College and Career ClubStudentS teaChing StudentS

spring 2011

The California Association of School Counselors, Inc.

spring 2011

The California Association of School Counselors, Inc.

College & Career iSSue

inCludeS Premiere iSSue of the California SCHool CounSeling Journal

Master of Science in Counseling and Guidance

www.callutheran.edu/cg

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the california school counselor SPRING 2011 12

When Kevin Linell came to our school to make his Career and College Clubs pitch, he

seemed no different than most educa-tional consultants who visit. He did catch our attention, though, because he did two things that were really out of the ordinary. First, he said that his program offered money. You don’t dangle money in front of cash-strapped educators with-out seeing them salivate and pretend to be enthralled, even if they have become jaded by the promises of the next great educational program. Second, he said that his program entailed students, not the adults, teaching the entire curriculum. The idea of kids taking over all of the teaching just seemed too farfetched, but we signed on.

So, in the 2008-09 school year, we started the Career and College Club at William Mulholland Middle School.

That first year was very challeng-ing. Students who passed the interview process didn’t necessarily make good “teachers.” And as adults, we had a hard time letting go of our need to teach and constantly interrupted students during their presentations. In our second year, we came up with three ideas: 1) We did extemporaneous interviews in front of a large audience and immediately identi-fied students who had the “it” factor – the ability to articulate their ideas clearly to engage their audience. 2) We taught effective presentation skills to the stu-dents. 3) We made a commitment to not interrupt anymore.

The results were amazing. Last year, our club members used mnemonic devices to teach our eighth-grade class A-G require-ments. Surveys showed that 87 percent of students learned at least five out of the seven requirements. Since then, our club has organized assemblies on bullying, attendance and organizational skills. All members are trained on peer mediation and are called upon by staff to intervene in the many social conflicts to be expected on a middle school campus. During two recent hot-dog sales, our students made a profit of more than $400. We just super-vised; they did all the work.

The club also has become a popular activity for students. The first year we had 20 seventh- and eighth-grade stu-dents, 42 the next year, and we have 60

for the 2010-11 school year. While we’ve always had a college-going culture at Mulholland Middle School, the Career and College Club strengthens it by provid-ing structure and activities that engage students.

The more we tap our students’ leader-ship potential, the more we discover their power to truly accomplish amazing things that lead to higher student learn-ing and achievement. Our success shows: Twelve of our students were accepted last year into Cal State Northridge’s up-ward bound program out of 14 available slots. This year, we are looking to improve that number.

We are now writing grants (from nonprofit organizations such as www.donorschoose.org) to obtain laptop computers for the students to take home

to work on their projects. We have had one grant funded so far for a laptop and expect more to come. The ultimate grant will encompass the acquisition of a quality sound system and a projector so we can to take our presentations to other schools and reach a greater number of students.

The Career and College Clubs (www.careerandcollegeclubs.org) program is free (schools with 70 percent FRMP receive grant funds to help implement it). The program spans seventh and eighth grades and is tailored to help middle school students ready themselves for postsecondary options. Students learn from many topics: the difference between a job and a career, college requirements, how to choose and finance a college education and how to identify possible jobs/careers based on abili-ties and interests. The school sponsors identify natural student leaders and help them teach the units themselves to their peers. Career and College Clubs was developed, managed and funded by ALL Management Corporation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization.

Alex Carmona is a school counselor and Albert

Estrada is a sixth-grade math/science teacher

at Mulholland Middle School, Los Angeles

Unified School District. You can find out more

about Career and College Clubs at

www.careerandcollegeclubs.org.

Career and College ClubBy Alex CArmonA And AlBert estrAdA

mulholland middle School Career and College Club.

All members have been

trained on peer mediation

and are called upon by staff

to intervene on the many

social conflicts to be expected

on a middle school campus.

CareerandCollegeClub

By Alex CArmonA And

AlBert estrAdA

ASVABulous

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By sheilA overton, m.d.

TheGiftofNurturing

By PAul de senA, Ph.d.

WheretoStart?

By dAnielle duArte

Supporting LGTBQIStudents

By vAnessA Gomez-lee

MainstreamingSchoolCounselorsintheResponseToInterventionProcess

By JACkie m. Allen, ed.d. & JAnet trotter, m.ed., m.A.

ExecutiveDirectorReport

LetterFromtheEditor

PresidentalPerspectives

PicksandClicks

Announcements

NotefromtheEditor

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California SChool CounSeling Journal

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