Counseling & Support

Evidence-based Strategies - Examples, Research and Tools

Strategy b: Have a system for identifying students’ needs for support services; determine which needs the program is equipped to address and which cases should be referred to other agencies; document counseling activities and referrals; and follow up on each case.

Examples

Beyond the Scope of the Teachers: Deciding to Employ a Social Worker
Nikki Merritt, Miriam Spencer and Lori Withers
Concerned that their educational mission was being undermined by the wide range of stress-producing issues learners brought to class (physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; the stress of poverty, etc.), this family literacy program hired a social worker to address the individual and group needs of their students.  Using an empowerment approach aimed at helping families increase their personal, social, and political power to affect their circumstances, this component positively affected students' attendance and GED completion rates.

Pay Off: New River Finds Success with Retention
Jenny Bolte
This program’s analysis of their GED data led them to create a new position of Retention Specialist whose responsibility is to help GED non-completers resume their studies and develop a study plan. The program created a flexible GED-on-Demand testing schedule and began offering it in varied locations and times to accommodate students.  They also began to offer multiple learning options, ranging from more intense hours of instruction to computer lab. They subsequently experienced a 47% increase in GED completions.