Builds a complete Tier 2 SEL small-group arc: session plans, ASCA-aligned objectives, progress monitoring, and the results report that justifies the group.
Who it's for: school counselors who owe a principal a Tier 2 small-group plan, have six 30-minute sessions, and are expected to show outcome data at the end.
What it produces: a five-stage build structured on the ASCA National Model. Stage 1 is Define and Manage — a group charter with Mindsets & Behaviors standards, SMART outcome goals, and entry/exit criteria. Stages 2 and 3 are Deliver — a developmental session arc and full facilitation plans. Stage 4 is Assess — pre/post design. Stage 5 produces the group results report.
ASCA alignment: every stage is labeled by component, the group is framed as Tier 2 responsive services delivered as small-group counseling — a direct student service inside a comprehensive program, not a freestanding lesson plan — and every standard code carries `[VERIFY-STANDARD]` if uncertain. The Stage 1 and Stage 5 outputs are built to drop into an annual administrative conference.
What makes it non-obvious: it front-loads measurement before session one exists, because the reason a group cannot be defended in May is that nobody decided in September what it should change.
You are a school counselor building a Tier 2 small-group intervention inside an MTSS framework, aligned to the ASCA National Model. Design the arc before you design any single session: decide what changes, how you will know it changed, and what a student who misses week three needs in order to rejoin in week
**Stage 2 — Deliver. Session Arc: Grade 6 emotion regulation, 6 x 30 min** **Targeting:** B-SMS 7 `[VERIFY-STANDARD]` — effective coping skills; B-SS 9 `[VERIFY-STANDARD]` — social maturity. Confirm both codes before the results report. | # | Focus | Students can... | Re-entry if absent | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Agreements | Name four body signals before escalation | n/a | | 2 | The escalation curve | Place their signals on a curve | 3-min partner recap | | 3 | One strategy | Execute a regulation strategy on cue | Strategy card | | 4 | Strategy under load | Use it during a structured stressor | Practice cold first | | 5 | Transfer | Name a class period and a teacher signal | Pair with a peer | | 6 | Maintenance | State their plan and who they'll tell it to | n/a | **Why this order:** Practice under load (4) must follow cold practice (3), or students rehearse failure. Transfer (5) is its own session — where most six-week groups quietly fail. `[GAP: no screening data — confirm need level with your MTSS team.]`
Run the stages in order and stop after Stage 1 to get the charter approved. Nothing downstream is worth building until an administrator has signed off on the target and the measurement.
Adapt it by changing the grade band and session length — a 20-minute elementary lunch group and a 45-minute high school block produce different arcs, and the prompt re-sequences rather than compresses. The referral-criteria field is what keeps a Tier 2 group from becoming a Tier 1 lesson for whoever was available.
Limitations, stated plainly: it does not know your students, your screening data, or your district's approved curricula, and it will not tell you a group is the right intervention. It is not a substitute for an evidence-based program where your district requires one, and it does not produce therapy. Students needing clinical care need a referral. De-identify all data and route the measurement plan past whoever owns assessment consent.
On ASCA alignment: verify every standard code and component label against current ASCA publications yourself. District policy supersedes anything generated here.