Guidance Counselor Interview Protocol

School code:

Interviewer:

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
1. Tell me about your background.
[Probes: When did you come to the school? What is your educational background? How many years
have you been a counselor? At this school? Did you have prior experience or specific training working
with low-performing schools or students?]

2. What is your role in the school? In school improvement efforts?
[Probes: Who do you interact with?]

3. What major school improvement efforts has your school engaged in over the last five years?
[Probes for turnaround schools: Who or what do you think was responsible for the turnaround? Which
of the efforts was most important for accomplishing the turnaround?]
[Probe for comparison sites: Which of the school improvement efforts had the most significant effects on
student achievement? Who or what was responsible for this effort?]

4. How did staff react to the plans for improvement?
[Probes: Did staff support or resist the plans for improvement? How? How was staff resistance
overcome? Were there any staff changes or turnover? If yes, what were the reasons for these staff
changes? What is the process for replacing (hiring new) teachers? How did the staff turnover affect the
process?]

5. What was the school climate like when you arrived?
Probes: What were the school’s strengths? Weaknesses? What were the teachers like? What was the
relationship between staff like? Between staff and students? What was the relationship between the
school and the district?

6. Has the school climate changed over the last 5 years? If so, in what ways? Who or what were the
catalysts for these changes?

Guidance Counselor Interview Protocol
Page 1 of 2

7. Please describe the level of parental involvement. What factors contribute to the level of parental
involvement you described?
[Probe for specific examples of parental involvement in reform efforts, curriculum decisions, and
presence in the school. Probe for changes in approach to encouraging parental involvement]

8. Describe the formative and summative assessment system for student achievement at your school.
How do you and other staff members use data from these assessments?
[Probes: How/where did you learn to use these data? Have there been any changes in the assessment
system in the past 5 years?]

9. Is there anything else I should know to tell the story of your school improvement efforts?

Guidance Counselor Interview Protocol
Page 2 of 2