Guidance program
A guidance program is a necessity in the daily undertakings of secondary as well as elementary schools. This particular program comprises of an organization structure of activities undertaken in individual schools, a philosophy which is accompanied by an outline of objectives that schools plan to meet by the end of a particular period of time. Budgets where the amount of funds that a school expects to use and personnel involved in the implementation of activities are included in the guidance program.
The final step involves an evaluation of all activities carried out in the course of a certain specified period in order to know whether objectives have been met and whether the budget has been followed correctly. Evaluation results pave way for adjustments on areas that could have portrayed deficiencies or irregularities which is keenly observed during the implementation of similar programs in future. GUIDANCE PROGRAM IN AN ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL Introduction
The primary objective of preparing guidance programs will be to assist students and school administrations discover their potential and achieve planned objectives. In order for designed guidance programs to achieve this purpose, it will portray a supportive as well as a challenging educational environment for students and school managers. The guidance program will specify on areas that offer development opportunities to students and those that encourage them to be dedicated to learning.
Necessary skills that foster critical thinking and creativity will also be portrayed by the guidance program. (Erickson, 2008) Guidance Philosophy Guidance plan for a secondary or elementary school in Mississippi will have an essential role whereby it will support the school’s goals and objectives. The plan is comprised of a number of phases in which school community members are integrated in the allocation of activities that eventually lead to goals realization. Program’s activities are aimed at maintenance of students’ records and the coordination of students’ routines.
Other areas covered by this guidance program include provision of exposure to students concerning available career options supporting overall child development. (Crow, 2008) Program Objectives This guidance program involves both general and specific objectives where the general ones apply to both school levels while specific ones apply to individual levels of either elementary or secondary levels of schooling. Three major categories of objectives include academic achievement where all the different activities converge at contributing to academic achievement of students.
Another general objective is the achievement of responsibility at both the social as well as personal levels. This enables students to develop responsibility which is supposed to assist them in attaining their goals in life and also succeeding in their future career. Career or school investigation is also facilitated by the program which allows students to get a clear view of available opportunities and to then decide on one that fits them best. This guidance program operates on the notion that academic achievement is the main goal of both elementary as well as secondary education.
It is important for students to have a clear comprehension that they also constitute the society and should therefore play constructive roles in the society’s activities. (Wetzler, 2006) Organization, Personnel and Evaluation Organization of the guidance program particularly for secondary or elementary schools in Mississippi is divided into different grade categories which are accompanied by specific goals. Goals implementation is followed by evaluation at the end of specific time period that has been fixed. Different personnel are allocated specific grades, to which they are supposed to give guidance regarding the already set goals.
Programs designated for elementary students beginning from grade K to grade five are comprised of four different goals including educating students on the negative effects of self perception which they should avoid in order to give way for an open mind. During implementation of this goal, students will be expected to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate feelings and also be equipped with strategies through which they can solve their own problems. Identification of someone they trust and can open up to is also a requirement in order to have someone who they will report to incase of a problem.
The personnel responsible for execution of these duties to students are educators together with parents where each will play a part to ensure that goals are adequately met. Parents will ensure that they get a good understanding of educational program coverage that causes negative feelings. On the other hand, educators will demonstrate their knowledge concerning signs that students display when suffering from negative feelings as well as take responsibility of handling those cases accordingly. Evaluation of this first goal will be undertaken on annual basis where recommendations that students use for self examination are reviewed.
Recommendation of school personnel to outside agencies as well staff members is also reviewed. (Seidman, 2006) The second goal for this category of elementary students is the encouragement of involvement of parents in issues concerning children’s education. The target population is grade K to five parents who will be expected to utilize available school resources in order to understand and advice their children on the best way to conduct themselves. Parents will also support teachers in execution of both behavioral as well as academic goals by assisting their children while at home.
Program evaluation concerning this second goal will take place annually where parental feedback and their level of attendance to school meetings will be assessed. Encouragement of elementary school students to take part in educational programs forms the third goal. Personnel involved in the execution of this particular goal are grades K to five teachers whose advice will be directed to students. Students will be provided with appropriate classroom environment which will adequately fit their performance levels. They will also be equipped with ways through which to understand their performance levels as well as how to improve it.
This will be undertaken through providing them with appropriate feedback concerning their progress. Self awareness, leadership and interpersonal skills are some of the social opportunities that teachers will provide grades K to five students with. Evaluation in terms of annual assessment will involve a situation where teachers will observe academic as well as personal growth of students and then grade it according to observations. Another area where evaluation is undertaken is student performance in all tests examined throughout the year which will show whether the guidance will have been effective or not.
(Brewer, 2006) Fourthly, this category of students will be assisted with behavioral, adjustment as well as academic problems. The target population in this particular goal implementation will not be the entire student population in grades K to five but only those encountering behavioral and academic problems. Parents will combine efforts with teachers, administrators and psychologists in order to ensure that students are able to adjust as well as improve in their academic performance.
On the other hand, students will be expected to portray an understanding of school rules and their accompanying purpose which will help them improve on their adjustment. Teachers will give special attention to students encountering academic problems whereby they will identify academic problem indicators at their early stages of development in order to address them before they get to worse levels. The particular students’ study teams as well as support personnel will also be involved by teachers as they will be given a set of recommendations to follow.
Annual evaluation concerning this fourth goal will feature on test and class work performance, class participation and comments by teachers on student’s progress. Performance of students experiencing adjustments problems will be assessed by going through psychologists, administrators, parents and teachers observations. Records of school discipline are an essential source of information which portray students’ progress that is; whether the children will have improved on adjustment levels or not. (Shuster, 2008)
The next category of students who will be featured by this guidance plan is elementary school students from grades six to eight. This particular category of students will be allocated more advanced goals since they possess a higher level of education than their counter parts in grades K to five. Their goals include examination of educational progress annually as well as accompanying career plans. Students will also receive guidance on a variety of careers and ways through which to develop planning skills for different curriculum and career options.
The personnel involved in implementing these goals directed to elementary school students in grades six to eight include career advisors and teachers. In this particular case, career advisors and teachers will guide students towards acquisition of understanding concerning their academic status. This will be executed by formulating study programs in advance, for instance, students will be required to prepare grade nine programs while in grade eight in order to be focused. The students programs should be in line with personal interests and future career explorations.
Annual program evaluation will involve observation of parent and student feedback which will portray whether the student is benefiting from the program or not. Information contained in materials used in career planning will be of great importance since one will be able to check on what has been achieved, what is remaining and areas that need updating. (Jones, 2007) The guidance program also involves secondary students though their areas of involvement will be a bit more advanced than that of students in Grade K to eight.
In this case, personnel will include teachers and school counselors who will specialize on certain areas of guidance according to their acquired experience. Main areas of concern will be provision of group guidance where students will be addressed on different opportunities available in Mississippi colleges. Requirements of admission to these colleges will be provided to students which will be accompanied by guidance on how to acquire them. The most important programs will be addressed first after which guidance on alternative programs will be given since students have different capabilities and not all can be able to achieve high grades.
Skills with which to write resumes and how to behave during interviews is another area that career advisors and secondary school teachers will dwell on. An extra step will be taken to pay visits to various colleges in order to collect ground information on areas studied and requirements, which is aimed at motivating students in their learning processes. (Kappa, 2008) Guidance Program Budget The guidance program will feature amount of money allocated to implementation of all the projects that will be undertaken at both elementary as well as secondary school levels.
The program’s budget will be influenced by overall budget set aside for elementary as well as secondary schools in Mississippi. In most of the states, education budgets have been cut by about three point five percent which is equivalent to seventy six dollars. Available funds allocated to education programs will be given to an agency known as LEA which will in turn divide the amount to specific schools in Mississippi. Schools will be allocated funds in terms of whether the school is private or public. Public schools are allocated more funds than private schools.
On overage the money set aside for this guidance program is five thousand one hundred and thirty seven dollars per student. This money will be distributed in all activities that students will be involved in, in the course of program execution which will take one year. (Cottingham, 2008) Conclusion The guidance program will be applicable in an elementary or secondary school in Mississippi and it will take place in different levels. The elementary school students will be divided into two categories where the first category will comprise of grades K to grade five.
Goals directed to his category will be mainly aimed at guiding students on building educational foundation which will be featured in their academic performance and adjustment to available educational curriculum. The other category will include students in grade six to grade eight and their activities will be directed to high school entry preparation. Secondary school students are grouped in one category and they will receive guidance on areas that are different from what is received by elementary school students.
This is because they are specifically guided on career choice as well as ways through which to achieve chosen career requirements. All these activities will then undergo evaluation which will be taken after implementation is over. Implementation of this guidance program will be one year which is equal to the period students take to complete a grade. This period will be very appropriate during evaluation since tests will have been done and teachers will have complied students results from all areas that they will be guided upon.
(Hopke, 2008) REFERENCES Brewer J. (2006): Education as Guidance; An Examination of the Possibilities of a Curriculum in Terms of Life, New York: the Macmillan company pp 24-27 Cottingham H. (2008): Guidance in elementary schools: principles and practices, California: University of California Crow L. (2008): Organization and conduct of guidance services, Michigan: University of Michigan pp45-49 Erickson C. (2008): Organization and administration of guidance services, Michigan.
University of Michigan pp28-31 Hopke W. (2008): Guidance in the junior high school, Ohio: McKnight & McKnight Pub. Co. pp 46-58 Jones A. (2007): Principles of guidance, Mississippi: McGraw-Hill pp39-43 Kappa P. (2008): Research Studies in Education, Michigan: University of Michigan pp17-22 Seidman J. (2006): Readings in educational psychology, Michigan: University of Michigan pp 56-62 Shuster H. (2008): The Education Index, California: University of California pp48-54 Wetzler W. (2006): Leadership in elementary school administration and supervision, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin pp19-24
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