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Criteria Used by School Counselors for Individual Student Planning
All four participants relied on myriad data sources for student related information to
make specific educational recommendations. Examples of data sources noted were intake
documents, enrollment forms, prior report cards and or school transcripts, and English language
proficiency testing results. For the purposes of this presentation, there is focus on one specific
area of findings, teacher input.
Teacher Input
As the interview protocol was used with all study participants, there was definitive
evidence that the participating school counselors consider teacher input as important for
individual student planning sessions and course selection with English learners. This is quite
positive in approach as it indicates leadership, advocacy, and collaboration for the shared venture
and common goal of student success (Militello, Rallis, & Goldrin, 2009; NCDPI, 2014; Skrla,
Bell, & Scheurich, 2009). The remaining dilemma remains that teachers feel ill-prepared to work
with second language learners (Delpit, 2006; Lee & Dallman, 2008). Interviews and observations
within the study indicated that both teachers and school counselors understand they must address
EL students’ needs but are unclear about how to do this. The following is an example of
observed nuances in this segment of the study, expressing the notion that teachers and counselors
alike are in positions to collaborate regarding English learners yet often don’t feel prepared to
know how to collaborate. Participants shared their thoughts applicable to the questions regarding
teachers’ and counselors’ reactions to English learner enrollment via individual student planning
sessions:
Participant: Well, I work with the ESL teacher and I get content teacher recommendations
forms for all the core teachers so they recommend things. They know their students better
than I know their students. They’re in the classroom with them every day so they recommend
things. The ESL teacher will also recommend when a student needs to come out of ESL. They
will tell me where they think the students need to be.
Participant: …some teachers are a little more accepting of an ESL student in their class. They
might come to me and [say] “I’ve got this new student, what can you tell me about him—I
know he doesn’t speak any English.” And some are great because you can just explain they
should do what they can with them. And then you get the teachers that come up and say “I’ve
got this kid in my class and he doesn’t speak any English. What am I supposed to do with
him?” And, you’re saying “well, he’s got to be somewhere.” You’re not the only teacher who
has those students who don’t speak a whole lot of English. Here [at this school] you get the
extremes, even from the newer teachers.
Another participant expressed:
Participant: The most common response from teachers is “what am I supposed to do with this
kid?” That’s the most common response about schedules because we’ve [our school] got kids
who don’t speak a word of English in courses like astronomy. Well, I mean we [counselors]
needed to give them a class so basically what am
I
supposed to do wit this kid? I get a lot of
that. A lot. Just like, what am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to do, what am I supposed
to do? I mean it’s a little uneasy for us all.