within the parameters of the directive from administration. The school counseling department used this opportunity to participate in the meetings of the academic departments to exchange information. Introducing the Corsava Cards to faculty and staff during similar meetings is a win-win situation for all – teachers, school counselor, and students. Helping students understand the interconnectedness of their academic classes and strengthening the mission of schools across disciplines lends itself well to this interactive resource.
Adult learners do not prefer the 'sage on the stage' method of learning. They are self-directed with the ability to reflect on life experiences in new learning situations. When I worked with the staff at the Office of College Access (Upward Bound, Talent Search and 21st Century Community Learning Centers) at a university in North Carolina recently, one of the activities was the card sort. It was amazing to see the adults engaged to the point they did not want to stop when time was called. There were enthusiastic discussions about many of the factors and how they related to college choice. One member remarked, "I wish this was available when my daughter was planning for college." I will be working with this staff again and I can’t wait until they see this version.
PTA/PTO
Parent groups seek meaningful ways to assist families on many topics. The National PTA states in its National Standards for Family – School Partnerships, "Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively." In my former high school, the school counseling department teamed up with our PTA to introduce families to academic, career, and social/emotional topics. Family involvement increases student success. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement (Henderson and Mapp, 2002) concludes family workshops on planning for college supports student success. Imagine a roomful of students and family members sorting the Corsava Cards together, discussing the choices and learning together about the factors involved in the college planning process. It’s a great way for parent organizations to fulfill their mission to engage families and for a school counseling program to deliver guidance curriculum through its outreach to parent organizations.
Advisory
Some schools have an advisory period designed to bring students and staff together for meaningful advisement outside of the core classes. Linking the Corsava Cards to advisory period increases the level of collaboration between school counselors and staff. Sorting the cards and discussing the results can enrich the time students are in Advisory period.
Student Clubs and Organizations
Introducing Corsava Cards, or continuing the conversation about previously obtained results, increases the exposure students have to a school-wide focus on college and career readiness. For example, student reporters for the school newspaper could interview students about their experiences with the card sort. Part of the work of peer mentors could be follow-up conversations about their mentees’ card sort results. When I served as the advisor for the Multicultural Club at East Providence High School, we talked about college plans. Having this resource would have added another dimension to those conversations, along with an element of fun. The middle school and high school in my current district have clubs such as the Beta Club, Math Counts, and the Student Government Association. Student clubs and organizations are a perfect vehicle to expand the conversations for aspiring college students. Sometimes, high schools and middle schools collaborate on projects helping middle school students transition to high school. One idea is that members of the Key Club in a high school, after completing their own card sort and debriefing with their school counselor and/or club advisor, could lead a similar activity with middle school students in an after-school program. Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
Student-Led Conferences
Many high schools conduct annual student-led conferences where the student directs the flow of a meeting with parents and school counselors in attendance. Imagine having students use the Corsava Cards results to facilitate the conversation on their postsecondary plans in conjunction with their current academic standing in school. Students thrive when they take ownership of their future. As part of the guidance curriculum, students would be familiar with this resource, using it in multiple ways.