Advisory Program

Advisory Overiew

Students meet in Advisory every Friday for 40 minutes

• Overarching Goals:
• Personal Development
• Helping students with transition and change
• Developing relationships that will increase student success and happiness at FALA and in the future
• Supporting personal expression
• College support and preparation (HS focus)
• Designing and presenting a portfolio (HS)
• Culture and Community
• Sharing a positive school environment and culture
• Exploring relevant issues and concepts
• Leadership
• Learning how to have a participatory voice
• Engaging in meaningful projects and activities

Mechanisms:

• Individual student support
• All students will develop relationships with an adult mentor and other students
• All students will set personal, social, academic, and artistic goals and track progress through ECAP and Advisory
• All students will participate in ECAP and other activities through Advisory to learn about their personal strengths, interests, and possible educational and career directions (students will translate their experiences and interests into action their junior and senior years as they prepare for graduation)
• Creating a personal portfolio that tracks academic and artistic growth and accomplishments and provides opportunities for self-reflection
• Community-building
• Learning how to build good relationships and interacting effectively with others
• Celebrating and recognizing community, school, and student accomplishments
• Addressing school-wide concerns or issues with student voice
• Leadership (connected with classroom learning)
• Developing leadership skills (see below)
• Learning to work collaboratively with others (listening to and sharing ideas, finding compromise, and translating ideas into action)
• Making connections between cross-curricular themes, Advisory ideas, service learning, and life

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 7th grade will focus upon:

• Developing Identity
• Values
• Self-Esteem/Self Worth
• Communication Skills
• Self-confidence
• Team building
• Social Issues
• Dealing with bullies
• Value of education
• Standing up for your beliefs
• Diversity/differences
• Getting along with others

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 8th grade will focus upon:

• Communication Skills
• Team building
• Self-esteem
• Decision making
• Refusal skills
• Dealing with bullies
• Diversity/differences
• Transition to high school
• Taking life choices seriously
• Appropriate risk taking
• Managing emotions
• Growing up
• Power/authority/influence

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 9th grade will focus upon:

• Developing Identity
• Values
• Self-Esteem/Self Worth
• Communication Skills
• Self-confidence
• Team building
• Social Issues
• “Becoming a leader”
• Working with others
• Standing up for your beliefs
• Delegating to others
• Diversity/differences
• Creative thinking
• Taking responsibility
• Goal setting

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 10th grade will focus upon:

• Developing Identity
• Values
• Communication Skills
• Credibility
• Team building
• Social Issues
• “Becoming a leader”
• Working with others
• Standing up for your beliefs
• Running meetings
• Diversity/differences
• Creative thinking
• Taking responsibility
• Goal setting

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 11th grade will focus upon:

• Establishing identity
• Prioritizing
• Getting/giving respect
• Developing confidence
• Communication skills
• Credibility
• Team building
• Value of education
• Social issues
• Follow-through and responsibility
• Working with others
• Running meetings
• Diversity/differences
• Creative thinking
• Goal setting/creating vision
• Planning after high school
• School to career relationships
• Problem solving
• Making ethical decisions

Developing leadership in a FALA student in 12th grade will focus upon:

• Demonstrating identity
• Setting priorities
• Developing confidence
• Communication skills
• Credibility
• Value of education
• Social issues
• Community leadership
• Working with others
• Conflict resolution and appropriate confrontation skills
• Standing up for your beliefs
• Diversity/differences
• Creative thinking
• Balancing choices
• Taking responsibility
• Post graduation planning
• Goal setting/creating vision
• School to career connections
• Handling Stress

(adapted from Designing Student Leadership)

The Role of the Advisor

The basic role of the advisor is to support each advisee’s growth as a learner and in all aspects of his or her school life. The advisor gets to know the “whole child” and acts as a mentor, advocate, a coach, and a guide to each of his or her advisees.

Responsibilities of an Advisor:

• Meeting with their advisory group at scheduled times:
• Creating a safe environment in which advisees can communicate, collaborate, and trust each other
• Implementing an agreed-upon advisory curriculum/program
• We are eager for feedback on this curriculum and look forward to continuing development and change with faculty, staff, and student input.
• Mentoring each advisee and being her or her advocate. This can include:
• Supporting each advisee’s academic progress
• Academic planning, goal-setting, course selections, and learning plans
• Supporting portfolios
• Supporting each advisee’s social/emotional growth
• Engendering student voice
• Keeping advisee records as required

Forming an Advisory Group:

• Create a safe environment
• Set advisory norms with student input
• Suggestions include:
• Be respectful
• Maintain confidentiality
• Practice active listening
• Be supportive
• No gossiping
• Practice problem-solving
• Use appropriate behavior and language
• The Counselor (Michelle Beaudreau) and the Advisory Coordinator (Janeece Henes) are available to help you to create a positive environment during advisory sessions.
• Advisory should also be enjoyable. Look for ways to build community that are fun (game days and celebration days are built into the curriculum).

Supporting Social/Emotional Growth

• Become acquainted with each of your advisee’s social and emotional attributes
• Seek out support for students who are withdrawn, dominating, shy, bossy, etc. All students should feel safe to contribute in advisory.
• Personal problems may be revealed through advisory. Refer students to the counselor or administrator immediately if the student is a danger to themselves or others. Other issues that advisors may see that merit referral include: signs of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, cutting, or other psychological abuse.
• Any kind of child abuse or neglect is required by law to be reported to Child Protective Services (928-779-3681). The advisor must make the report if the student tells them of the abuse or if the advisor suspects abuse.

Engendering Student Voice

• Give students the opportunity to share their perceptions and perspectives
• Support civil discourse between students and faculty/staff
• Support dialogue about critical issues that impact all parties at the school
• The protocols, such as Fish Bowl, Chalk Talk, Four Corners, and Socratic Seminar, support students to exercise higher order thinking skills, voice, and reflection in a powerful and thoughtful way.

Gathering Information and Record-Keeping

• Create a folder or binder for each student that contains all Advisory, ECAP, and portfolio information.
• Suggestions include a file folder in a filing cabinet, shelves (with cubbies), stackable trays, or digital files
• Support students in decorating a journal that will follow him or her throughout their time at FALA. The advisor should keep these journals and they should only be used in Advisory.

Attributes of Effective Advisors:

• Have a heartfelt concern for student’s in their care: Advisors will connect with their students because they make the effort to ask questions of them, they draw students out of themselves and help them discover things about themselves that they might not otherwise find.
• Challenges students to stretch themselves, because students will sometimes take the path of least resistance: Advisors will support students and, at the same time, encourage stretching.
• Form personal bonds with each advisee.
• Understand that advisory is a process that is not linear or clear-cut.

Role of the Advisory Coordinator: Janeece Henes

• Service-learning program overview and support
• Teacher support as needed during Advisory
• Organization/distribution for all advisory materials
• Ongoing curricular development for Advisory (with the Dean of Academy, Ari WIlder and faculty committee)

Role of the Counselor: Michelle Beaudreau

• College preparation and support
• ECAP completion and follow-up
• Graduation and service-learning requirements
• Student schedules
• Additional social and emotional support as needed

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