Comprehensive Cyberbullying School Counseling Curriculum for Renayeman High School. Lin Haldeman, Douglas Hayes, and Michelle Reynolds

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1 Running Head: COMPREHENSIVE CYBERBULLYING SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 1 Comprehensive Cyberbullying School Counseling Curriculum for Renayeman High School Lin Haldeman, Douglas Hayes, and Michelle Reynolds John Carroll University

2 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 2 Foundation School Description For this project, our group has created a hypothetical school set in the small town of Renayeman, Ohio. In this suburban location, the Renayeman community has built an impressive public school district where the population majority resides in the upper class. They are able to pay the high property taxes which fund the public school district and pass school levies often. This well-to-do town s high school, Renayeman High School (RHS), will be the main focus for the comprehensive program and calendar. Demographically, the student body is made up of 75% Caucasian (non-hispanic), 10% Arabic, 5% Asian or Pacific Islander, 5% African American, and 5% Hispanic students. There is currently 253 students enrolled. Graduation rates at RHS are impressively high, with an average 95.8% receiving diplomas at the end of high school and 89.3% continuing onto higher education. Statement of Philosophy The counselors at the high school of the Renayeman School District believe... All students enrolled have worth and are individually important. All students have the right to utilize the resources of the Counseling Department. All students unique diversities will be taken into account for programming implemented by the Counseling Department (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2012). At RHS, current and future counseling programs will aim to... Be focused on promoting student success and include specific, student-attainable goals. Be carefully planned and executed by a prepared counseling teams that cooperate with the student, their parents/guardians, the school district, and any community participators. Be data driven in its development and evaluation (ASCA, 2012).

3 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 3 Lastly, the counselors of RHS promise To be stringent in adhering to federal, state, and local codes of ethic. To follow guidelines set forth by the American School Counselor Association. To actively continue their professional development so that students will continuously receive quality counseling (ASCA, 2012). Mission Statement It is the RHS Counseling Department s mission to provide a comprehensive school counseling curriculum designed to equip all students with the opportunity to develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for academic, career, and personal/social growth. Our comprehensive school counseling program will encourage the highest level of development. We strive to partner with not only other educators and administrators, but also parents and community members to create a safe and supportive environment in which students hone their academic, career, and personal/ social competencies in preparation for the future. Rationale for the Comprehensive Anti-Cyberbullying Program The rationale for our cyberbullying comprehensive counseling program is to be more responsive to the present and future needs of our students in the online community. Students who do not know how to communicate effectively, whether in person or online, will encounter many obstacles professionally and personally. It is our aim to teach the skills necessary to prevent these roadblocks and give students the tools to be able to deal with the ever-changing online environment in a healthy, productive manner. The assumptions about our comprehensive anticyberbullying program are as follows: All students are capable of mastering the curriculum; It is designed for all students;

4 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 4 It helps the students function more effectively in the classroom, in their personal lives, and online; It is cooperative and collaborative with educators, parents, students, and community members; It is correlated to academics; It fosters engagement at the academic, career, and personal/ social levels; It is designed to be used in all post-secondary futures (e.g. college, workforce, military); and It allows students to acquire skills relevant to life role decision making. Hypothetical Concern In recent weeks, there have been whispers of cyberbullying in the halls of RHS. The Counseling Department became aware of the issue when a student s phone was confiscated for texting in class. As the teacher took the phone from the male student, he noticed a threatening message on the screen of the student s phone with the Facebook application open. Immediately following the class, the teacher reported the occurrence to the Counseling Department. The Counseling Department then called the student up to the office during his next study hall. The student explained that cyberbullying was extremely common. The counselor also learned that many students create multiple fake profiles in order to harass fellow students and other fake profiles. The cyberbullying is widespread in its subject matter and targets. Although absences are not at a level of concern for RHS, they have increased over recent weeks. Additionally, teachers have begun to increasingly complain about student participation in school. Despite the school having filters on internet access, it has been noticed that much of the cyberbullying is occurring during school hours. Students are finding ways to circumvent the

5 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 5 filter on school computers and also have access through their smart phones to log onto social media sites. Applicable ASCA National Standards for Students Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others PS:A1: Acquire self-knowledge PS:A1.1 Develop positive attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person PS:A2 Acquire interpersonal skills PS:A2.2 Respect alternative points of view PS.A2.3: Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences PS:A2.4 Recognize, accept, and appreciate ethnic and cultural diversity Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals PS.B1.5 Demonstrate when, where and how to seek help for solving problems and making decisions PS.B1.6 Know how to apply conflict resolution skills PS:B1.12 Develop an action plan to set and achieve realistic goals Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills PS:C1: Acquire personal safety skills PS:C1.5 Differentiate between situations requiring peer support and situations requiring adult professional help PS:C1.6 Identify resource people in the school and the community, and know how to seek their help PS:C1.10 Learn techniques for managing stress and conflict (ASCA, 2004)

6 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 6 Designing the Program Individual Student Planning To address the concern of cyberbullying, individual student planning would be used by helping students to develop their own goals and ideas of success. Research shows that the main motive of individuals who engage in cyberbullying is to make themselves feel good (Campbell, 2013) The individual student planning activities will empower students to define and attain their own personal and professional goals while helping them to get more in touch with who they are. The first step to assisting students in developing their own goals used would be to have students take the Do What You Are (DWYA) personality assessment. This assessment is based on the Myers-Briggs model of personality types. The results would enable students to see some tendencies reflected back that may be typical of their behavior. The next step would have students critically identify and analyze their values system by completing a values inventory. This inventory would consist of a list of 22 values and descriptions. Students would be requested to select and order their top ten values. Afterwards, a discussion would take place that would focus on helping students understand how to implement their values into their life. Following the values inventory, students would meet with a school counselor to discuss what goals they have. The school counselor would be mainly concerned with listening to the student and asking questions that prompt the student to consider how his values and personality is related to his goals. Guidance Curriculum The scope and objective of the guidance curriculum will be for all students in RHS to be able to answer the following questions for themselves:

7 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 7 1. Who am I? (9 th ) 2. What am I passionate about? (10 th ) 3. What do I want to accomplish? (11 th ) 4. How can I accomplish that what I want? (12 th ) Additionally, all students will be able to recognize and appreciate the value in all other students responses to these questions. These four questions would serve as themes for each class year. The main focus of the guidance curriculum that would be implemented by classroom guidance lessons would be in seeking to help students be able to recognize and appreciate all other students progress towards answering the questions. The following activities would be utilized to help students accomplish this: 1. Value/Goal Name Tag Swap: Students in the classroom list a personal goal for after high school and something they value. All responses are collected and distributed randomly on blank name tags. Students will wear the random name tag they receive for the class period as they mingle with other classmates. The goal of this activity is to help students recognize the goals others may have and feel what it is like to have those goals reacted to. 2. Bystander Awareness Training: This activity will empower students to become advocates for each other. It will be a class that gives students techniques and strategies to recognize and effectively address when another student or group of students is not having their value recognized. 3. Personality Picker: Descriptions of personality types from the Myers-Briggs model would be read in class and the class would try to identify each member s personality type. The school counselor would reveal the actual results from the DWYA assessment at the end of class to all those that are willing to have it revealed. The purpose of this would be to

8 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 8 help students better understand their classmates and view how skewed their perceptions of each other may be. This will serve as a bonding experience and lead to greater understanding. Responsive Services Group Counseling. To initiate the responsive services, counselors at RHS will first create a small group for counseling. Together in a group, bullied students can come together and unite under a shared experience. While the overarching topic of each session will be cyberbullying, a multitude of activities and discussion prompts will be incorporated. For instance, sessions will focus on working with students so that they are able to define/identify cyberbullying, learn coping techniques, openly express their feelings regarding the experience, practice safe internet usage, and know when it is time to reach out for help. Peer Facilitation. Creating a peer group to help stop the instances of cyberbullying will be a way to involve unaffected RHS students in the anti-cyberbullying movement. The peer group ideally would be made of up volunteer students who showcase leadership and are well spoken, as these qualities are vital when standing up to others. School counselors will train this group of students to identify cyberbullying behaviors and maturely stand up against them when they occur. In a sense, this peer group will act as a cyber patrol that will identify, reduce, and report cyberbullying occurrences to the appropriate people. Consultation and Referral. Often in times of crisis, individuals involved forget to focus on the bully as well as the victim. Despite being the perpetrator, the bully could have many needs that will need addressing. Hosting a consultation meeting will give the RHS school counselor and the parents of the cyberbully a chance to meet, collaborate on creating goals, create an action plan, and divvy up responsibilities in order to achieve the goals. A referral may also need to be

9 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 9 utilized. While the school counselors at RHS are knowledgeable, they also know when a behavior/situation is beyond their abilities. Referral would be needed if the cyberbully has a history of harmful behaviors towards others, shows no remorse of their actions, continues to cyberbully, and/or if complex issues are unearthed. Systems Support Professional Development. Since there are three counselors in the Counseling Department, one counselor should attend a professional development workshop to learn what research says to do in a widespread cyberbullying situation with high school students, and then report to the other counselors what the attending counselor has learned. If possible, counselors should present workshop knowledge to faculty and administrators at a faculty meeting. Also, counselors should conduct a review of the latest research about cyberbullying and effective practices in dealing with the issue. Consultation, Collaboration, and Teaming. Counselors should consult with school administration about the issue and to deal with any legal issues that might arise. Teachers will also need to be made aware of the issue and which students might be pulled out of classes for groups. Counselors should also collaborate and consult with other high school counselors in the area, through professional organizations and networking, to see how other schools have handled this issue and what has been effective and ineffective. Finally, outside IT and counseling professionals should be consulted to help plan lessons on effective online communication, how to prevent and protect against cyberbullying, and for assistance as needed. Communication with the Community. A letter from the Counseling Department to parents and guardians should be sent home and posted to the Counseling Department s website about the cyberbullying issue and prevention methods. A workshop for parents and community

10 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 10 members should also be conducted about how to protect their students online and how to communicate effectively through digital media. Implementation and Management Use of Time. The cyberbullying problem is a pressing concern so some aspects of the program will be implemented immediately. Assembling and training the cyber patrol along with the classroom activities to help students become more aware of the value of all individuals in the school will be started first. The more philosophical aspects, such as the full guidance curriculum, would be implemented at the start of the next school year. As the program is progressively implemented, the school counselors will strive to dedicate eighty percent of their time to implementing the direct student services. Additionally, counselors will block off a minimum of one hour per week to be used to further professional development and find resources that hold information that can be utilized in the program. The remaining time will be used by accomplishing the tasks and situations which arise during the programs implementation and meeting with community and in school partners. Use of Data. Statistics and information will be compiled throughout the program. This data will assist in informing decisions and alterations applied to the program. Additionally, outside data will be consulted to better inform the school counselors of data supported intervention trends occurring in other schools. A block of time will be set aside during each week for the school counselors to investigate and research data-backed methods and evaluate if they would be an effective component for the program. Finally, data trends in students records within the school database will be viewed to look for potential links among those being impacted most by the recent wave of cyberbullying.

11 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 11 Evaluation Evaluation of the delivery system will be essential in determining the continued use of programming or not. This includes taking a hard look at DWYA assessment in individual student planning, the themed questions and supplemental activities conducted as guidance curriculum, the cyber victim and cyberbully responsive services implemented, and the collaboration and consultation from professionals and the community occurring in the systems support. A results evaluation will be used on the programming made for individual student planning. A post-test of both the DWYA assessment and the values inventory should be given six months after the fact. Comparing results of the pretest and posttest will allow for the school counselors to determine whether using such programming increased student levels of how good they feel about themselves as a means to decrease cyberbullying (Campbell, 2013). Assuming the results indicate positive changes in student esteem, then the evaluation conclusion would be to carry on implementing the DWYA and values inventory to continue helping students steer clear from cyberbullying by promoting positive self-regard. Both the guidance curriculum and responsive services that involved students will be evaluated based on a needs assessment. Conducting one will allow for the school counselors to prioritize what were well accepted interventions, as well as understand how students received the interventions overall (Petkovic, 2014). Students will be given a questionnaire with scaled questions to determine their enjoyment of the activities hosted during guidance curriculum and responsive services. School counselors will need to create four different surveys to appropriately collect data from students. These four questionnaires include one to assess the themed questions per grade level, a second to evaluate reactions of the guidance curriculum supplemental

12 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 12 activities, a third for the small group members to rate their experience, and a fourth for the entire school to record their reaction of the cyber patrol peer group. Last, an evaluation of the systems support will involve personnel rating the school counselors. Anyone and everyone who interacted in the anti-cyberbullying programming (e.g. school staff, outside referral services) will be given the opportunity to give recommendations. For instance, a peer-to-peer evaluation of the school counselors from teachers will be conducted to determine if the steps taken and creation of the comprehensive plan was well thought out. Another evaluation for the system support portion would focus on how well received the programming was for the community. Community members who read the cyberbullying letter or visited the RHS Counseling Department website for resources would be given the opportunity to rate their experience. This would be done online through the RHS Counseling Department website through an anonymous report form. Overall, the entirety of the programming will also need to be audited with the ASCA Program Audit. Since the core of the program was created from three ASCA standards and multiple indicators, it is appropriate to also measure the program based on ASCA criteria. This evaluation will have to be conducted from the initial creation, and then yearly afterwards if the anti-cyberbullying program is to continue its existence. Furthermore, the ASCA Program Audit is a perfect tool for the school counselors to not only evaluate, but identify strengths and weaknesses and set goals for the next school year (ASCA, n.d.).

13 May 2014 RHS Counseling Department Cyberbullying Comprehensive School Counseling Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 4 5 meetings th grade classroom guidance lessons; Letter sent home with students and posted on website (including links for more information) 6 meetings th grade classroom guidance lessons; Counselor individual research 7 meetings; Cyber patrol member interviews and selection th grade classroom guidance lessons; Cyberbullying group meeting 1 Counselor attends cyberbullying workshop 8 meetings th grade classroom guidance lessons 2 At monthly faculty meeting, counselor reports to staff about findings and initiates nominations for cyber patrol members 9 meetings; First meeting and training for cyber patrol 16 meetings; Cyber patrol meeting th grade classroom guidance lessons th grade classroom guidance lessons; Counselor individual research th grade classroom guidance lessons; Cyberbullying group meeting th grade classroom guidance lessons 23 meetings; Cyber patrol meeting; Staff and student mid-term program 24

14 th grade classroom guidance lessons th grade classroom guidance lessons; Counselor individual research th grade classroom guidance lessons; Cyberbullying group meeting th grade classroom guidance lessons evaluations conducted 30 meetings; Cyber patrol meeting 31 June 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday th grade classroom guidance lessons; Themed question evaluation 8 9 Evaluation of cyber patrol conducted 3 10 th grade classroom guidance lessons; Counselor individual research; Themed question evaluation; Anti-cyberbullying workshop for parents at 7 p.m. 10 Counselor individual research 4 11 th grade classroom guidance lessons; Themed question evaluation; Cyberbullying group meeting 11 Final cyberbullying group meeting 5 12 th grade classroom guidance lessons; Themed question evaluation 12 Final staff and student program evaluations conducted; Last day of school! 6 meetings 13 Data analysis and program debrief meeting 7 14

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16 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING CURRICULUM 13 References American School Counselor Association (2004). ASCA National Standards for Students. Alexandria, VA: Author. American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: Author. American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs program audit. Alexandria, VA: Author. Campbell, M. A. (2013). Do Cyberbullies Suffer Too? Cyberbullies' perceptions of the harm they others and to their own mental health. School Psychology International, Erford, B. T. (2011). Transforming the school counseling profession. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Petkovic, S. (2014). Evaluation comprehensive school counseling programs [PowerPoint slides]. Presented in CG 538 on April 8, Petkovic, S. (2014). Introduction to the ASCA national model [PowerPoint slides]. Presented in CG 538 on January 21, Petkovic, S. (2014). Planning and organizing comprehensive school counseling programs [PowerPoint slides]. Presented in CG 538 on March 18, 2014.