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Two Wisconsin Counseling Teams Earn Recognition from the American School Counselor Association

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

For the first time, two Wisconsin school counseling teams are now considered a “Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Program” (RAMP) from the American School Counselor Association. The Gifford School and Gilmore Fine Arts School, both K-8 schools in the Racine Unified School District earned the distinction for their use of data to inform positive outcomes. The Gilmore school counseling team was also recognized as a school of distinction for their extremely high score.

RAMP is based on the implementation of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model, which, according to the ASCA:

  • are based on data-informed decision making,

  • are delivered to all students systematically,

  • include a developmentally appropriate curriculum focused on the mindsets and behaviors all students need for postsecondary readiness and success, and

  • close achievement and opportunity gaps resulting in improved student achievement, attendance, and discipline (2020).

Gifford School Counselors

Gifford School Counselors
Gifford School counselors: Leah Martone, Megan Knudson, Erin Leavitt, Andy Havron

After working for several years to design the Gifford School program to meet ASCA National Model standards, Megan Knudson said their team waited patiently after submitting their application in October of 2020. “Our team was overjoyed to find out that our program was recognized as a RAMP school,” Knudson said. “It was an awesome culmination of our hard work. We felt very proud to bring recognition to our school district and awareness to the school counseling profession.”

Gilmore Fine Arts School Counselors

Gilmore School Counselors
Gilmore School Fine Arts school counselors: Kristin Gibson, Monika Jonas, Katie Lichter

Monika Jonas described the excitement of earning the RAMP honor saying, “We were all extremely thrilled to learn that our hard work and dedication had paid off, and even more so when we read that we earned School of Distinction honors as well. Our team had been waiting anxiously to hear of our results, and we were absolutely ecstatic once we received our notification.”

Both school counseling teams followed the national model and collected data over the entire academic year to earn the RAMP distinction.

References

ASCA, 2020. “ASCA National Model.” Accessed March 22, 2021. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/ASCA-National-Mo...