Developing Comprehensive Student Services Systems in Secondary Schools
Educators in school districts across the country have expressed a
need for help in developing a comprehensive student services
system. This publication has been developed in response to that
need. It serves as follow-up to a paper developed by the National
Center for Research in Vocational Education’s Office of Student
Services (OSS) that offered a rationale and a model for a
comprehensive student services system–Student Services:
Achieving Success for All Secondary Students. In the text, the
reader will find a description of the services high schools
should provide under such a system. This paper also focuses on
the common features of a comprehensive student services delivery
system and provides a description of three initiatives. The final
section offers a guide to developing a comprehensive student
services system.
Each of the sections in this publication contains questions and
activities that will help school districts in the process of
developing or redesigning their student services system. Because
each school system is unique, specific solutions are not offered,
but, rather, simple, practical steps educators can use to build a
system to meet their school’s unique needs are suggested. This
publication is designed for use in conjunction with the OSS
BRIEF, Improving Student Services in Secondary Schools, included
in Appendix A.
Matias, Z. B., & Maddy-Bernstein, C. (1997, November). Developing comprehensive student services systems in secondary schools. Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.