About
LINKS
Barbara Ashcraft, MA, LPC
School Counseling Coordinator
Objectives
 Participants will…
 understand why LINKS is important… the potential
impact on students and staff
 become familiar with the LINKS Program
 be introduced to the LINKS Website
 explore LINKing LINKS to other school activities and
programs
 receive an overview of the www.cfwv.com and
www.careercruising.com connection to scalable,
sequential and ongoing career development
 Begin exploring how to revamp your program to move from
‘Good to Great’
Children are the living
messages that we send to a
world we will never see
The Unconscious Gap…
Until we become aware of the existing gap between what out students
can do and what they are doing, we remain satisfied. Sandy River may be a good
School, but what can you do to make it great?
Calabrese, R. L. (2002). The leadership assignment: Creating change. Boston: Allyn &
Bacon
About LINKS …
 involving a personal relationship with at least
one adult serving as an advocate for the
student.
 bridge the gap between what is taught in the
core curriculum and the skills necessary for
success in school and in the work place
LINKS Student Advisement…
 Bridge the gap …
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Self-Knowledge
Life Skills
School Success Skills
Educational Development
Work Ethic
Career Planning.
Why LINKS…
Learning, Individualized Needs,
Knowledge and Skills
 Improve Learning for ALL
 Address Individualized Needs
 Increase Knowledge and Skills for ALL
Personalizing the Learning Environment
“High schools of the 21st century must be much
more student-centered and above all much more
personalized in programs, support services and
intellectual rigor.” This means every student
should have a personal adult advocate and a
Personal Plan of Progress.
NASSP. (2004). Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform
What is Advisement?
1. A systemic approach to providing ALL students with skills
and background to make decisions about his/her education
and career
2. A process to aid students in developing self-awareness,
option awareness, and decision-making skills
3. A process to help each student improve his/her chances
for long-term employment
What is LINKS
 LINKS is a standards-based, system-wide
student support program/system to assist all
students in successfully navigating middle
and high school.
 LINKS was designed specifically for WV
students by WV educators
Expected Outcomes
 All students make informed academic and
career plans
 Parents are systematically involved in their
child’s education including the development of
academic and career plans
 More students successful in higher level courses
 Improved school behavior
 Increased graduation rates
 Higher test scores
Guidance: What is it?
Guidance
The help all students
receive from parents,
teachers, counselors,
community members
and others to assist
with educational and
career development
Counseling
The help some
students receive from
credentialed
professionals to
overcome personal
and social problems
that interfere with
learning.
Students need to know….
Who they are…
Where they want to go…
And how they are going to get there!
They need a systemic approach of all
staff working together in a
caring and knowledgeable
manner.
Contributors to Student Success
Career goal
Connection with
caring adult
Connection with post
secondary
opportunities
The Silent Epidemic 2007
Grad Nation 2009
National Trends…Then and Now
Workforce
Mid 20th Century 21st Century
Professional
20%
20%
Skilled
15%
65%
Unskilled
65%
15%
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
We must ALL give ALL
students the right messages.
Emerging Fields
“hyper-agriculture
neurostimulation
customized health care
nanoceuticals
bizarre new energy sources
streaming payment systems
smart transportation
Toffler & Toffler, 2006, Future Shock, p.5
flash markets
new forms of education
non-lethal weapons,
desktop manufacturing
risk management
privacy-invasion sensors
program-able money
Emerging Fields
“Eighty
percent of the jobs to be
held by today’s kindergarten
students during their lifetimes do
not currently exist.
(Global 21 Educators Flyer, 2010)
st
21
Century Learning…
IEP, 504
Groups, Tutoring, Peer
Helpers,
Classroom Guidance Lessons,
School Assemblies, Student
Advisement Programs, Test Prep
Programs, Academic Plans,
Field Trips
Therapy – Outside or SBMH Centers
Groups, Mentoring, Student
Helpers, Clubs, Crisis Interventions
Short-term counseling
Classroom Guidance
Lessons,
Student Advisement Programs,
School Assemblies
20
Group Demonstration
Students Supports
Shelly DeBerry
Relationships
 If students know you care you can push
even more
 Who is most vulnerable?
 Malcolm Smith “Why are kids so Angry and
What Can We Do About It?”
 Over 300 students who committed violent acts
 No relationship with a caring adult
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~msconsult/peaceful.htm
Protective Factors:
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Advisors
Teachers (positive)
Supportive parents
Community members
Positive peer relationships
Prevention programs
Policemen
Firemen
Custodian
Bus driver
Community programs
Big brother/sister program
Church
Coaches
Band Teachers
Free Lunch Program
Federal / State assistance
Standard 4: Student Support Services and
Family/Community Connections
In high quality schools, the staff:
 places student well-being at the forefront of all
decisions,
 provides support services to address student
physical, social/emotional and academic growth, and
 forms positive connections to families and the
community.
Function A:
Positive Relationships
“They don’t have to like me, they just have
to learn from me”
“Student’s don’t care what you know until
they know that you care”
What is so important?
Creating Relationships
 Advisor/Advisee Program
 Mentoring (career, teacher, peer, community)
 Tutoring
 Student/school connectedness
 Faculty relationships
 Culture of respect
VISIONING EXERCISE
How will our school be different
as a result of LINKS?
How will our students be different?
How will our staff be different?
How will our connection with
Parents be different?
American Student
Achievement Institute
Group Activity
Move to a table of the role that you may be playing
or are interested in learning more about.
Go to the LINKS website and find the roles and
responsibility chart and lists related to your groups.
Review and discuss these roles and how they
relate to the overall success of the LINKS program.
Be prepared to share the roles/responsibilities for
your group that stood out as most important.
Post-implementation
Post-implementation
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Ongoing
Ongoing
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
PrePreimplementation
implementation
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Coordinator Responsibilities
Prepare
Student
Portfolios
Monthly
Follow-up
Trainings
Parent
Consent
Forms
Advisor
Training
Advisor
Logs
Advisor
Evaluation
Student
Feedback
Forms
Student &
Parent
Evaluation
Student &
Staff
Evaluation
Copy
Plans &
Handouts
Update
& store
portfolios
Public
Relations
Post-implementation
Post-implementation
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Ongoing
Ongoing
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
PrePreimplementation
implementation
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Principal Responsibilities
Learn
about
LINKS
Hold staff
accountable
Secure
resources
& support
Establish
Steering
Committee
Select
coordinator(s)
Monitor
program &
eliminate
barriers
Support
implementation
& evaluation
Recognize &
support
successful
implementation
Share evaluation
results
Develop
PD plan
Internal &
external
PR
Advisor Role
 LINKS is a facilitated learning experience. You
support and encourage students’ discussion!
 Everything you need is on the website
 Engaged learning rubrics
 Mentoring activities
 Grading Rubric
 Your LINKS coordinator will provide copies of each
lesson plan and handouts in time for you to prepare.
 Important to look ahead at lessons; some require
school specific forms.
LINKS Logistics
Student Referral Process
 Consistent Referral process
 Easy to use referral forms
 Individual Student Referral
 Group referral
 Family concerns
About LINKS…
 Currently Being Piloted
 36 lesson plans per grade level (5 – 8: WV specific,
downloadable)
 40 lesson plans per grade level (9-10: WV specific,
downloadable
 Standards based (Policy 2520.19 allows schools to
offer for credit)
About LINKS…
 Can be offered for credit
 Course code 7676 called LINKS
 1 time per week 45/50 minutes
 ¼ credit per year = 1 full high school credit
Online Career Course www.cfwv.com
 1 time per week 45/50 minutes
 ¼ credit per year = 1 additional full high school
credit for
2 full credits (9-12)
Links Components
 Curriculum
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Academic skills
Personal/social skills
21st Century Skills
Career development
 Relationship with a trusted adult
 Bridge the gap between post-secondary and workforce
demand and the curriculum
 School navigation skills
 LINKing all components within the school together
 Creating a core knowledge base for all teachers
2007 Pawley’s Group Report
Commissioned by 2006 WV Senate
Recommendation 7: Develop a model for career
counseling, student support and academic
advising.
– recommended that West Virginia develop a
systematic way to help students with career
exploration.
2007 Pawley’s Group Report
 West Virginia must move from “random acts
of progress” to a system based on the 4 Ss
–
 Strategic
 Synergistic
 Sustainable
 Scalable
Implementation Steps
Curriculum Mapping
Advisor training (ongoing)
Student/staff/parent surveys
Student portfolios
Lesson plans and handouts
Public relations
Trouble shooting
Ongoing support
Liaison with principal
Ongoing Professional Development
 Professional learning communities
 Grade level teams …lesson plan delivery
Teams by Topic
 curriculum map – Grade Level Teams
 customizing lesson plans
 portfolios
 Project Based Learning
 ISTP
 Parent activities
 Book Clubs
Timeline for Revising/Redesigning Current Program
40 Lesson Plans (per grade level)- Policy 2520.19
Course Code 7676
Please use the Power Points as templates.
Review each PowerPoint before using and make revisions to fit your
school.
You may need to add your school name, staff names, school specific
activities, programs and schedules.
www.cfwv.com
 Grade Level and Lesson Activities:
 Have students explore their Portfolio in CFWV.com. You may wish
to concentrate on one area within the Portfolio and have the
students fill out their relevant information.
 Resources:
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Lesson Plan – Creating Your Own Overall Personal Portfolio and
Career Portfolio
Lesson Plan – Introduction to Lifelong Portfolios
Lesson Plan – Storing Your Portfolio Plus More
College Foundation of
WV
Career Activity
Correlations
LINKS Lesson Plan
LINKS
Lessons
 Teasing/Bullying ( 5.7)
 Conflict Resolution (5.8, 6.8)
 Decision Making (5.13)
 Learning Skills (6.16)
 Study Skills (7.5)
 Risk Taking (7.15)
 Attitude (8.28)
About LINKS…
 Can be offered for credit
 Course code 7676 called LINKS
 1 time per week 45/50 minutes
 ¼ credit per year = 1 full high school credit
Online Career Course www.cfwv.com
 1 time per week 45/50 minutes
 ¼ credit per year = 1 additional full high school
credit for
2 full credits (9-12)
Practitioner’s Panel
 Mark Skagg – Principal – Ansted Middle School
 Jason Crouch - Reading/LA teacher – Ansted Middle School
 Samatha Gerwig - Math and Social Studies Teacher – Ansted
Middle School
 Katherine Miller - PE/Health teacher – Ansted Middle School
 George Sumner - Curriculum and Instruction Specialist for Fayette
County Schools
 Kent Kraft – Math Teacher – Martinsburg High School
 Cathy Grewe – School Counselor – Jackson Middle School
Grade level curriculum planning
meeting
 Examine LINKS lessons for that grade
 Do the fit?
 What are some topics that need addressed at
your school
 Are they addressed in other grade levels?
 Are they available in other state curriculums