Lynda Shuttlesworth – TSCA President – lynda.shuttlesworth@pisd.edu
Sylvia Lopez – TSCA Director - sylvia-lopez03@sbcglobal.net
Charles Crews – Texas Tech University – Charles.Crews@ttu.edu
A Continuous Improvement Document for
School Counseling Programs Sponsored by the
Texas School Counselor Association
Recognition of outstanding school
counseling programs in Texas
Sponsored by
Texas School Counselor Association
TSCA
2012-2013
Chair: Pat Freberg
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Dr. Charles Crews
Linda Hughes
Michael Kraprelian
Dr. Sylvia Lopez
Dr. Michael Moyer
Lynda Shuttlesworth
Houston
Lubbock
Austin
Irving
Dallas
San Antonio
Plano
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The original CREST was modeled after the California Support
Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC) award to show
the impact of the school counseling program.
TSCA Board members designed and promoted the original
CREST application in 2004.
The authors were Betty White and Vicki Ikeler.
In 2009, a TSCA committee was formed to critically review
and make the necessary revisions for our Texas award.
Committee analyzed the state and national model to align the
CREST document to these models.
2005 ~
5 schools
2006 ~ 11 schools
2007 ~ 15 schools
2008 ~ 22 schools
2009 ~ 28 schools
2010 ~ 37 schools
2012 ~ 40 schools
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Advocate for your school counseling program
Document your school counseling program’s role in
supporting student success
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Show continuous improvement data for your campus
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Highlight program successes for all stakeholders
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Strengthen the campus counseling program by aligning it
with the campus improvement plan
Reinforce the school counselor’s role in the academic,
personal/social, and career development of students
Link campus program to state, national, and legislative
standards
Provide a tool for accountability
Original
Revised
CREST Document Requirements
Introduction/CREST Document
Requirements
1. Principal’s Comments
1. Principal’s Comments
2. Student Support Team
2. School Counseling Advisory Council
3. School Climate and Safety
3. School Climate and Safety
4. Student Results
4. Student Results
5. Major Achievements
5. Major Achievements
6. Measurements
6. Community Partnerships/Resources
7. Community Partnerships/Resources
7. Parent Collaboration
8. Volunteer Involvement
8. Technical Details
9. Focus for Improvement
10. Keeping You Informed
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Category
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Preparing this Section
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National Model Application
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State Model Application
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Required Components – Yes/No
Category 1: Principal’s Comments
Ask Yourself: “How does your school counseling program
impact student success?”
Preparing this Section:
The principal must show support for a well-balanced
counseling program. (Please limit text to one or two short
paragraphs.)
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Statement of support
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Emphasis on the vital role of the school counseling program
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Statement explaining how the school counseling program
supports the campus improvement plan and its’ initiatives
Category 1: Principal’s Comments
Rubric:
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1a. A statement of the vital role of the school counseling
program in student success and school safety.
1b. An example of how the school counseling program
contributes to student success and school safety.
1c. A statement of support for implementation of the ASCA
National Model and/or Texas State Model of the
Comprehensive Counseling Program.
1d. A statement explaining how the school counseling
program supports the campus improvement plan and
initiatives.
Category 2: School Counseling Advisory
Council
Ask yourself: “Who are you as a team? How
does this team guide the school counseling
program?”
Preparing this Section:
School counselors may form a School Counseling Advisory
Council or be a member of the school improvement team. A
School Counseling Advisory Council is a representative group
of stakeholders such as faculty, staff, parents, students,
and/or community members from your school campus. Their
focus is to advise and guide the school counseling program in
order to promote student success. This council must meet a
minimum of twice a year.
Category 2: School Counseling Advisory
Council
Include:
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A list/chart of the members of the advisory council along with
their stakeholder positions (i.e. faculty, parent, community
members, etc)
An explanation of how members are selected
An explanation of how feedback and input from the advisory
council guides the school counseling program
An explanation of the number of times the council meets
An example of an agenda item
Category 2: School Counseling Advisory
Council/School Improvement Team (SIT)
Rubric:
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2a. A statement on the purpose of the School Counseling
Advisory Council or School Improvement Team
2b. A list/chart providing information on the School
Counseling Advisory Council or School Improvement Team to
include name and positions
2c. A representative group of stakeholders are part of the
School Counseling Advisory Council or School Improvement
Team
Category 2: School Counseling Advisory
Council/School Improvement Team (SIT)
Rubric:
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2d. A statement on the process for selecting committee
members
2e. The number of times the council meets (must meet at
least twice a year)
2f. Provide an example of an agenda item discussed
2g Include how School Counseling Advisory Council’s
feedback/input guides the school counseling program
Category 3: School Climate and Safety
Ask yourself: “How does my school
counseling program respond to issues of
school climate and safety?”
Preparing this Section:
This section requires at least a minimum of one graph and/or
chart regardless of how many interventions provided.
Presenting your results in graph form (pie chart/graph, bar
graph, chart etc.) and their relationship to the Texas and
ASCA National Standards for School Counseling Programs are
essential components for this section. You can use Microsoft
Excel to plug your data into a variety of graphs or charts.
Category 3: School Climate and Safety
Examples:
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Programs/activities which increase student "connectedness"
to school campus/district and improve school climate
Programs/activities which teach students' conflict resolution,
empathy, and mediation techniques for solving conflicts.
Programs/activities that reduce incidents of violence at the
campus with an emphasis on prevention and early detection.
Programs/activities that provide ageappropriate/developmental instruction on violence
prevention, bullying, dating violence, and interpersonal
violence prevention. Many of these are legal mandates that
can be found in: District Legal Policy, Title IX, Family Code
71.0021 (see Texas Council on Family Violence)
Prevention and response to acts of hate violence, bias-related
incidents and discriminatory attitudes
Category 3: School Climate and Safety
Rubric:
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3a. A statement(s) regarding the relationship of the school
counseling team to school climate and safety
3b. A minimum of two activities/programs/interventions
implemented by school counselors that impacted school
climate and safety
3c. A graph or chart depicting how school counselor activities
directly relate to improvement of school climate
3d. Written explanation of each graph and or chart
representation
3e. An explanation of the school counselor’s role in the
School Safety Plan and/or District Crisis Plan
Category 4: Student Results
Ask Yourself: “How does your school
counseling program impact student
success?”
Preparing this Section:
Implementation of a comprehensive developmental school
counseling program requires that school counselors use data
to evaluate and improve school counseling programs. The
results of these data are based on the outcomes of students,
not on what school counselors do. Results are not the number
of students seen, the number of meetings, conferences, or
classes held or attended, or the number of referrals to other
agencies or programs. Only student outcome results that
your school counseling program has positively impacted will
be considered for a CREST Award.
Category 4: Student Results
Examples
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Our counseling team will decrease the number of bullying
incidents in grades K-5th by 20% from the 1st through 4th nine
weeks for the school year xyz.
Our counseling team will reduce self-reported test anxiety of
Juniors who did not pass the exit level TAKS by 25% from the
1st administration to the next administration.
Our counseling team will assist in reducing by 20% the
number of 8th grade students that failed two or more core
classes from the first nine week grading period to the fourth
nine week grading period.
Category 4: Student Results
Rubric:
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4a. A statement explaining the importance and utilization of
student results and their relationship to the Texas and/or National
Standards.
4b. First of two measurable goal statements that include:
data point(s)
population
time frame
Second of two measurable goal statements that include:
data points
population
time frame
4c. A rationale for each goal selected
4d. A list and explanation of school counselor interventions
Category 4: Student Results
Rubric:
4e. First of two (2) graphs:
-explanation for each graph connecting the School
Counseling Team activity to the results shown.
-graphs must be titled and labeled
Second of two (2) graphs:
-explanation for each graph connecting the School
Counseling Team activity to the results shown
-graphs must be titled and labeled
Category 5: Major Achievements
Ask Yourself: “What are the major
achievements of your school counseling
program?”
Preparing this section:
In this section include your school counseling team’s major
achievements by delivery system. In addition include overall
percentage of time spent in each delivery system annually.
Delivery System
Guidance Curriculum
Responsive Services
Individual Student Planning
System Support
Overall
Percentage
of Time
Major Achievements
Category 5: Major Achievements
Examples:
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Guidance Curriculum- Guidance lessons attributed to an
increase in the number of students taking the SAT/ACT by
20%.
Responsive Services- We now offer six student support groups
that meet a total of 8 sessions.
Individual Student Planning- 100% of the 8th grade students
completed their Four Year Plan.
System Support-The counseling staff provided staff
development to teachers on the following topics: School
Counseling Program, Child Abuse, and Financial Aid and
Postsecondary Options.
Following the table format, include other major achievements
your school counseling team has received.
Rubric:
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5a. A minimum of one or more major achievements was cited
and explained in Guidance Curriculum
5b. A minimum of one or more major achievements was cited
and explained in Responsive Services
5c. A minimum of one or more major achievements was cited
and explained in Individual Student Planning
5d. A minimum of one or more major achievements was cited
and explained in System Support
Rubric:
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5e. The percentage of time is provided for each delivery
system (there is no penalty if the percentage of time is not
aligned to the state recommendation).
5f. A minimum of two other achievements are provided and
the relationship between the school counseling program and
the achievement is clearly described.
5g. The required chart for delivery system, percent of time,
and major achievement is included.
Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Ask Yourself: “How do your Community
Partnerships and/or Resources impact student
success?”
Preparing This Section:
A school counseling program coordinates a variety of resources
and collaborates with a significant number of community
partners and/or resources. This section asks you to explain how
you involve business, industry, civic, social service organizations
and/or community partners to enhance your counseling
program.
Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Examples:
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Academic: Partners in Education-companies serve as mentors
and/or tutors for students
Career: XYZ Organization serves as speakers for Career Day.
Personal/Social: ABC Church donates coats for students.
Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Rubric:
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6a. A lead paragraph on the importance of partnerships
6b. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or
resources listed for the Academic Domain
6c. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or
resources listed for the Career Domain
6d. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or
resources listed for the Personal/Social Domain
Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Rubric:
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6e. Provide examples of how these community partners and or
resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school
counseling program for the Academic Domain
6f. Provide examples of how these community partners and or
resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school
counseling program for the Career Domain
6g. Provide examples of how these community partners and or
resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school
counseling program for the Personal/Social Domain
Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Ask Yourself: “How do you collaborate with
parents so that students can be successful?”
Preparing This Section
As a counselor, part of your role is to support, coordinate,
consult, inform, mediate and collaborate with parents so that
students can be successful. In this section describe how you
engage parents in guidance curriculum, responsive services,
individual planning, and system support.
Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Examples:
Guidance Curriculum:
 How do you encourage your parents to provide input to the
curriculum and reinforce skills taught through your guidance
lessons?
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Example: Needs assessment sent to parents to determine
topics of guidance lessons that will be presented during the
school year.
Responsive Services:
 How do you work with parents regarding their children’s
issues to include one-on-one counseling, group counseling,
and referrals?
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Example: Parents are contacted regarding an emotional issue
and resources provided through a required parent
conference.
Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Examples:
Individual Planning:
 How do you provide parents information regarding their
child’s academic and career planning?
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Example: Parents are provided with an interpretation of test
scores.
System Support:
 How do you provide parents information?
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Example: Parents are provided with monthly workshops
addressing parenting skills/ information.
Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Rubric:
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7a. A statement and examples of how your school counseling
program engages parents in guidance curriculum
7b. A statement and examples of how your school counseling
program engages parents in responsive services
7c. A statement and examples of how your school counseling
program engages parents in individual planning
Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Rubric:
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7d. A statement and examples of how your school counseling
program engages parents in system support
7e. An explanation of how the school counselor
communicates to parents throughout the year about your
school counseling program
7f. A statement of how you provide parents an opportunity to
view counseling materials as mandated in Texas Education
Code (TEC) 33.004(b)
Category 8: Technical Details
Ask Yourself: “How does the CREST document
read? Is the document ready for
submission?”
Final Section
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The details help polish the document in a professional manner
making it ready for publication.
In this section, the final submission of the CREST document is
scored for the technical details throughout the document.
Application packet requirements are included.
Category 8: Technical Details
DOCUMENT HEADER
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8a. Include this statement, "A continuous improvement
document sponsored by the Texas School Counselor
Association" in the header of the CREST document
8b. Include names of all the counselors and their contact
information in the header
8c. Include "CREST (current school year)" in the document
header
8d. Include the school's name, address, and school logo in the
document header
Category 8: Technical Details
FORMAT OF THE OVERALL CREST DOCUMENT
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8e. Categories 1-7 are placed in sequential order
8f. Content has a clear and consistent voice throughout the
document
8g. Format is consistent and flows throughout the document
8h. There are no more than (two) typographical, grammatical, or
punctuation errors
8i. Acronyms are spelled out the first time used in the
document
8j. Font used for text and graphs must be:
10 or 12 points for text
8-points or higher for graphs
Arial or Times New Roman font
Category 8: Technical Details
FORMAT OF THE OVERALL CREST DOCUMENT
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8k. Graphs are clear, significant, labeled, and aligned with the
written text
8l. Document fits on one page and is front and back on paper
size - 17 X 11 (folds like a magazine format)
APPLICATION PACKET REQUIREMENTS
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8m. Twelve (12) color copies of the CREST award document
are submitted
8n. Two (2) copies of the application form are submitted (one
original/one copy)
8o. One (1) CD of the CREST award document in PDF format is
submitted
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Send an email to the individual whose name
appears on the application acknowledging
receipt of the CREST application.
Notification will be sent by email January 15th
as to the status of your CREST application. No
questions will be answered with regard to the
status of your application prior to this date.
In order to receive an award, a CREST application may only receive a
total of two “No’s” in the eight categories. Each CREST document
will be judged by a team of three professionals in the school
counseling field throughout Texas. The scoring continuum is as
follows:
First Review
 If the document receives NO MORE than a total of two “No’s” in
the eight categories, it has achieved CREST distinction.
 If the application receives MORE than a total of two “No’s” in the
eight categories, it is sent to a second team of reviewers (Second
Review).
Second Review
 If the document receives MORE than a total of two or more
“No’s” in the eight categories, the application does NOT receive
CREST distinction.
 If the application receives NO MORE than a total of two “No’s” in
the eight categories, the application goes to a third review team
(Third Review).
Third Review
 If the application receives MORE than a total of two “No’s”, the
application does NOT receive CREST distinction.
 If the application receives NO MORE than a total of two “No’s”, it
has achieved CREST distinction.
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Awards will be presented at the Spring
Counselors Professional Growth Conference
Luncheon.
Winners will be awarded:
- a CREST banner/decal
- two free luncheon tickets per school
All CREST applicants will receive a recognition
certificate.
Sample CREST Documents:
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TCA website: www.txca.org
TSCA website: www.texasschoolcounselor.org
To enhance your CREST document review:
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The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling
Programs
A Model Comprehensive, Developmental Guidance & Counseling
Program for Texas Public Schools, Pre-K-12th Grade Program
Development Guide
Chair: Pat Freberg, Houston
Telephone: 979-793-3027, extension 1510
Email: frebergp@needvilleisd.com
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Dr. Charles Crews, Lubbock
Telephone : 806-742-1997 x313
Email: charles.crews@ttu.edu
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Linda Hughes, Austin
Telephone : 512-464-4405
Email: lindahughes22@gmail.com
Dr. Sylvia Lopez, Dallas
Telephone #: 972-925-3505
Email: slopez@dallasisd.org
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Lynda Shuttlesworth, Plano
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Telephone:
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Email: lyndashuttlesworth@pisd.edu