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Edison Preparatory School |
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Statements Supporting the School Counselor Resolution 1. School Counselors are an essential part of guiding students from elementary through postsecondary education. Oklahoma must raise the education level of its population in order to strengthen its fiscal health. Many students in Oklahoma’s public schools come from households where no adult has attained a high school diploma or equivalent. The Oklahoma Education Oversight Board and Office of Accountability (“State Office of Accountability”) releases a report yearly entitled “Profiles” which presents data related to schools. The 2005 report (latest one available) indicates that the state had a population of 3,450,595. http://www.schoolreportcard.org. The data further reveals that 19.4% of Oklahoma citizens had less than a high school diploma; 14.7% were classified as living in “poverty”; 5.3% were unemployed; 28.95% were living in single-family households; 54.7% received free or reduced lunch; and 30.1% required reading remediation. Profiles 2005, page 115. The U.S. Census was last conducted in 2000. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 24.4% of Oklahoma’s population was under the age of 18. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/40000.html. The percentage of persons over the age of 25 with high school diplomas was 80.6% yet the percentage of the same group of persons with a bachelor’s degree or higher was a mere 20.3%. The per capita money income (1999) was $17,646. The median household income (2003) was $35,634. Id. The Oklahoma Legislature recognized that access to higher education or any type of postsecondary education was difficult for lower-income families. The legislature enacted the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Plan (“OHLAP”) as a means for qualified families to finance postsecondary education. In order to qualify to receive OHLAP funding for college, a student must be a resident of Oklahoma, enrolled in the eighth, ninth or tenth grade in an Oklahoma high school; and the child of parents, custodians or guardians who earn less than $50,000 per year. http://www.okhighered.org/ohlap/student-requirements.shtml. Students are further required to take a fairly rigorous core curriculum in high school, maintain a 2.5 Grade Point Average or better, have good attendance, stay drug and alcohol free, and meet with a teacher, counselor or principal to go over schoolwork and records. (Emphasis added) Id. The Legislature recognized, by adding this requirement, that students (and by inference, their families) needed guidance in order to meet their goals with respect to postsecondary education. Counselors can, and do, provide the guidance, encouragement and support that will enable students to move from high school to postsecondary education or training. Counselors in Oklahoma fulfill a variety of roles within the school setting, including providing emotional guidance, assisting with schedule changes and enrollment, disciplining students, substitute teaching, test monitoring, fulfilling duty assignments such as cafeteria, and guiding students through high school graduation and the college application process. (Descriptions provided via communication with Tulsa Classroom Teacher’s Association President Steve Stockley on November 13, 2006). The National Association for College Admission Counseling (“NACAC”) reports “that in order to be successful in college or career and technical education, students and their families need to be informed on how to best prepare for…postsecondary options.” http://www.nacacnet.org. The NACAC has conducted extensive research into the benefits of providing counseling, especially to high school students. The NACAC has developed an extensive list of competencies for school counselors at all levels. Achievement of the competencies requires extensive training and high levels of education. Id. The NACAC reports that high school students, especially, need time with counselors in order to understand the requirements for college admission, college costs and available aid, the relevance of coursework to postsecondary training and education, and how to prepare for college admission tests. Id. However, there are many other reasons to provide counseling services for students at all levels, elementary through high school. The State Office of Accountability conducted a survey in 2005, asking principals to report the incidents of out-of-school suspensions less than ten days and greater than ten days. http://www.schoolreportcard.org. (Profiles 2005 State Report, page 105). One thousand six-hundred ninety-two schools responded (96%). “On average, there was one suspension with a duration of 10 days or less for every 11.0 students, statewide; one for every 12.6 students in elementary school, and one for every 8.6 students in high school…[S]uspensions…for more than 10 days…average one incident for every 93.7 students statewide; one for every 272.6 elementary students and one for every 38.4 high school students.” Id. Students who engage in disruptive behavior need guidance and special assistance that only highly qualified and trained professionals can provide. Suspension rates increase as students get older. It is possible to conclude that early intervention into behavior problems would result in better outcomes. Students need to stay in school in order to acquire an education. Decisions about postsecondary education are only relevant when a student has attained the basic education required to advance beyond high school. Oklahoma needs to provide a high level of support services (counseling and psychological services) so that its youngest citizens can become better educated citizens. 2. The ratio of counselors to Oklahoma students is one for every 419 students. According to a survey conducted by the NACAC in 2004, the public school student-to-counselor ratio in the State of Oklahoma was one counselor for every 419 students. http://www.NACCNET.org (State of College Admission 2006, page 53). Tulsa schools are allocated staff (including counselors and deans) based on the number of students enrolled. Elementary schools with an enrollment of between 1 and 599 students are allocated one counselor; between 600 and 699 are allocated 1.5 counselors and those with an enrollment between 699 and 1000 students are allocated two counselors. Middle schools with an enrollment of between 1 and 299 students are allocated one counselor; between 300 and 599 students are allocated two counselors and those with an enrollment greater than 600 students are allocated three counselors. High schools with an enrollment between 600 and 999 students are allocated four counselors/deans. Those with an enrollment of more than one thousand students are allocated five counselors/deans. http://tulsaschools.org. The ratio of students to counselors is too high. Counseling is neither accessible nor available to all students. 3. The amount spent on student support services (including guidance and psychological services) is a small portion of the per pupil expenditure in the State of Oklahoma. Oklahoma classifies guidance services and psychological services as “student support services”. Oklahoma State Department of Accountability, Profiles 2005 State Report, page 119-20. http://www.schoolreportcard.org. Oklahoma spent $246 per student on these services during 2003-04. Id. At pps.33&34. Oklahoma spent $269 per student on these services during 2004-2005. Id. 4. Per pupil expenditures in Oklahoma are seventy-one percent (71%) of the national average. Oklahoma remains behind other states in per pupil expenditures. The largest portion of funding for public schools is provided by the State 52.2% ($2.3 billion), followed by local and county with 34.0% ($1.5 billion) and Federal funds which provide 13.8% ($534 million). Profile 2005, pages vi and vii. Revenues for 2004-2005 increased 6.2% over 2003. However, with the exception of two years, the percentage of expenditures has been on the decline since 1994 -1995 when spending on “Instruction” represented 58.7% of ALL FUNDS. Id., page vii. The updated data on expenditures per student (figures for fall enrollment 2004-2005) ranked Oklahoma 48th among states and the District of Columbia with $6,269 per pupil. Oklahoma State Department of Education Facts and Figures Update January 2006. www.sde.state.ok.us/publ/NatRank.htm. That amount is 71% of the estimated national average of $8,308 per pupil. Id. Per pupil expenditures include student support services (guidance and psychological services). 5. The Oklahoma Department of Education is focusing on plans to redesign Oklahoma’s high schools to better prepare students for higher education and the workplace. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sandy Garrett, gave her Facts and Figures Update to the public in January 2006. Oklahoma State Department of Education website: http://www.sde.state.ok.us.html. The Update and Superintendent Garrett‘s July 2005 “State of Education Address” point to the need to redesign Oklahoma’s high schools in order to better prepare students for higher education and/or the workplace. The State Chamber of Commerce for Oklahoma has released its 2006 Legislative Agenda which includes both federal and state goals. The sole federal legislative goal is to support “education reforms designed to raise the attainment level of every student, particularly those that relate to economic development.” The State Chamber website: http://www.okstatechamber.com/news_publications.php?action=pub&story_id=355. The Chamber’s state legislative goals related to education call for aligning school standards and curriculum to promote knowledge and skills necessary for success in postsecondary education and work, and to support initiatives that hold high schools accountable for graduating students ready for college and work. Id. Students need guidance, encouragement and support in order to adequately prepare for postsecondary education and the changing workplace opportunities. The stated goal of our education and business leadership is a more highly educated and highly trained workforce. One way to attain that goal is to provide adequate support services (guidance and psychological services) for students. 6. The federal government recently proposed to cut funding to the Department of Education, Health, Human Services and Labor even while recognizing that it is necessary to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and receive postsecondary education and/or training. In May 2006 a group of stakeholders, including the National PTA, signed a letter asking The Honorable Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, to vote to bring discretionary funding of some programs in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill back to FY 2005 levels. The FY 2006 Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill was cut by $1.6 billion dollars (the only bill that was cut below FY 2005 levels). Examples of discretionary programs related to education counseling and which no funding is currently proposed, include GEAR UP, Upward Bound and Talent Search and Elementary and Secondary School’s Counseling Programs. GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html. Upward Bound provides support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program serves high school students’ families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree; and low-income, first-generation military veterans who are preparing to enter postsecondary education. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase participant’s completion of a postsecondary education. U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/programs/trioupbound/index.html. The purpose of the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSC) is to support efforts of Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to establish or expand elementary and school counseling programs. 71 Fed. Reg. No. 35 (Feb. 22, 2006). The federal government must not be allowed to continue to decrease funding for public education. The Federal government provides a small portion of funding for Oklahoma students enrolled in public schools. Counseling programs like the ones described would benefit Oklahoma students since most of them seem to fit within the description of beneficiaries for which the programs were designed. Conclusion The Oklahoma population is largely undereducated. We should strive to minimize classroom disruption and bad behavior by providing the counseling and psychological support necessary to keep children in school. Students in our Oklahoma public schools must be encouraged to stay in school and to continue their education and workplace training beyond high school if they are going to succeed in the modern workplace. Many Oklahoma parents have not received an education beyond high school and may not possess information needed to guide their own children in making decisions related to education and career options. Students face tough decisions when considering a career, or, whether and when to go to college. There are many options but in order to exercise those options students and their families need access to good information. Our school counseling staff can provide an excellent resource for Oklahoma families if there are adequate numbers of them to serve our students. Increased funding for school support services, especially guidance counseling and psychological services, is needed.
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Edison Preparatory School |