Appoquinimink School District Empowers School Counselors with Innovative Scheduling Solution
December 7, 2023
News
In a groundbreaking move, the Appoquinimink Education Association (AEA), under the leadership of President Steve Byers, has successfully negotiated a transformative change that will significantly impact the workload of school counselors.
The district will establish the Master Scheduling at the middle school level as a “10+1” position, allowing any staff member within the middle school grade band to apply. This initiative, a response to concerns raised by AEA, acknowledges the professional responsibilities of counselors as outlined in both State Code and the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) guidelines.
The 10+1 Middle School Building Scheduler position is a pivotal development. Those selected for this role will be tasked with building the master schedule for the upcoming school year. Previously, this time-consuming task of building the master schedule required school counselors to process course requests, assign core classes, and fill any scheduling holes for every student in the building. It drained valuable time away from them being able to help children navigate the challenges associated with traumatic events or working with their colleagues to meet the special education needs of students.
The positive news is that, because of the efforts of AEA, middle school counselors in the Appoquinimink School District will no longer be pulled in multiple directions and will instead be able to focus on providing the critical services needed by students.
Byers expressed gratitude to key advocates within the association and the district, including Kristin Capone, Sandy Prather, Altamese Burbage, Dr. Matt Burrows, and Dr. Ed Small, for their instrumental roles in achieving this milestone. Byers emphasized the collaborative efforts and thanked Dr. Burrows for "listening to understand" during discussions on this critical issue.
“I think this is a great example of a local and school district working together to make a change,” said Byers. “As a local, we earned some major gains in the latest contract to move forward and really start helping our specialists and special educators and we need to keep building on that momentum.”
Jon Neubauer, DSEA Director of Education Policy, supported AEA’s positions, highlighting the detrimental impact of counselors being responsible for building the Master Schedule.
“This change will free up counselors time and allow them to focus on providing direct and indirect services to students, especially in the area of mental health support,” said Neubauer.
This move aligns with the broader advocacy efforts of DSEA to push for the removal of 504 case management responsibilities and limiting non-counseling tasks, such as statewide testing coordination and master schedule building, from school counselor responsibilities. These non-counseling activities have been deemed "not appropriate" by the ASCA, which recommends that school counselors spend 80% of their time providing direct and indirect services to students and families.
According to Byers, the master scheduling issue had been brewing for a long time. The turning point came during National School Counselor Week, when AEA proposed adding Master Schedule as an EPER for the Middle School level. AEA took the issue directly to Dr. Matt Burrows, District Superintendent, as frustrations over the negotiations progress increased. The district initially demanded middle school counselors work five additional days in June beyond their contract to complete Master Schedule work, further emphasizing the urgency of resolving the issue.
“There were definitely moments of frustration, but the positive, constructive conversations we had with Dr. Burrows and Dr. Ed Small (Director of Human Resources) really helped move things in the right direction,” said Byers.
The evolution from an EPER position proposed during contract negotiations to a new 10+1 position open to all staff showcases the collaborative efforts between the local and district levels.
The impact of this change on middle school counselors is expected to be significant, especially during the Spring when counselors were previously engaged in long trainings and meetings to build the schedule for the following year. The shift allows counselors to refocus on their primary roles, directly engaging with students and addressing their social and emotional needs.
Looking ahead, AEA recognizes the challenge of extending this change to the high school level. Byers acknowledges the uphill climb but remains optimistic, believing that the success at the middle school level can inspire high school counselors to advocate for similar adjustments in their responsibilities.
This proactive measure stands as an excellent example of collaborative problem-solving between a local association and school district. It sets a precedent for future advocacy efforts aimed at refining and optimizing the roles of school counselors throughout the district and serves as a blueprint for similar changes other local associations and school districts can make for their counselors.
Appoquinimink School District Empowers School Counselors with Innovative Scheduling Solution
In a groundbreaking move, the Appoquinimink Education Association (AEA), under the leadership of President Steve Byers, has successfully negotiated a transformative change that will significantly impact the workload of school counselors.
The district will establish the Master Scheduling at the middle school level as a “10+1” position, allowing any staff member within the middle school grade band to apply. This initiative, a response to concerns raised by AEA, acknowledges the professional responsibilities of counselors as outlined in both State Code and the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) guidelines.
The 10+1 Middle School Building Scheduler position is a pivotal development. Those selected for this role will be tasked with building the master schedule for the upcoming school year. Previously, this time-consuming task of building the master schedule required school counselors to process course requests, assign core classes, and fill any scheduling holes for every student in the building. It drained valuable time away from them being able to help children navigate the challenges associated with traumatic events or working with their colleagues to meet the special education needs of students.
The positive news is that, because of the efforts of AEA, middle school counselors in the Appoquinimink School District will no longer be pulled in multiple directions and will instead be able to focus on providing the critical services needed by students.
Byers expressed gratitude to key advocates within the association and the district, including Kristin Capone, Sandy Prather, Altamese Burbage, Dr. Matt Burrows, and Dr. Ed Small, for their instrumental roles in achieving this milestone. Byers emphasized the collaborative efforts and thanked Dr. Burrows for "listening to understand" during discussions on this critical issue.
“I think this is a great example of a local and school district working together to make a change,” said Byers. “As a local, we earned some major gains in the latest contract to move forward and really start helping our specialists and special educators and we need to keep building on that momentum.”
Jon Neubauer, DSEA Director of Education Policy, supported AEA’s positions, highlighting the detrimental impact of counselors being responsible for building the Master Schedule.
“This change will free up counselors time and allow them to focus on providing direct and indirect services to students, especially in the area of mental health support,” said Neubauer.
This move aligns with the broader advocacy efforts of DSEA to push for the removal of 504 case management responsibilities and limiting non-counseling tasks, such as statewide testing coordination and master schedule building, from school counselor responsibilities. These non-counseling activities have been deemed "not appropriate" by the ASCA, which recommends that school counselors spend 80% of their time providing direct and indirect services to students and families.
According to Byers, the master scheduling issue had been brewing for a long time. The turning point came during National School Counselor Week, when AEA proposed adding Master Schedule as an EPER for the Middle School level. AEA took the issue directly to Dr. Matt Burrows, District Superintendent, as frustrations over the negotiations progress increased. The district initially demanded middle school counselors work five additional days in June beyond their contract to complete Master Schedule work, further emphasizing the urgency of resolving the issue.
“There were definitely moments of frustration, but the positive, constructive conversations we had with Dr. Burrows and Dr. Ed Small (Director of Human Resources) really helped move things in the right direction,” said Byers.
The evolution from an EPER position proposed during contract negotiations to a new 10+1 position open to all staff showcases the collaborative efforts between the local and district levels.
The impact of this change on middle school counselors is expected to be significant, especially during the Spring when counselors were previously engaged in long trainings and meetings to build the schedule for the following year. The shift allows counselors to refocus on their primary roles, directly engaging with students and addressing their social and emotional needs.
Looking ahead, AEA recognizes the challenge of extending this change to the high school level. Byers acknowledges the uphill climb but remains optimistic, believing that the success at the middle school level can inspire high school counselors to advocate for similar adjustments in their responsibilities.
This proactive measure stands as an excellent example of collaborative problem-solving between a local association and school district. It sets a precedent for future advocacy efforts aimed at refining and optimizing the roles of school counselors throughout the district and serves as a blueprint for similar changes other local associations and school districts can make for their counselors.