Module 4
Program Management and Improvement
Welcome to Module 4! The American School Counselor Association’s (ASCA’s) National Model is now in it’s fourth edition. ASCA has for the past twenty-plus years continued to develop procedures and processes for school counseling teams to develop and implement their program and then manage that program. The “management” strategies found in the National Model have also been incorporated into Oregon’s Framework to support your team in providing CSCP services to your students. While ASCA and Oregon’s Framework use the term Program Management, this module uses the term Program Management and Improvement. The term “management” seems to connote “maintaining the status quo” whereas the processes and procedures outlined in this section are about improving the counseling services your students - thus, “Program Improvement.”
To get started, check out this interview with a currently practicing school counselor in Oregon about the use of these procedures.
Ryan Marshall is a counselor at South Salem High School in the Salem-Keizer SD and the 2021 OSCA school counselor of the year. In this video, he provides his perspective on the value of the program improvement processes presented in Module 4. Note that Ryan calls attention to how the utilization of the processes and procedures shared in this module helped build a web of support for his team of counselors. This is an added benefit: not only do your services to your students improve, but as you share with your partners more about your program, what you do, and how your CSCP improves student outcomes, you build a web of support for your team.
Review the Course Development Template Activities for Module #4 so you are ready to respond to each item in the template as you engage with that activity/information in the module.