Advisory systems are a way for students to build relationships with adults and peers, reflect on their learning, and set goals for the future. They also help students explore career options and plan for postsecondary education.
Strong secondary schools use advisory systems to reflect on social and academic growth, set short and long-term goals, and help learners tell their stories.
Advisory systems are the front line of monitoring the need for student support. They are often part of the foundation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) to ensure that all students’ needs are met through increasingly targeted interventions across three levels of support.
Advisory systems are often the focal point for career exploration and job awareness.
This process helps students develop and implement a plan for learning after high school based on interests, skills, values and goals.
Advisors play an important role in helping learners select pathways and courses. In some cases, they can facilitate choice in learning experiences including co-authoring a project, shaping work-based learning, or initiating entrepreneurial activity.
In addition to the core functions, there are five other dimensions of support and guidance related and often incorporated into advisory systems: positive culture, skill building, coordinating work-based learning, building social capital and promoting wellness.
A positive school culture is one where all students feel safe, respected, and valued. It is a culture where students are motivated to learn and grow, and where they feel supported by their teachers and peers.
Advisory systems often include self-management and relational skill building and may include or coordinate supplemental development of other priority skills such as financial literacy, digital citizenship, study skills and project management.
Advisors often help learners identify work-based learning opportunities including job shadows, client projects, and internships.
Schools can play a pivotal role in leveling the social capital playing field.
Both qualitative and quantitative data from the last few years have made it abundantly clear that wellness plays a huge role in social and academic growth.
The tech industry has developed an array of solutions aimed at supporting guidance counselors, educators, academic advisors and other key roles involved in students’ educational journeys.
AI and machine learning are quickly being incorporated into advisory systems that support learners and has the potential to extend access to personalized learning experiences, localized guidance and efficient supports.
Implementing a robust advisory system is not easy, but it is critical to the success of young people. We lay out a few of the glaring challenges and opportunities for getting started below.
Focus: Support and guidance involves a dozen functions delivered through advisory systems, in classrooms, and by specialists. Building a clear mission for advisory and coordinating multiple functions and applications is a challenge.
Time: The most effective advisory periods are daily for most of an hour, but it is challenging for most schools to devote so much time to a non-credit-bearing block.
Preparation: Most advisors are classroom teachers and an advisory period with a comprehensive mission is another challenging preparation.
Curriculum: Regardless of focus, advisory ought to be supported by a high quality grade 6-12 curriculum and career and college preparation applications. It has been challenging to find, create, and integrate curricula and applications that meet local demands.
The following are opportunities (and emerging progress) in support and guidance functions
Support Mental Health: The global state of mental health requires us to first build a culture of care in our schools. The next generation of advisory systems must have seamless support services that connect learners and school faculty to community resources.
Co-Author High School Pathways: The ecosystem of learning is changing, putting renewed emphasis on unbundled learning opportunities. Advisors will need to be able to help learners identify and integrate out of school experiences into their individual learning plan. Similarly, the rise of Competency-Based Learning will require advisors to help learners track their progress against an outcome framework and, similarly, support them in demonstrating competence.
Advise Postsecondary Plans: The increasingly complex postsecondary landscape is difficult to navigate even with a guide. Advisors will need to show learners the opportunity of accelerated pathways to help them gain both experience and awareness of what they want to do next. Additionally, these advisors need to be able to provide more personalized and localized guidance about alternative pathways. There are more valuable and viable pathways to contribution than ever, and it’s critical that young people find the one that speaks to them.
Pilot, Adopt and Integrate Personalized Guidance Technology: In the coming months a number of AI-powered guidance systems will localize opportunity data and help personalize development of Indivual Learning Plans. Advisors will need to be on the frontlines of seeking, piloting and helping systems adopt some of the more promising options.
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