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Monica Echegaray

CSP 710A
Exemplar #1: High School Research Project and Data Analysis
Standards Met - Standards 17, 22, 23 and 30
Introduction
The role of a school counselor in the schools can be very impactful or very
redundant given the effect the school counselor decides to make. Our career has faced
challenges of credibility in the past years because of a lack of intentional acts of
guidance. Part of becoming strong and effective counselors is setting up a comprehensive
school counseling program. This program becomes the backbone to our profession and
focuses our efforts to reach success. Yet, how do we get this program started? Data! Data
has become the most imperative drive of our career as it leads our efforts in a direction
that will actually make a difference.
In my High School Research and Data Analysis project I did a complete analysis
of the school where I completed my fieldwork, Eastlake High School. This analysis
consisted of disaggregating the schools data in its entirety and by gender and ethnicity.
The analysis focused on the areas of school enrollment, advanced placement course
enrollment, AP test scores, SAT scores, student enrollment in advanced math courses and
chemistry, A-G completion rate and high school graduation rate. The data was obtained
from the California Department of Education to assure authenticity and that most current
information was collected. The data collected was then utilized to inform our schools
stakeholders of strengths, weaknesses, performance when compared to sister schools, the
district and state, and thoughtful recommendations for next steps. The information
collected helped inform our approach to the creation of guidance lessons, group
curriculum, and advocacy based on the identified needs.
Standards Addressed
I. Core Knowledge Base and Foundations
Standard 17 Foundations of the School Counseling Profession

By meeting proficiency of standard 17 of the California School Counseling


Specialization Standards I am also satisfying ASCA school counselor
competency for standard 1-A-2, which entitles having the organizational structure

Monica Echegaray
CSP 710A
and components of an effective school-counseling program that aligns with the

ASCA National Model.


The data collected in this research project helped inform our school counseling
program and align our mission with that of our students needs. We strive for
intended acts of guidance for which the data demonstrated where our students
needed support.

II. Professional Skills and Training


B. Themes of School Counselor Preparation
Standard 22 Leadership
Upon completing this project, a presentation was created to share data collection
and interpretation to the school counseling team and administration. Data was
utilized to highlight areas of need and plan future curriculum and interventions

appropriately.
By evaluating the goals and concerns listed in the schools WASC reports we were
able to create a sense of urgency in order to involve all stakeholders in a

collaborative effort to support our students.


By meeting proficiency of standard 22 of the California School Counseling
Specialization Standards I am also satisfying ASCA school counselor
competency for standard 1-B-1c, which assures I apply the school counseling
themes of leadership, advocacy, collaboration and systemic change, which are
critical to a successful school counseling program.

Standard 23 Advocacy
The data collected for this project helped voice these concerns to administration
and other stakeholders raising level of importance by aligning these needs to the
schools missing statement and goals that had been proposed in the sites WASC

report.
In alignment to the proposed additional supports for ELL students from the
WASC reports and the data proving low A-G achievement for this group of
students, I advocated for their rights by creating a guidance curriculum to inform
and create a pathway to help them reach higher education. After collaboration
with ELD teachers, many expressed their concern with ELL students ever having
received this information beforehand, which led to the development of a closing

Monica Echegaray
CSP 710A
the achievement gap curriculum targeted to help marginalized groups of students
succeed and meet the requirements needed to be college eligible.

By meeting proficiency of standard 23 of the California School Counseling


Specialization Standards I am also satisfying ASCA school counselor competency
for standard 1-A-3, which assures I remove barriers to student learning and use of
advocacy and data-driven school counseling practices to close the
achievement/opportunity gap

C. Functions of School Counselors


Standard 30 Research, Program Evaluation and Technology
The High School Research and Data Analysis project enforces the knowledge of
basic principles in research and the analysis and desegregation of the data with the
creating of graphs and charts to make this information comprehensive to all.
Disaggregating the data and presenting it visually helped stakeholders understand
the urgency of the identified problem. By analyzing the data collected for EHS, I
was able to evaluate how the school was performing, what areas needed to be

addressed and gaining support from stakeholders to enforce these interventions.


Action research in this collection of data led the development of problem solving
tactics by focusing our efforts on identified needs and creating targeted
interventions. The data collected for EHS exposed a decrease in student
performance in SAT scores during the past three years which to the design of
targeted study sessions provided before the test date, and informing students of

extra supports that could help them study and value the importance of the exam.
By meeting proficiency of standard 30 of the California School Counseling
Specialization Standards I am also satisfying ASCA school counselor
competency for standard II-A-5, which demands the use of data-driven decision
making.

Conclusion
I selected the High School Research and Data Analysis project as part of my
exemplars to demonstrate proficiency in the collection and analysis of data. I believe that
it is imperative for a school counselor to not be intimidated by it and use it to reinforce
their practices. I began my school counseling program with little proficiency in data

Monica Echegaray
CSP 710A
collection and analysis for which I am proud of the growth I have made, proven by my
data interpretation and creation of graphs, and with the progress I will continue to make.
As I reflect back, I see that compared to the beginning of the development of my school
counselor competencies I have grown in advocacy and leadership, hand in hand, by
increasing my confidence when speaking up to social injustices in a respectful and well
thought out manner. I have become more confident due to my increased knowledge in
using evidence-based/ data informed practices to support the point I plan to get through.
This exemplar has helped shape the kind of school counselor I will be in my
upcoming career. It helped me learn the impact of intentional acts of guidance and the
ineffectiveness of developing curriculum or interventions that arouse from assumptions. I
want to make a difference for the wellbeing of my school and for all my students and I
believe it starts with being true to ourselves about our performance, achievements and
planning accordingly. If I could do something differently in this project I would have
reached out to more stakeholders and conducted thorough interviews to make them part
of the solution. I feel like I was fairly new to the school and there was minimal rapport
built at the time, so teacher participation in measuring student climate and needs
assessments where not very big. I know my profession will be guided by getting to know
my school site, its community, and my students direct needs. Identifying the problem
accurately will help make the most difference.

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