S3 @ VU
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Center for Safe & Supportive Schools at Vanderbilt University
Getting the Most Out of
Advisory Periods
Advisory Periods are usually
implemented as a way of improving
students’ sense of connection to their
school and their academic goals, and/or
improving students’ relationship with
their teachers and peers. Educational
research has shown that sense of
connection and positive relationships
with teachers and peers are important
predictors of student academic success.
2. Project-basedii: These programs usually
allow students to focus on a project that is
designed to address a school or community
issue. Students may help to identify the focus of
the project, or the project may be integrated into
the coursework for one or more classes.
Examples include:
Types of Advisory Programs
Advisories are usually designed to have
regular weekly meetings (meetings can
range from once a week to daily
depending on the goals) for 20 – 60
minutes in groups of 10 – 25 students.
Each group has assigned “advisor” who
is a school staff person (teacher,
administrator, support staff person) who
helps to facilitate the goals of the
advisory period. There is wide variation
in the way in which advisories are
implemented, but generally advisory
programs fall into three categories:
• Service Learning
!• Project-Based learning
!• Civic engagement/Volunteerism
!3. Affinity-based : These programs allow
iii
students to organize themselves based around
particular interest areas. These interest areas
could be identified by students or set by the
school staff. Students might then engage in
activities that allow them to have experiences
related to their interests, and to form friendships
with a teacher and students who share their
interest. Some examples include:
1. Curriculum-basedi: These programs
usually involve some type of prepackaged curriculum that is designed to
promote the development of social and
emotional skills, along with specific
knowledge otherwise covered in the
academic curriculum. Some of the best
know curriculum include:
!
!• Flex Lunch: affinity group meeting
• Club programs: these can set by school
staff or by student interest
• Lionsquest
!• Second Step
!• The 4 Rs Program
!
Some school have mixed the types of programs
to develop an advisory program tailored to the
school’s needs.
Why Have an Advisory Program?
Studies have found that if students feel cared for by one adult in
the school, their outcomes improve dramaticallyiv. Advisory
periods have been shown to improve relationships between
teachers and students and increase students’ sense of
connection, which in turn has led to better student outcomesv,vi.
Improved student outcomes include improved achievement, better
attendance, and fewer behavior problemsvii. However, the
effectiveness of the advisory programs are affected heavily by the
quality of implementation.
Some Advisory Group Modelsviii References
i Most
curriculum based
approaches are focused on
elementary and middle school.
!
ii These programs tend to be
integrated into the grade-level
curricula or into “whole school”
initiatives.
!
iii The content of these programs
tend to be driven by student
interest.
!
iv
Scales, P. C., Benson, P. L., &
Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2011).
Adolescent thriving: The role of
sparks, relationships, and
empowerment. Journal of Youth
and Adolescence, 40, 263-277.
!
v Gilpin,
L.A. (2013). Comparing
perceptions of advisors and
student in relationship to
behaviors within a middle school
advisory program. h$p://
www.bakeru.edu/images/pdf/SOE/
EdD_Theses/Gilpin_Lara.pdf
!
vi Van
Ryzin, M. (2010).
Secondary school advisors as
mentors and secondary
attachment figures. Journal of
Community Psychology, 38(2),
131–154.
!
vii Myrick,
R.D., & Myrick, L.S.
(1990). Teacher advisory
program: An innovative
approach to school guidance.
!
viii
Reproduced from:
www.essentialschools.org/
reources/4
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Some ways advisory groups can be organized and scheduled:
• As a credit-bearing hour-long daily Family Group meeting,
including one day weekly set aside for help with academic
work. Mixed ages and grades. Adviser- student ratio 1:18.
(University Heights High School, New York City)
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• As a 30-minute Teacher Guided Assistance (TGA) period
scheduled midmorning to accommodate vocational students
coming and going from the school. Adviser- student ratio
1:17; mixed ages and grades. TGA advisers are chosen by
students, who sign up until group is full; new students are
assigned to groups. (Fairdale High School, Louisville,
Kentucky)
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• As a 15-minute time slot called Active Communication Time
(ACT) somewhere in the course of a 1 1/2-hour lunch
period. Home room is eliminated, but first period and last
period are lengthened by five minutes each for
announcements. Groups organized by grade level. Adviserstudent ratio 1:15-17; administrators also serve as advisers.
(Bellefonte Area High School, Pennsylvania)
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• As a lunch-period group meeting weekly, plus an individual
meeting between student and adviser for 20-25 minutes
every other week, plus a whole-school governing meeting
once weekly in the last long afternoon block. Mixed grade
levels. Adviser-student ratio 1:15. (Scarsdale Alternative
High School, New York)
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• As a 20-minute group meeting with adviser during lunch
period. Adviser-student ratio 1:8-10. Single grade level.
(Central Falls High School, Rhode Island)
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• As an hour-long period three times weekly (alternated with
health class), scheduled after major academic blocks and
before lunch. Mixed ages and grades. Adviser-student ratio
1:20-30. (Pasadena High School, California)
!
• As a 25-minute homeroom period. Same grade level.
Adviser-student ratio 1:25. One day monthly given to
individual counseling with all teachers plus peer group
counseling. (Paschal High School, Fort Worth, Texas)
Maury Nation serves as Director of the Tennessee Center for Safe and
Supportive Schools at Vanderbilt. He also is a Research Associate and
Assistant Professor in the Department of Human & Organizational
Development at Peabody.
Center for Safe and Supportive Schools at Vanderbilt University
[email protected]
(615) 343- 6176