Free Toolkit for School Counselors in Alternative Education Settings
Practical tools to strengthen your school counseling program and support students in alternative schools.
Why We Created This Toolkit
Serving as a school counselor in alternative education taught me just how complex—and critical—this work is.
For eight years, I faced the challenge of delivering comprehensive school counseling programs that met the urgent and varied needs of students, all while balancing limited resources.
What I discovered is that with the right tools, meaningful data and a dedicated team, it’s possible to create systems that not only respond to students’ immediate needs but also produce long-term, measurable impact.
That’s exactly why, with the collaboration of my team at Hatching Results, I created this toolkit.
Inside, you’ll find practical, ready-to-use strategies and resources designed to save you time, strengthen your program, and ensure every student in your care has access to the support they deserve.
It’s the kind of toolkit I wish I had earlier in my career—and one you can start applying right away to see results in your school.
Ebony Payno
Lead Professional Learning Specialist, Hatching Results
Former Alt Ed School Counselor
Designed Specifically for Alt Ed School Counselors
Whether you serve students in face-to-face programs, virtual programs, hybrid models, or independent study, you’ll find adaptable tools to help:
Build or refine a comprehensive school counseling program
Provide tiered supports that address academic, career, and social/emotional needs
Identify areas for growth using a resource-mapping approach
Develop systems that support a continuous improvement model
What You Get in the Alt Ed Toolkit
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MTMDSS Resource Mapping Planning Guide
Organize and align supports across every tier.
This guide helps school counselors in alternative settings identify resources, spot gaps, and deliver interventions more intentionally.
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Student-Centered, Data-Informed Decision-Making Cycle Activity
Plan, do, study, and act with purpose.
A simple process to design supports, use data to monitor effectiveness, and adjust in real time.
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One-Pager: Tips for Developing Meaningful Pre/Post Test Questions
Show real evidence of growth.
Clear Pre/Post Test questions allow you to demonstrate the positive impact of your interventions—keep this on hand for quick strategies that prove student outcomes.
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Sample School Counseling Referral Form
Streamline how you respond to student needs.
A consistent way to capture details, prioritize interventions, and act quickly—especially critical in nontraditional settings where students often need immediate support.
Getting Started with the Toolkit
Multi-Tiered, Multi-Domain System of Supports (MTMDSS)
Resource Mapping Planning Guide
This guide is especially valuable for school counseling programs in alternative education because it helps counselors organize and align supports across academic, social/emotional, and college/career domains within each tier.
In settings where student needs are often complex and resources limited, this guide provides a clear framework for identifying and strategically planning what’s available, where gaps exist, and how to deliver tiered interventions more intentionally.
By mapping resources through an MTMDSS lens, school counselors can work collectively to maximize impact, reduce duplication, and ensure every student has equitable access to the right supports at the right time.
Pick one focus area to begin.
We recommend starting with this tool to determine which supports are already in place:
About Hatching Results
At Hatching Results, we equip school counselors and leaders to design, implement, evaluate, and sustain data-driven programs that transform student outcomes. For over 20 years, our team has supported thousands of educators nationwide through professional learning, consulting, and coaching.
We specialize in helping schools and districts implement Multi-Tiered, Multi-Domain Systems of Supports (MTMDSS), ensuring equitable access and opportunities for all students—including those in alternative education settings.