Putting together your School Counseling Portfolio! Step 2: Gathering and Organizing

Hello again! :)

This is my second post in the school counseling portfolio series! :) If you missed the first post on planning and preparation, you can read it HERE. Once you've planned and prepared your portfolio and its content, the next step is to begin gathering what you need and organizing the contents 

For organizing, I purchased an accordion file for about $3 at Walmart. I used this to keep my portfolio contents organized by topic! For example, I have a section for each of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) domains. I have a section in each domain in my portfolio, so I have my materials organized in my accordion file. By doing this, I collect and organize all of my portfolio contents prior to putting it together, making the process easier and less overwhelming :)  File folders can work well also! 

For example, I have a section titled "Academic" in my accordion file. Everything labeled "Academic" will appear in my academic divider section in my portfolio! I do the same for each section so that everything stays organized. This is something that you can do as you go along. Doing little by little can also make the process less overwhelming! I will be doing a third post on assembling your portfolio soon! 

Keep Track- Know what you need to buy! Having a list of what you need can will be beneficial at the time of assembly! You may already have many things on hand, but it is good to know what you need, I have listed some of the items that I am using below: 

• Hole Punch (I purchased one for about $5 at walmart)
• Accordion File for organizing the content and materials
• 3 Ring Binder (Target has a great selection in awesome colors- mine is 1 1/2" in size)
• Clear sheet protectors- I bought a 50 pack just in case 
• Table of Contents- I plan to create this for easy access of my portfolio contents- this will go in the front of my binder
•  Dividers

Other materials that you may need if you wish to add decoration to your portfolio:

• Construction Paper/Card Stock 
• Glue Sticks
• Scissors

This about sums up this post! This is the gathering and organizing step in the portfolio process. Stay tuned for my third post on assembling your portfolio. Again, if you missed the first step you can read it here:

Putting together your School Counseling Portfolio! Step 1: Planning and Preparation

Do you have any questions/comments, or topics that you would like me to cover? Feel free to comment on the blog, facebook, or email at cheerfulcounseling@yahoo.com! I would love to hear from you! 

~Nicole