Stress/Anxiety Intervention at WHS

By Kevin Tjoelker

Introduction8th year as a professional school counselor at

Woodinville High School in the Northshore School District

WHS is a large high school serving grades 10-12 in a suburban setting

More than 90% of students participate in AP program

High percentage of students continue to a post-secondary education

Demographics77% White, 7.7% Hispanic, 7.4% Asian, 1.7%

Black/African American, 5.4% Two or More Races

11.2% Free/Reduced Price Lunches

Adjusted 4-year graduation rate: 95.7%

Project OverviewClassroom Guidance activity with all Sophomores

and Juniors to address an increase in students who are experiencing stress or anxiety

Sophomore and Junior lessons were different

Project Goals: Increase the effectiveness of our students’ coping

skills and strategies for managing stress and anxietyDecrease the number of students who self-report

that they regularly feel overly stress or anxious

Standard 5 Benchmark B, Standard 3 Benchmark C, Standard 3 Benchmark B

Project RationalePercentage of Students Who Self-Reported Feeling Overly Stressed

Sophomores Juniors0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

HourlyDailyWeeklyMonthly

Standard 1 Benchmark C, Standard 3 Benchmark C,

Design & Implementation PlanThe counseling team collaborated to design and

implement the interventionSophomores – Classroom Guidance Lesson Juniors:

Video shown by US History teachersOverview in the TheaterBreakout sessions taught by counselorsReflection/Stress and Anxiety Planning Sheet

Sophomore Biology and Junior US History teachers distributed and collected the post-survey

Design & Implementation - My Role

I took a lead role in:Developing pre- and post-surveysCollecting and analyzing dataEditing a video to show to our JuniorsOrganizing and returning Stress and Anxiety

Planning sheets to JuniorsLeading a reflection of learning at the end of the

Junior lessonTeaching coping skills to Sophomores and JuniorsAnalyzing the data

Design & Implementation - My Role

I acted as a facilitator to:Organize a volunteer to input survey results into

spreadsheetsHelp design the interventionLead our department meetingsCollaborate with administrators and teachers to

schedule the intervention

Project ResultsPercentage of students able to list healthy coping

strategies

Sophomores Juniors0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pre-TestPost-Test

Standard 1 Benchmark C

Project ResultsPercentage of Students who Self-Reported Feeling Overly

Stressed

Soph

omor

es P

re-T

est

Soph

omor

es P

ost-T

est

Juni

ors Pr

e-Te

st

Juni

ors Po

st-T

est

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

HourlyDailyWeeklyMonthly

Project ResultsEffectiveness of Students’ Coping Strategies (Self-Reported)

Soph

omor

es P

re-T

est

Soph

omor

es P

ost-T

est

Juni

ors Pr

e-Te

st

Juni

ors Po

st-T

est

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

All the timeUsually

AnalysisResults were not what we expected

Timing of the surveys may have had an impactWe perceived a decrease in students leaving class

to talk with us about stressOur department will continue to collaborate to

determine next steps – we intend to do a broader needs assessment next fall to evaluate where our students need the most support

ReflectionWas this an effective intervention? YES!

Counselors were in classrooms making connections with our students

Measurable increases in students’ ability to identify healthy coping strategies

Stakeholders played a key role in the development of the intervention – particularly the Social Studies department head and our principal

ReflectionResults were shared with our Guidance Team,

teachers, and my administrator

Celebrating successOur counseling team was able to reflect togetherYear-end review

Professional & Personal Growth

Leadership changesNeed to place more emphasis on involving others

How did I grow?Utilizing the pre- and post-surveys supported my

PGP growth area of Standard 3 Benchmark C:“Identifies student needs through consultation and

assessment; develops individual and group interventions to promote academic and life success.”

First attempt at data for large scale intervention – now I can build on that

Standard 1 Benchmark B

Professional & Personal Growth

What would I change?Use electronic surveys Involve more peopleFind a better way of measuring success (example:

year to year comparison)

How can I continue to grow?Data is an area where I have grown the most, and

would still like to grow moreWill continue to analyze data to inform and guide

system-wide interventions

ClosingGrowth throughout the process, even if results

were not what I hoped for

I know where I can continue to improve

Thank you to my supervisor and cohort!

Questions?