Student Success Skills: A Promising Program to Close the Academic Achievement Gap for African American and Latino Students

Four Critical Domains of Accountability for School Counselors

“…MANY PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS FEEL AT A LOSS ABOUT WHAT TO MEASURE. Brigman & Campbell, 2003;Miranda, Webb, Brigman, & Peluso, 2007;Webb, Brigman, & Campbell, 2005;Whiston & Quinby, 2009). Therefore, student grades should be a primary target for school counseling programs and interventions to help students improve academically.…”

A Sense of Mattering: A Group Intervention for African American Boys

“…Furthermore, behavior has been linked to academic success. Miranda, Webb, Brigman, and Peluso (2007) provided a relevant illustration of this relationship: The researchers implemented a group to develop cognitive, social, and self-management skills through classroom lessons and group interventions. Results proved a positive connection between development of the targeted sets of skills and achievement.…”

“…African American students, although they represent less than 17% of the school population, are more likely to be retained than any other group (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Group counseling has proven to be effective in reducing academic performance gaps (Davis, Davis, & Mobley, 2013; Miranda et al, 2007; Rose & Steen, 2014). One study on the impact of group counseling on African American students’ testing achievement included weekly sessions focused on school success skills, strategies, and behaviors and found that academic performance improved after the intervention (Bruce, Getch, & Ziomek-Daigle, 2009).…”

“…Although the literature provides resources to support school counselors implementing group counseling interventions, much of this information does not offer practical strategies specifically targeted for use with African American boys. Resources outlining specific interventions for African American boys are needed to support counselors in their work (Miranda et al, 2007). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a group intervention for African American boys exhibiting at-risk behavior.…”

“…Despite the fair amount of scholarly materials that explore these inequities and propose solutions, simply acknowledging these disparities is not enough. A greater examination of the impact of specific interventions for African American boys is needed (Miranda, Webb, Brigman, & Peluso, 2007). As educators work to bridge gaps, they often do not utilize school counselors appropriately, but if school counselors are allowed to take on appropriate duties, they can impact change in a meaningful way (Shimoni & Greenberger, 2014).…”