The Principals’ Corner:

In part 1 of our October 22nd blog, we talked about the competencies required of an effective guidance counsellor.  Even the briefest review of those suggest that the kinds of techniques associated with gathering information on a classroom teacher’s performance would not be appropriate to the requirements of this particular position.  So, let’s look at some alternatives for gathering information.  For reasons of brevity, let us focus on these three, the number of data sources Bendel Services suggests for gathering information on the selection of candidates and the appraisal of employees in any position.

A structured interview with the counsellor by the principal or vice principal.  This might be the best way of getting at the counsellor’s knowledge of such considerations Ministry or state requirements for earning a diploma, new admission requirements at universities and colleges and changes in areas like apprenticeship linkages etc.  A structured interview could also get at qualities like organizational ability, dealing with parents and students in distress or working with staff to help them accommodate the needs of students who are hard to serve.  Here are some sample questions:

• Tell me how you go about making certain that your knowledge of post-secondary requirements is accurate and up-to-date. In other words, what mechanism do you have in place to ensure that the information you are giving to students is the most up-to-date available?
• An effective counsellor needs to merge scheduled tasks with “crises” that arise with distraught parents contacting you at your door, by phone or by e-mail students. Some of these confronting issues must be dealt with immediately.  Talk about how you manage your schedule to make certain the standard tasks get done while, at the same time, you make yourself available to people in those more immediately pressing problems.
• Counsellors are often caught between the needs of the students and the capacity and willingness of classroom teachers to make accommodation for students to increase the possibilities for success. Tell me about a situation in the past with a teacher (no names, please) who was unwilling to make adjustments for a student in difficulty. How did you handle it?  Were you successful?  What advice would you give a new counsellor in handling the same situation?
• In the past year alone you have no doubt dealt with a parent whose son or daughter is very unhappy with either a particular teacher (again, no names please) or a course. The parent may have insisted the student’s timetable should be changed or the course dropped below the minimum load required for that grade.  The parent threatens to call the principal, the superintendent or the trustee. How did you handle this or a similar situation?

An abbreviated 360-degree survey of students, colleagues and parents.  While this technique may run afoul of some union policies, it may be worth considering.  The suggestion here is that the principal and the counsellor identify together three or four students, parents and staff members to gather information on the counsellor’s performance.  The survey need not be long, perhaps two questions each for the knowledge, skills and values identified in the job description and using a 4-point rating scale and space for a brief narrative substantiating the numerical grade.  Bendel Services recommends the use of a third party (the principal’s assistant) to collate the information so it can be shared with the counsellor and used to generate both observations and conclusions.

A taped counseling session with a student.  This is not common though it represents the same information-gathering technique that is used when observing a teacher in a classroom.  It would, of course, involve the full agreement of the parent and the student and would likely yield a range of observations that could say a great deal about interpersonal and communication skills, knowledge, student-centeredness etc.  The tape could be analyzed together or by the principal alone followed by a meeting on the tape and the performance revealed in it.  It would certainly be a new and innovative vehicle for doing just that in the most realistic situation.

Finally, all the information gathered through these three very different techniques would be triangulated for both observations and recommendations.  The counselors would receive what all teachers should – an evaluation that is based on what they know, what they do, what they value and what those outcropping show about their performance in a very different teacher role.  It’s time they are evaluated on their terms!  Why not give it a try?

Need some help in this?  Don’t hesitate to contact us at info@bendelservices.com.

Dr. Dan

Check out our Education Individual Coaching or Contracted Services such as Teacher Appraisal:  Developing a School-Based Teacher Appraisal System.