Documentation Binder

Three weeks with students down, and I am finally feeling somewhat organized.  I am trying a binder system this year to document important encounters.  If you would like to start a binder of your own all of these pages can be found in my packet: Forms & More for the Counselor's Office.  However, these pages can easily be created by anyone that takes the time to do so.  Here is a peak inside my binder.

Above is the cover of my binder. 
 

On the left inside pocket I keep a stash of back to class passes.  These are passes that let the teachers know that I have seen the student and what time they left my office.

The first section is my counseling log.  I do not keep detailed notes, but I do log students that are in and out of my office.  This has been very beneficial in cases of bullying, proof of crisis response, and documentation of counseling as an intervention.

The second section is my phone call log.  I keep this to mostly track and document parent contacts.  Also, it is a great place to record phone numbers that are hard to track down or that have changed.

The third section is the page that I shared in my last post.  To read more about it click the image above.  Once you are linked you can download the page for free. 

The fourth section of my binder is where I keep teacher referral forms for counseling.  These are the forms that I give to teachers at the beginning of the year to use when they want to refer a student for counseling.

Inside the back pocket of my binder is where I keep my "Counseling in Progress" poster.  This is just a simple sign I put outside my door if I am working with a student and cannot be interrupted. 

Even though it has only been three weeks, I must say that I am liking my organized binder system.  I hope these ideas help get you organized too!

Getting Organized!

I love post-it notes...really I don't know many educators that don't have an obsession with them.  Here's my problem though - I use them to stay organized, but then having a million post-its all over the place ends up driving me nuts.  On top of that I have parents and agencies that give me business cards, and I don't have a great place to put all of this stuff.  I guess I finally got annoyed to the point that I decided I needed a better system.  Click on the page below if you would like to download and use my special information page for free! 

Each box is big enough that I can attach business cards.  I will also use this form to note special phone numbers and contacts and other random information that I am given throughout the year.  I printed about ten pages and added a new section to my counselor binder.  I already feel more organized, and I am happy to report that so far my new system is working much better.