Picture this: A school counselor is having his third conversation with a student about her failing grades. Her grades are not improving, and the counselor is frustrated with the lack of academic improvement and meaningful dialogue in these conversations. In this presentation, participants will be given tools to help these conversations become student-focused and data-driven. Participants will learn about motivational interviewing (MI) and how it can be utilized in individual and group counseling. They will learn how to help students recognize and use the strengths that they already possess using MI. Finally, they will learn about simple ways to collect data from students to evaluate the success of the MI academic success groups.