This article may use affiliate links. Which simply means, if you click on a link in this post, I may or may not get paid for sharing the resource with you. Read the full disclosure here.
Are you struggling to reach kids that are not on your caseload? Do you feel like there are kids in your building who may need to talk to you but they’re too afraid or shy?
What if I told you there is a way you can reach EVERY kid in your building?
You’re thinking… no way! I have about 500 kids in my building.
You heard me correctly and YES you can get all 500 kids seen with the Minute Meeting.
What is a Minute Meeting?
The minute meeting is exactly what it sounds like… it is a very short meeting with every student in the building. This may seem a bit daunting, however, you can streamline the process to go very quickly. The forms themselves are very short, where the students answer yes or no. There are no lengthy responses required. Although, sometimes they will tell you the whole story! These questions are basically about home, school, friends, and feelings.
After meeting with the student, the Minute Meeting gives the counselor an idea of what students need to be checked-in on and what students are urgent. Doing a Minute Meeting at the beginning of school really helps get the individual counseling students going in a timely manner and efficiently because of the ability to assess the entire building.
How do I do Minute Meetings?
Scheduling Minute Meetings is very important. For starters, it allows the teacher to know when you are coming in and provides enough time for you to come and be able to see every student in the class. It really doesn’t matter who you start with first… for example, sometimes I work from 4th Grade down to Kindergarten or vice versa. Just make sure to keep track of the classrooms you have visited. Another way to keep track of who you have seen is to print out class lists. I just highlight the students that I visit with. That way I know who to catch later.
My biggest piece of advice… do Minute Meetings with Google Forms! You will NOT be disappointed! None of us want to take home 500 paper surveys to sort through. Google Forms will do all the hard work for you and create beautiful data points in the results section when you’re all done.
So, this is my actual process…
- Pull up my Minute Meeting Survey in Google Forms
- Go to the classroom with my laptop or tablet and class list
- Explain to the class that you will be calling out students for a very quick one minute survey
- Sit in the hallway outside the door with my things
- Call one student out and they fill out the form (sometimes, I read it)
- Student goes back in and gets the next person on my list
Easy right? I know, it goes by really quick and students have a chance to be heard and seen in a timely manner.
What are the Benefits of Minute Meetings?
There are so many benefits to doing Minute Meetings! First of all, you are literally connecting with every student in your building. They have an opportunity to share things they are struggling with and you have the opportunity to see who needs to be seen first. Also, if there are any new students in the building, you get to meet them and have a one-on-one chat with them.
When I’m done with all the grade levels I go back to the Google Form and look at the results section. The form tells me who I need to meet with right away. It also tells me which students are struggling with certain topics and then I can break those up into small groups!
If you are interested in seeing my Minute Meeting Form… click the image below!
I really LOVE doing Minute Meetings! I find them extremely helpful because you’re able to get so much information right from the start!
If you do Minute Meetings I would love to hear how you do them!
Thanks for reading!
Join in the FUN!
Sign up today to get exclusive info about product updates, blog articles, freebies + MUCH MORE!
Hi Jessica!
I am a current follower and have a question regarding minute meetings. I am in the process of conducting my “Meet the school counselor” lesson with plans to finish up next month. I end each lesson with a needs assessment to collect student data. After reading more about minute meetings, I’m feeling like the needs assessment isn’t providing me with results that help me get to really know my kiddos. Instead, it is giving me an overview of what our schools needs (as it should). I’m wondering if you think the minute meetings would be overkill if I decided to set them up in the next month or so? Even though I provide students the opportunity to “share anything else with your school counselor” on the needs assessment, like you said, they may be too shy to put anything. I reassure my students that their assessment results are only being viewed by me but some of them still don’t share or ever come see me and I know they could benefit! What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
Hey Molly! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and reach out to me! I totally understand your situation and wanting to meet the needs of all the kids! For me, I do needs assessments with parents, staff and students every three years to give me a game plan on my lessons. I also do Minute Meetings every year. So, on that third year they are double doing it. Just like you said, I think they both give valuable information that’s different from one another. What sets the minute meeting apart, is the individual attention you get to provide to students. If you hand them a needs assessment, even with caring instructions, they may not write down their worries. However, if you are looking them in the eye, on-on-one they may be more apt to open up to you. I hope this helps!!! ๐
How often during the year do you conduct minute meetings?
Hey Rebecca!
For me it really depends on how the school year is going. Now, I do them all around October after the rush of school starting happens and then I reevaluate around January. Sometimes I do another round then and sometimes I don’t. There are years when kids naturally utilize the referral system and then there are years when things slow down and get quiet around then. If things slow down… I do another round! Because in that case, there probably are kids who need my services and are just not referring. ๐ I hope that helps answer your question and your able to make Minute Meetings fit for you and your building! ๐
Are consent forms required for students before they can participate in a minute meeting?
Hello Lindy!
That would be a question you would want to ask your admin if you are unsure. There might be different laws in different areas. For me, we consider these to be a part of determining the needs of students and a continuation of the counseling program. If there is a need for a student to meet me one on one, a consent form would go home.
I saw that you give a needs assessment to students, staff and parents-
i have only given a needs assessment to staff regarding SEL needs for class counseling curriculum-
for parent and student assessments, do you use the same one? or make a different one? Do you have a copy of the assessment you use for parents I can see?
Hello! Thanks for asking! Yes, I give out three separate Needs Assessments one for parents, students and staff. That way I’m able to see the all the needs from different perspectives. Here’s the assessments I use… https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/School-Counseling-Needs-Assessment-Staff-Student-Parent-Assessments-3182800
Thanks again! Hope this helps! ๐
Thanks for all of this! I am curious how you present the results/data to the classroom teachers. Do you have any tips for sharing this in an organized and easy to follow way.
Thanks for asking Nikki! Yes, so the great thing about Google Forms is the data collection piece is summarized very nicely for you under the results section of the form. When I’m sharing with others, I look at the data as a whole and point out general information. Such as 25% of students say they do not have friends and/or 30% of students said they needed to talk to me about something. Once you gather the information you feel is important to share. I would head over to Canva.com and use their infographic templates to plug in the information. This way it’s short, cute and to the point. ๐ I hope that helped answer your question! Thanks for reading!
Hey! This upcoming school year I will start working at a primary school (pre-k through 1st). Do you think minute meetings are appropriate for this age group?
Hello Brittany! Thank you for asking… I think doing a Minute Meeting with any age group could be beneficial. Just keep in mind the nature of the quick visit and asking the questions in an age appropriate way. I have personally had success with K and 1st. There are always some who get distracted and may not be focused enough to give an honest answer and that’s fine. Just make a quick note to check back on them later one on one. ๐
Thanks for asking and have a great school year!