March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Guidance philosophy completed > SAD 48, SAD 38 staffers form comprehensive plan

NEWPORT — After two years of study and research, members of a SAD 48 Guidance Team presented the new guidance philosophy to district board members recently.

Don Hill, principal of Newport schools, and Kitty Mitchell, Newport-Plymouth guidance counselor, worked with seven other SAD 48 and SAD 38 staff members to create the comprehensive plan. Hill and Mitchell outlined the philosophy and explained its creation.

The plan was developed over the past two years by the team using information obtained through surveys of SAD 48 staff and students. Comments also were used from other districts, the University of Maine, Department of Education and the SAD 48 Administrative Team.

According to Hill and Mitchell and the booklet created for the program, the philosophy is “to provide a developmental approach that assumes that human nature moves individuals sequentially and positively toward becoming productive members of their community. It encompasses an understanding of the general stages and tasks that most individuals experience as they mature from childhood into adulthood and further recognizes that feelings, ideas and behaviors are closely linked together.”

The plan further states that developmental guidance is for all students and sets up an organized and planned curriculum. Years ago, guidance counselors simply steered high school students toward the proper colleges. Today, according to the SAD 48 philosophy, “developmental guidance is an integrated part of the total educational process.”

The team determined that such a program would involve all school personnel — teachers, counselors, administrators and all other support personnel. Some guidance units might be best delivered by teachers through their assigned classes while some by be delivered by specialists, such as school psychologists, resource teachers or outside consultants.

“Everything in the guidance program is directed at helping students learn more effectively and efficiently,” says the plan. All guidance objectives drawn up by the team have an educational base. However, there are occasions when more specialized services, such as short-term counseling are needed by students.

The plan clearly states that counseling services within the district are not considered therapy but that students with serious personal problems still attend regular school, attempting to cope. “There will be times, of course,” states the plan, “when disruptive incidents happen or when a crisis-type intervention may be an appropriate response.” The goal of the plan is to provide continuous assistance and support to all students.

A lengthy list of objectives was presented, along with the appropriate curriculum for each age group. The objectives included: enhance self-understanding and self-development; provide school orientation services; provide introduction to guidance services; provide students with school rules and expectations; encourage acceptance of each person’s uniqueness; provide support and resources on issues of substance abuse, relationships, family life and sexuality, including family changes, death, pregnancy, moving, birth, and adoption (where age appropriate); assist in developing decision-making skills; and encourage self-respect and respect for others.

Members of the SAD 48 Guidance Team were Hill, Mitchell, Vaughn Stedman, Mary Turner, Donald Mendell, Sylvia Ingerson, Lois Bowden, Betsy Dorman, Nola Burleigh and Suzanne Trussell.


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