Current Projects

School Counseling Collaborative Action Research

Each year since 1999 graduate students in the USD School Counseling Specialization have engaged in collaborative action research projects with local schools and school districts. The projects focus on improving the practice of school counseling. Graduate students are assigned to the projects as part of their enrollment in courses on research methods and the organization of student support systems. Through their involvement, students acquire knowledge and skills in research, program evaluation, and collaboration and teamwork. Practicing school counselors and other educators who participate gain practical experience in conducting action research in the field and contribute to closing the gap between research and practice in school counseling.

Since 2003 the projects have been conducted in conjunction with the work of the Center for Student Support Systems (CS3). The center director serves as a consultant to the projects, conducts an annual symposium on action research that utilizes the projects as examples of what can be done through field-based research, and coordinates solicitation and selection of each year’s projects. Starting in May 2010, this event name will be changed to the Action Research Conference. 

The projects described below have been underway since fall 2009. They will be completed in May 2010. We wish to thank our practitioner partners for their commitment to continuous improvement of their programs and their willingness to take action for change in school counseling and in education.
Dr. Lonnie Rowell, Director, CS3

2009-2010 Projects

• Balboa Elementary School, San Diego City Schools - this project is in the early stage of formulation. It will be our first time working with the school. We were approached by the school psychologist in the context of the school needing assistance in addressing the counseling and guidance needs of a culturally diverse and generally low SES school community.

  *Arnette Dunn (Team Leader), Thanh Truc Nguyen, Noel Luna, Leticia Fierro

• Grossmont Union High School District - this year will be Phase Two of a four-year project involving nine schools in the district. The focus of the project is career development for high school students. In Phase One (2008-2009), the graduate student team worked with 9th grade counselors and students at 8 school sites. This focus of Phase One was district-wide implementation of a new Post-Secondary Planning process. This year the team will be working with 10th grade students at 8 traditional comprehensive high schools and one alternative school.

  *Sheryl Overman (Team Leader), Monica Celaya, Angelica Diaz Naranjo, Mary Huynh, Hilary Ivey, Kriscia Tejada, Jennifer Santos, Elizabeth Wilke, Adriana Garcia

• Program Evaluation for Student Support, San Diego City Schools - This project is in the very early stage of formulation. The project will involve working with the district's Counseling and Guidance Department. We anticipate that the project will involved 6-7 schools.

  *Steven Avine (Team Leader), Erik Castillo, Claire Hewett, Karolia Macias, Ignacio Martinez

• Our Lady's School - this is a new project. The school reached out to USD for assistant with revitalizing it programs. Our Lady's School is a unique entity in the Diocese of San Diego. It is the only merged school, uniting the parishes of Our Lady of Angels and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Angels School opened in September 1912, serving the communities of Sherman Heights and Golden Hills. At its inception, the school served 183 students in grades 1-6. Our Lady of Angels School, at its present site, opened in September 1922 with grades 1-8. In 1937, after the establishment of the new Diocese of San Diego, Our Lady of Angels School was recognized as the oldest parochial elementary school in San Diego. The action research project with Our Lady's School will focus on establishing a comprehensive student support program.

  *Judy Ziment (Team Leader), Joe Groeper, Janinee Ramirez, Shelley Boniwell, Kristina Quezada

• Bi-national Action Research Collaboration (BARC) - the BARC is now in its third year. In this project, CS3 is working with two institutions in Mexico: Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) and the Migrant Education Office of the Baja Department of Education. This year the project will focus on support groups for middle and high school students experiencing the oftentimes disorienting affects of cross-border relocations. Graduate students on the project team will work with schools in Tijuana and in the Southbay area of San Diego County. Members of the graduate student team are bi-lingual in English and Spanish.

  *Eva Mejia (Team Leader), Angel Chavarin, Lara Anderson, Briana Colorado, Elizabeth Schlicher

• San Pasqual Academy - the project will involve assisting the school counselor with his efforts to provide a range of services to students at this unique school. It will be our first action research project with the school. We anticipate that the project will focus on social justice issues in the foster care system. San Pasqual Academy is a first-in-the-nation residential education campus designed specifically for foster teens. The Academy is located in Escondido, CA and provides foster teens with a stable caring home, a quality, individualized education, and the skills needed for independent living. The Academy opened in October 2001 and currently has a bed capacity for 184 youth.

  *Michelle Advincula (Team Leader), Valerie Jolly, Rick Hastings, Perla Rivas, Cynthia Ormeno