TPC Journal V7, Issue 1-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 1 35 Method Setting Five participating schools were chosen due to their participation in the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grant. Specific population and demographic data related to all five schools can be found in Table 1. Table 1 Brief Description of the Five Schools in the Study School Enrollment & Grades Served Location Ethnicity Rates Gender Rates Socio-Economic Indicators School 1 1,484 Students Grades 9–12 Suburban/Rural African American-0.8% American Indian-0% Asian American-1.2% European American-95.8% Hispanic American-0.9% Two or More Races-1.2% Female-50.2% Male-49.8% Qualifying for Free Lunch-28% Qualifying for Reduced Lunch-7.6% School 2 1,154 Students Grades 6–8 Suburban/Rural African American-1.1% American Indian-0.1% Asian American-0.7% European American-94.1% Hispanic American-2% Two or More Races-2% Female-49% Male-51% Qualifying for Free Lunch-33.5% Qualifying for Reduced Lunch-7.8% School 3 325 Students Grades 7–12 Urban African American-2.8% American Indian-0% Asian American-0.6% European American-95.1% Hispanic American-1.2% Two or More Races-0.3% Female-54.5% Male-45.5% Qualifying for Free Lunch-68.6% Qualifying for Reduced Lunch-8.6% School 4 570 Students Grades 6–8 Rural African American-1.4% American Indian-0% Asian American-0.2% European American-97.5% Hispanic American-0.5% Two or More Races-0.4% Female-48.4% Male-51.6% Qualifying for Free Lunch-50.5% Qualifying for Reduced Lunch-7.9% School 5 471 Students Grades 6–8 Urban African American-11.5% American Indian-0.4% Asian American-0.4% European American-69% Hispanic American-10% Two or More Races-7.9% Female-45.2% Male-54.8% Qualifying for Free Lunch-62.2% Qualifying for Reduced Lunch-6.4% Note : The demographic categories are listed as reported by the state reporting system. Participants A total of 2,725 students participated in the study with roughly equal numbers of male (50.1%) and female (49.9%) students. A relatively large percentage of participants (41.2%) qualified for free or