What is the Louisiana Tech / LA GEAR UP Explorers Clubs Guidance and Counseling Professional Development Project?
Louisiana Tech University has partnered with the
Louisiana GEAR UP Project to offer guidance counselors (or their
designee) the opportunity to participate in an exciting professional
development project during the 2007-2008 academic year.
The goal of this project is to support the primary objectives of LA
GEAR UP through the institutionalization and integration of Explorers
Clubs within all LA GEAR UP high schools as well as their feeder
schools. The Explorers Clubs will engage in activities that positively
impact three spheres of student activity:
- academic development
- personal/social development
- career development
A long-term and continuing goal of the Project is to provide a bridge
facilitating students’ transitions from high school to college.
The conceptual framework and training for the participant school
counselors and administrators emphasize major components of an
effective program for a middle school and high school counseling
delivery system:
- Guidance Curriculum
- Individual Planning
- Responsible Services via Intervention
- System Support
The contents and training are based on theories,
models, and instruments that represent the most current research and
best practices in effective school counseling.
Who can participate in this Project?
This Project will serve two people from
each participating school: one counselor (or designee) from each of the current
39 LA GEAR UP schools and one additional teacher or administrator who agrees to
assist with the operation of a school-based Explorers Club and to implement
project initiatives. Guidance Counselors
may designate La Gear Up coordinator or another teacher to participate who is
willing to serve as Explorers Club Sponsor.
What is expected of Project participants?
- Participants will attend a four-day workshop July 9-13 or July 16-20, 2007.
- Each participant will earn three hours of graduate credit in Guidance and Counseling. PSYC 489C: Effective
Counseling Strategies for Middle and High School Counselors
- During Spring 2008, Explorers Club
sponsors/advisors (project participants) and student officers will
attend a two-day state conference hosted by Louisiana Tech University
and sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants. The purpose of the
conference will be for participants to showcase (through student
presentations) the results of the Action Plans developed as part of the
Project.
- To promote further collaboration, participants
in this Project will partner with the Louisiana Tech/LA GEAR UP
Explorers Camps Project to establish an Explorers Club in each school.
These Clubs will strengthen both Projects by facilitating ongoing
communication between camp staff and participating students and by
providing a vehicle for those students to further develop and utilize
the leadership skills they are learning through the Camp Project.
How do I apply?
More information and an application for this Project can be found on the LA GEAR UP website, http://www.latech.edu/lagearup/ExplorersClubProj.html. (Look at the bottom of this page.) Additional applications will be sent to each eligible school. Applications must be submitted by May 15, 2007. Please complete the application as soon as possible and mail to:
La Tech Guidance and Counseling Project
Attn: Glenn Beer
P.O. Box 3163
Ruston, LA 71272
Dates
Five-day Workshop 2007: Louisiana
Tech
- ALL participants: July 9-13 or July
16-20 2007
Note: Lodging will be provided in Ruston.
Fall 2007
- Establish Explorers Club at school
sites
- Attend two Saturday sessions
Spring 2008
- Attend State Conference (April)
Stipends, travel, etc.
You will be provided a private hotel room during the
sessions. You are required to furnish your own transportation to Louisiana Tech University
for all sessions. Mileage will be reimbursed at state
rates up to a maximum of $400 per
participant. Lodging and on site meals are also provided for all
participants. Participants will
receive a stipend of $20 per hour for participating in this Project. The $1,520 stipend includes $700 for the summer session,
$280 for the academic year follow-up sessions, and the remaining $540 being
paid after the Spring Conference. In addition, each participant will receive a
tuition scholarship from Louisiana Tech.
Please note that participants will be asked to pay $45 application fee. Please
bring your driver’s license and social security card with you.
PSYC 489C:
Effective Counseling Strategies for Middle and High School Counselors
Project participants will earn three
hours of graduate credit in PSYC 489C:
Effective Counseling Strategies for Middle and High School Counselors
through the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Department at Louisiana Tech
University. This course in effective counseling for middle and high
schools is designed to provide an overview of the field of career development
and its various applications and possibilities. Emphasis is placed on theories
of career development and the interventions that derive logically from them.
The Explorers Clubs and their activities will provide a practical setup for
field/clinical experience. This will enable the application of principles and
techniques learned in the course.
The University has agreed
to provide tuition scholarships for all participants. To receive credit, you
must attend all sessions. As part of the
course, you will develop and implement an Action Plan at your school site. A
conference will be held in Spring 2008 where the student officers of the
Explorers Club that you sponsor will present the results of the Club’s Action
Plan.
Course Requirements:
- Attendance at the
summer workshop, academic year follow-up sessions and spring conference.
- Development of an
Action Plan for Explorers Clubs that reflects the principles of
transformational counseling
- Implementation and
evaluation of the assessment plan in Explorers Club.
- Participation in
Blackboard/Internet activities including online assessment and reports.
- Submission of
Explorers Club member career plan.
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