Attending ASCA 2018? Tips to get you ready!

In less than a week I will be joining thousands of my school counseling colleagues at the American School Counselor Association annual conference in Los Angeles.  This will be my 5th ASCA  conference and I am excited to engage in some real, school counselor specific professional development about middle school.  Think of it like a "School Counselor buffet" with dozens and dozens of entrees. At the ASCA conference, you will find most any topic you desire to learn more about, plus new ideas for moving your program into the 21st century. In addition to the plethora of choices you have to fill your plate, (and I always have multiple choices in each time slot) there are the exhibitors with freebies, and the chance to connect with other school counselors.  It's especially exciting to meet in real life the individuals I've met on-line. 

As I am doing a little mental pre-packing, I thought I would share some items I am planning to bring to the ASCA conference.  

What to wear?  

I have seen people dressed in everything from shorts to business attire.  The key to dressing for ASCA is to consider your purpose. Are you attending only for your own professional development?   If so, wear what makes you comfortable.  Are you looking to network and make connections with other professionals? Maybe go with business casual.  Are you looking for a school counseling job? There will be school districts looking for new hires, so you might want to wear more business-type  clothing. You never know who you will be sitting next to on a shuttle bus or in a conference session.  Whatever you decide to wear, be sure to bring a sweater or jacket as conference rooms are usually VERY cold.

What to bring?  

Technology, charging cables, and power packs.  This year ASCA is going paperless so you will need some sort of technology (phone, tablet or laptop) for accessing the ASCA app to see all different sessions being presented.  Be sure to download the ASCA18 app and start looking at sessions before you arrive.  Sometimes, presenters will have participants engage in an on-line activity and there are times you may want to photograph PowerPoint slides or tweet to your school district about your awesome learning.  Batteries drain quickly and electrical outlets are a premium so bring your own pre-charged battery pack and cables for back-up.  You will be glad you did!

Paper, pens, business cards.  Some like to type, some like to write, but even if you like to type, you may want the old fashioned pen and paper too.  Business cards are important for entering exhibitor drawings, making new friends, and networking with other school counseling professionals.

School purchase order or personal credit card.  I love being able to actually look through materials  I have only been able to view in a catalog. Whether it is from an exhibitor or the ASCA bookstore, I always find something I want and with a school purchase order have been able to make a purchase without it coming out of my bank account.  Check with your administration and bookkeeper.

Food!

For breakfast, ASCA is providing "lite bites" from 8-9 am in the exhibit hall before sessions start.  Some folks bring pre-packaged snacks and a water bottle for mid-morning or mid-afternoon breaks.  ASCA also provides a nice box lunch in the exhibit hall since attendees have limited time between sessions to leave, get lunch and return to the conference.  In the evenings there are usually groups who have connected at various sessions who go to dinner at local eateries. Don't be shy, introduce yourself and ask your new friends about their dinner plans.  School Counselors tend to be very friendly and inclusive.

Optional Box for Mailing.  Last year I flattened out a medium size box and put it in the bottom of my suitcase.  I had so much in the way of freebies and books I had purchased I needed to send some things home rather than pay the additional weight on my luggage.  Something to think about.

Can't attend ASCA?

Sometimes there are barriers that prevent us from attending conferences.  ASCA knows this and has a Virtual Conference option available.  Click HERE to learn more about the cost of registering as a virtual attendee and the sessions being live streamed.

I can't wait to get to LA and hear all the great professional development waiting for me!  I will be sharing highlights from my ASCA experience, so be sure to check back for all the details.

Is Being in the Special Area Rotation Right for You?

Call me crazy, but I LOVE being in the Special Area rotation at my school!   Will this schedule work for everyone? No, it depends on the size of your school, your special area scheduling and resources.  Have you been asked to be in the Special Area Rotation?  Don't panic!  Read on about how I've made this decision work for me, the benefits I have experienced, and the questions you should consider if you think you might be interested in experiencing one of the most worthwhile things I have done in years!

How it Works on a Daily Basis
The first thing you must know is I am NOT in the schedule full-time.  I split a 6 class daily schedule with our Media Specialist and each of us does three classes a day. Each class is 45 minutes long so that comes out to only 2 hours and 15 minutes.  I still have 2 hours and 45 minutes to see students individually or in group and that takes into account I actually  take my ever elusive lunch and planning period of 30 minutes each.

Our special area schedule is divided into A week and B week.  On A week, I have the first 3 classes of the day (grades 2,1,and 4) and Media has the last 3 classes of the day (grades K,3,5).  That means I am finished with class by 11:00 and have the rest of the day for lunch groups, individuals or whatever I need. On B week I have the last 3 classes of the day and Media has the first 3 classes.  With this schedule I am free from 8:00 to 11:35 and have classes until the end of the day at 2:00. Teachers get a calendar labeling the weeks A and B to help them keep track. If a class falls on a holiday, or a class goes on a field trip the lesson is missed the same as if it were Art, Music, or PE.  When I have to be out, I get a half day sub and prepare a sub appropriate video with activity or coloring sheet for my classes. I am not comfortable leaving my regular lessons for a sub! I never miss an important meeting, conference, or professional development opportunity.

I have my own classroom which is wonderful and since teachers are not in the room for the lesson, I take the last few minutes of the class when the teacher comes to pick up the students to summarize the lesson, highlighting any important vocabulary or concepts I would like for them to reinforce.

Benefits
1) Scheduling!
Before being in the specials rotation, I had to chase down teachers to schedule my classroom lessons. What a frustration and a waste of time! In the days prior to high stakes testing, it was relatively easy to get in the classroom for lessons and pull students for groups at anytime.  In addition to high stakes testing, We have Common Core, and teacher evaluations based on student performance. This makes taking students out of class or scheduling classroom counseling lessons nearly impossible.  Teachers are extremely protective of all their instructional time and at my school they were all asking for the last 30 minutes on Friday for their lesson! You know how squirrely those lessons would be!  Being in the rotation gives me regular access to students and a ready made schedule.  No more chasing teachers to sign-up or walking into classes where the teacher says, "Oh, we have you today?  We were just headed out for recess," or "I forgot you were coming, we're taking a test."

2) Knowing All Your Students
I think this is the best part.  My school has about 580 students and I am able to get to know them ALL and they know me.  When I see students for individual counseling we have a frame of reference from classroom lessons that allows us to apply previously learned concepts and ideas.  Whether a small problem or crisis counseling, all students have a large "bank" of skills from which to draw from our work together in class.  They "get" what I am talking about and referencing from class lessons and activities.  This creates a more productive individual counseling time and reinforces the problem solving skills of students.

3) More Services, More Students, Less Time
This is another reason I love being in the specials schedule!  It is the best way to deliver the most services to the greatest number of students for the least amount of time.  In a comprehensive school counseling program ASCA states, "Every student gets everything." Classroom counseling is the most effective way to deliver those lessons deemed essential by your school data.  The ASCA recommendation of 80% direct/indirect services to students includes classroom counseling, but at no specified percentage.  My 15 classes a week only has me spending 56.2% of my time with my students.  I still have 43.8% of my day remaining in which to see groups and individuals.  By seeing all classes twice a month I am able to cover a wide range of topics from social skills to bullying to career education  to personal safety.  Not only does every student get everything, but I feel our regular lesson schedule gives my students the time to also explore and practice these skills.

4) Taking Classroom Lessons to a Deeper Level
The opportunity to really explore a topic with my students is another thing I especially love about being in the special area schedule!  Rather than 1 bully lesson and 1 RRW lesson in the fall, I was able to go much deeper. I did 4 lessons on bullying and cyberbullying and 3 lessons on healthy living and peer pressure. We were able to discuss topics and try activities I would never have had the opportunity to do otherwise.  Because of my regular classroom schedule I have been able to pilot 2 different Personal Safety curriculums in grades K-3 and dedicate 8 sessions to thoroughly training my student mediators. Before being in the special area schedule, lessons felt rushed and like I was only scratching the surface of a topic.  With more class lessons, I can take the time to engage students in meaningful conversation and role play rather than rushing to finish a topic in 30-40 minutes.  It's amazing the things students come up with and share when you have the luxury of time to allow them to explore a topic.

5) No Extra Duties!!!
No, maybe this is the BEST part!  Since I am part of the the special area schedule that rotates each week, it was impossible for my Principal to put me on any kind of cafeteria, playground, or testing duty.  She tried a few times then realized, "No, you can't do that you have class."  You know, I would do classsroom lessons anyway, but choosing to put those lessons in the specials schedule has eliminated my availability for non-counselor related duties. Awesome!!!

6) Administration Learns the Meaning of Emergencies
Prior to being in the special area rotation, I would often get called to the office to help with "emergencies."  Only about 99 times out of a 100 the calls were not counseling emergencies, but discipline cases that administration did not want to deal with.  I don't know about you, but I want to stay as far away from discipline as possible.  Yes, I am happy to follow up with a student after the referral and consequence phase to develop a plan for the future. However, I DO NOT want to be there when the student is "getting in trouble with administration." It is important for administration to understand real emergencies are those regarding potential threats of harm to self or others, a mental health crisis, abuse/neglect, or family traumas.

Counselor Concerns
1) Handling Real Counseling Emergencies
I know lots of School Counselors hate being in the specials rotation because they feel it prevents them from responding to a student crisis.  However, my question is what do you do now when you are in a class or a group and such a crisis comes up?  What happens then?  In my school, if it is a real counseling emergency, my administration will send someone to cover for me like the AP, media specialist, a teacher with an intern, or the academic coach.  Other situations that are serious but not of an urgent nature, were handled after class.

2) Managing Classroom Behavior
Some School Counselors have concerns about teachers being out of the room and having to manage the class.  This does not have to be an issue.  I have my own classroom, therefore I have my own expectations, rules, and procedures.  Even if you are going into a teacher's classroom, establishing your own behavioral expectations is important for good classroom management.  It is also a lot easier than trying to remember the different rules and procedures for 34 different classes. 

I have heard School Counselors express concerns about having to be a classroom disciplinarian and how it is contrary to being a School Counselor.  I agree, that is why I manage my classroom the same way I parent my children with love and specifically communicated expectations for behavior. We are a PBIS school and I teach and re-teach my students our school-wide behavioral expectations and what is expected in my classroom. Because I am constantly reinforcing Perform personal best, Act responsibility, Work and play safely and Show respect and reminding the students in a positive way what that looks and sounds like I have few behavior problems.  For more ideas about classroom management check out my post about Positive Behavior Cones, 3 Simple Ideas for Managing Classroom Behavior, the  PBIS website, CHAMPS  by Randy Sprick or Doug Lemov's book, Teach Like a Champion.

3) So Many Lessons, So Much Planning
First let me say, stay calm.  Don't try to plan a separate lesson for every single topic in every single grade level.That is a recipe for burn-out or insanity.  Plan two lessons, one primary, one intermediate for each topic. That's year one. You will get to do these lessons numerous times and really make them your own, figuring out what works and what doesn't at each grade level. In year 2, create two more for each topic, building on what you created the year before, doing the new lesson for everyone who previously heard year one's lessons.  In year 3, create two more lessons for each topic, again teaching it to those who have heard the previous lessons for year 1 and 2.  And now, you have a separate lesson for each grade level and quite possibly, your sanity as well.
Here is a link to a post about exploring free lesson resources on the web.

4) Teacher Does Not Hear the Lesson
In a perfect world teachers, parents, and administrators would all reinforce the fabulous lessons and concepts we teach.  However, I feel like these people are adults with relatively good life skills and they don't have to hear all the basic details of my lessons.  A nice summary at the end before returning the class to the teacher or an email or hand-out of lesson highlights is sufficient.  If it is a lesson that is being shared across the grade levels or school-wide, where you are introducing a new skill set or vocabulary to all the students, then sharing a 5 minute explanation at faculty meeting can be just as effective.

5) This is NOT Why I Became a School Counselor
Many School Counselors have stated "This is not why I became a Counselor." And I agree.  To a point.  ASCA tells us an important part of a comprehensive school counseling program is providing counseling for ALL students.  If I spend the majority of my time with individuals and small groups I am not providing a comprehensive program that meets the needs of ALL.  ASCA does not specify the percentage of time to spend in each of the direct services to students, but tells us that is to be determined by the School Counselor based on the needs of the school as indicated by the data and the school size.

Questions to Ask
Interested in being in the specials rotation but still not sure it is right for you? Here are some questions you should consider and discuss with your administration before deciding if this is something you would like to try at your school.

Do I enjoy sharing classroom counseling?
Do I have good classroom management skills?  
Do I have enough curriculum?  
Are there resources for purchasing curriculum?
Will I be allowed to choose my lesson topics and curriculum?
Do I have a bank of lessons from which to draw?
Will I have a classroom or be expected to travel from room to room?
If I am traveling will I always be allowed to access the technology in the classroom?
Will I be in the schedule half-day or all day?
Will I have input about what the schedule will look like?
What will our procedure be in the event of a student emergency?
What will happen with the special area schedule during state testing time?
What provisions will be made for the School Counselor absence in case of illness, workshop, or personal time?
What is the expectation for classes missed due to school holidays or school- wide events?
What if the arrangement isn't working? How long will we give it and how will we handle removing the School Counselor from the schedule?

Choosing to be in the special area rotation was a big decision for me and one I have not regretted.  It has allowed me to control my calendar, protected me from extraneous non-counselor duties, and has gotten me out of handling "student emergencies" that were really disciplinary situations and not a counseling crisis.  In many ways being in the special area schedule has simplified and enhanced my services to students and allowed me to provide a more comprehensive school counseling program.

I would be interested to hear your experiences about being in the special area rotation.  What benefits or issues have you seen?  Please feel free to post below or on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page.

Day 12 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

We've made it to Day 12 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge. You know, this much gathering and analyzing of data has made me realize, if I am determined to create a data driven school counseling program from this challenge, I should go ahead and pursue RAMP certification. I've got the data, I'm developing goals, I've gotten a commitment from my principal, and I'm now beginning to work through the process.  If you are not familiar with RAMP, check out the ASCA website and find out what it takes for your school counseling program to become a Recognized ASCA Model Program.

Behavior Report Card Data
Now on to Day 12.  Today we are looking at report card data.  In my county that not only means a student's academic grades, but their behavioral grades as well.  We have a behavior rating system with our report cards that asks teachers to rate students on academic skills such as work study skills needed to learn, social skills such as positive interactions with peers and adults, and self control such as demonstrating positive interactions in the school and classroom even in stressful situations.  Students receive a rating of 1, 2, or 3.  Receiving a 1 indicates the student is performing well and there is no problem.  A rating of 2 indicates a student is experiencing some difficulty in this area.  If a student receives a 3, there is evidence of serious behavioral concerns that need to be addressed with interventions.

As I examined the positive interactions data, I found my students were meeting the expectation of 80% across the board. However, 38% of my ESE students were not meeting expectations on academic skills, neither were 32% of my African American students, and 26% of my Hispanic students. I also saw an area of weakness with 29% of my males in grades 1, 3 and 4. Twenty-three percent of students struggling with self-control were 1st graders.

Now that I have some data I have direction. I  think I will survey the teachers in grades 1, 3, and 4 using a Google form to find out which of my students in those grades are struggling with which specific academic skills. The Google form will allow me to sort students by need.  So rather than do a generic study skills/academic skills group, with data from Google forms, I can design something more prescriptive.

Academic Report Card Data
Reviewing report card grades was an eye opener for me.  I did not have the nice graphs I used for disaggregating the Behavioral Report Card data, so I went through page by page.  Looking at names and grades, making note of whether students were ESE or gen ed, I was struck not only by the number of failing grades, but at some of the students whose names I found there. Something more has to be going on when you have students who have passing grades in every subject but one or two.  This will require greater investigation on my part with teachers and with students.  I feel as if I have been missing an important service element to my students and teachers. There is much I can do to help students achieve success. I know I still have data to disaggregate, but I believe the report card is where I will shine my flashlight and focus my goal for this challenge.

The Counselor's Role
 How could I have not examined grades this closely before?  I guess I felt this was the teacher's domain and no place to stick my nose. Besides, I already had enough to do, and some of it not even School Counselor related!  But now I see I was wrong. If we as School Counselors don't get in the data and expose the academic, social, and emotional needs at our schools, that only we can meet, we will continue to be assigned inappropriate roles and duties. Data exposes the needs. School Counselors have to be ready with the solutions to meet those needs. Data driven school counseling is the way to develop a comprehensive school counseling program that fully utilizes the skills of the School Counselor allowing us to meet the needs of all our students.

Lucky 13
Tomorrow is day 13!  We will be disaggregating Early Warning System data (or whatever you call it at your school).  This is the at risk population of students who are over age for their grade, have attendance, academic, or discipline issues, are an ESE or ESOL student, or have a level 1 or 2 on state standardized tests.

Have you been participating in the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge?  If so please share how it is going on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page or below in the comment section.  I would love to hear what is happening with your Data Challenge.  If you are wondering what the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge is all about, you can read more HERE.

Keep disaggregating!

Google Forms: Collect and Analyze Data to Advocate for Your School Counseling Program

Many years ago, when I first started as a "Guidance Counselor" (that's what we were called back then), I had a wonderful, forward thinking, district level "Guidance" Coordinator.  She saw the yearly budget battles that each Spring found state legislators discussing cuts to School Counselor, Media, Music, and Art positions and decided to do something about it.  As a proactive individual, she believed in the power of data and was determined to protect the jobs of her Counselors.  She had us start collecting data long before collecting data was in everyone's consciousness.  Our "guidance" logs tracked how our time was spent daily and was then compiled into monthly reports to indicate the amount of time we spent performing direct and indirect services to students.  This data collection helped secure School Counselor positions in every elementary school in our county at a time when many other positions were being cut.   Today logging how we spend our time is more important (and easier) than ever as School Counselors around the country advocate for their positions and the ability to determine how their services are utilized in their schools.

As a member of the Facebook group The Elementary School Counselor Exchange, I have read numerous posts about record keeping, accountability, paperless forms and surveys, and a general feeling of  distress at the misuse of our specialized education, abilities, and skills.  In many schools we are the most expensive lunchroom hostess, hall monitor, or registrar to be found.  We are being asked to perform jobs that do not require a Masters degree in School Counseling, and in so doing are being prevented or severely limited in performing the student-centered services that do.  When you think about it, this makes school districts and administrators very poor stewards of the human resources they have in their School Counselor.  Rather than investing their School Counselor resource in services and programs that can close the achievement gap,  administrators are requiring School Counselors to perform tasks that could easily be performed by any number of reasonably intelligent and responsible adults on campus.

The ASCA National Model clearly outlines the role of the School Counselor and gives examples of what is and is not appropriate usage of a School Counselor's time.  ASCA recommends 80% of a school counselors time be spent in direct and indirect services to students. In situations where the skills and services of the School Counselor are being misused or under utilized, it is even more compelling to provide the data that gives an accounting of how we spend our day.  Because many of the things we do are not visible to the eyes of our administrators or colleagues, there is a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation about what our job entails. There is also the confidential nature of some of our services that are not readily apparent to those who evaluate us or have the final say in our programming.  Therefore, we are often called upon to do jobs that
actually impair or interfere with the job of being a School Counselor.  This is where Google Forms can help a School Counselor provide the process data needed in documenting how their day is spent.  There is so much more that can be done with Google Forms in terms of perception data too, but for now let's start with how a School Counselor's day is spent.

The Google Form here is a compilation of duties and responsibilities shared with me by my School Counselor colleagues from the Facebook group The Elementary School Counselor Exchange. The variety of  unrelated duties represented in this form have been assigned to School Counselors leaving them, in many cases, without the time or support to pursue relevant school and student needs.   It is my hope that School Counselors can use this form to demonstrate, with data and visual representations of graphs, how their time is being spent, both in an effort to create change and to show progress towards that change.

The link for the Counselor Activity Log above allows you to make a copy so you can make any additions or deletions you want  in order for this form to be more representative of your specific situation.  To make your own copy, first open the above link. You should see the form in the gray version.  Don't edit yet.  Once opened, go to File in upper left corner.  Click on File and you will see Make a copy. Click on Make a copy, then you will be asked to rename the form and click ok.  Next, close my form you just used to make your copy. Now go to your Google Drive and look for the form you just renamed. Also be sure, the word shared  is not beside your form.  Shared means your information is not private.  Next click on the name of your form and you should see the gray version ready for you to make your edits.  Now you are ready to make edits and personalize my form for your usage!

A WORD OF WARNING!
Remember, I made the link to this form public so I could share it with you all.  That means the responses  (if anyone is thinking of just using the link to this form) are public too.  Anyone on the web can see it. So please, do not put student information in the form above before making your own private copy.  Usage of this specific link without copying to your Google drive first will result in your data being recorded in a shared file and anyone on the internet can see your confidential student information.

As you begin making entries to your form, data will be recorded in a spread sheet like this one.  Your Google Drive will have a document titled with the name of your form and the word responses in parentheses. If you want to sort your data, open the responses document, go to Data, click on the column you want to sort and choose sort from A-Z or sort from Z-A.  When you are ready to view your data in graphs, open your form, click on Responses and then Summary of Responses  to view your graphs and data.

Many thanks to the School Counselors who shared their unrelated duties with me for the creation of this form.  It is my hope you will find it useful as you document your daily activities and strive to gain the support you need to bring your program in line with the ASCA National Model.

Do you have a method for recording how you deliver services to students? What have you found most effective for collecting process data and giving administrators an understanding of your job role?

If you are interested in more information about Goolge forms, or how you can quickly and easily create your own, follow this link to my post with step by step instructions, with pictures!

A "first-timer's" view of ASCA#14

Registered and ready to go!

It's been a few weeks since ASCA, and I am still trying to process the experience!  So often in school we use an acrostic to help our students communicate about themselves or an experience.  What better way to share with you the jumble of positive thoughts and feelings I have about attending ASCA for the first time.

A  is for AWESOME  

Everything about ASCA was awesome!  The facilities, the speakers, sessions,  and networking!  We stayed  in the Swan of the beautiful Swan and Dolphin hotel and were able to easily move back and forth between the daily sessions.  A delicious buffet lunch was provided on Monday with Greek salad, pasta, chicken and fish, sauteed veggies and assorted rolls. On Tuesday, a yummy box lunch was served with a sandwich, chips, potato salad, cookie, and apple.  These lunches were thoughtfully provided on site in the exhibit hall so shopping the vendors, networking, eating, and easy access to the next session was all super convenient.

S is for SENSATIONAL

The speakers for this year's convention were absolutely sensational.  From senior vice president of the Magic Pat Williams, to Steadman Graham "Oprah's Man" as he referred to himself at one point in his speech, to our  incredible supporter in the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama, to educator and author of gender studies of both girls and boys, Rosalind Wiseman.  Their words and ideas were new and old, educational, inspiring, motivating and uplifting.

Pat Williams talked about great leaders.  He said great leaders have vision, they're about the results, they persevere and communicate their vision.  He said great leaders have an absence of arrogance, are competent, solve problems, recognize good talent and have a serving heart. (Sounds like a lot of counselors I know and respect) One quote that really stood out for me was, "Not all readers will be leaders, but all leaders will be readers."

Steadman Graham inspired us with  his story of growing up and never giving up.  He encouraged us to have vision and to organize the things we love, our passions and our skills, around our vision.  Mr. Graham also reminded us it is not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond.  How many times have we said that to a student?  He quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saying., "Be the best you can be at whatever you do every single day." To conclude his speech he shared the poem The Race by Dr. D.H. Groberg and repeated this phrase from the final stanza. "For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.  And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall."


First Lady Michelle Obama was larger than life.  Her presence even on the jumbotron was electric.  Her personality was warm and gracious and she had an easy smile and laugh.  Even as people were "woo hooing" in the audience she would give a smile, a little chuckle and acknowledge the shouters.  Her speech was right on and for the first time in all my years of counseling I felt as if someone really understood the importance of what we do.  It wasn't us telling our administrators or school boards or legislators how important our job is, but the First Lady of the United States telling us how important we are.  I was captivated!  To see a YouTube video of her speech, click here.


Rosalind Wiseman,  educator and author of Queen Bees and Wannabes  closed the conference with her session describing her recent work with boys.  In her latest book, Masterminds and Wingmen:  Helping Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker Room Tests, Girlfriends and the New Rules of Boy World she tells us boys are not easy, they are complex. She also told us about a free ebook she has written with the boys who she worked with over the 2 year period of writing Wingmen  called The Guide:  Managing Douchebags, Recruiting Wingman, and Attracting Who You Want.  She found that the boys needed a boy friendly guide to help them with problems they faced daily about friendship, girls, teasing and parents.  Go to her webpage for for your free download.

 C is for Creative Colleagues  
The professional development I received in the 2 1/2 days I was at ASCA far outweighs anything I have participated in for a very long time.  The ideas presented by my counseling colleagues from around the country were just what I needed to give my school counseling program and myself a boost.
Below are just a few of the great sessions I attended.

Branding and Marketing your School Counseling Program presented by Jeremy Goldman and Jeff Ream. These guys are tech savvy and shared marketing ideas using the ASCA national model and their data to drive their decision making to establish their brand and market their school counseling programs.  Jeremy and Jeff told us, "Branding is what people say about your program when you are not in the room."  Hmmm, that gives me lots to consider!  Build your brand at the intersection of perception, process and outcome data.   Marketing awareness increases the use of your school services and promotes a strong curriculum.  It advocates your program goals to parents, students and other stakeholders like administration and the district office.  And isn't that what we all need?

I also loved the session Wi-Fi to Sci-Fi presented by Angela Poovey who talked with us about her book clubs; how she selects the students, the books, runs the meetings and uses technology.  She provided a wealth of information and you can see her blog entry and a link to her presentation by clicking on her blog Life on the Fly Counselor.

Work Smarter, Not Harder was the title of the session by my new friend Barbara Micucci.  Barb is a bundle of energy who encouraged us to reflect on the program we have and expand on it, to think outside the box,  and ask what can I do to add one more piece to what I already do?  She shared about her various programs to engage parents:  homework workshops with parents and students, book clubs focusing on needs of boys with parents blogging online about the book,  mother/daughter activities to build self esteem in girls,  a cyber safety book club and workshop for parents and my favorite,  a great program  she has been using for 4 years called Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students).  What a phenomenal way to get Dads on campus volunteering and participating in their child's education.  For more information about Watch D.O.G.S. click here or go to Barb's website to find a copy of her ASCA powerpoint.  So many great ideas, I can't wait to get started!!!

A is for Amazing
Besides the amazing things I learned in the break out sessions, I also met some amazing new friends who helped me learn how to "tweet".  Meet  blogger Franciene Sabens of School Counselor Space and Lindsay Moore from Alaska who were my "Twitter Tutors."  These ladies were wonderful, with tons of twitter knowledge and the patience of saints!  They spent more than an hour with me answering my questions, helping me get rid of an "inappropriate" follower,  and showing  me how to set up both a professional account and a school account.  I had never really considered the need for two separate accounts, but questions about protecting the privacy of my students when using Twitter confirmed the need for the "strictly school" account.   In the coming school year, I am planning to start implementing Twitter with my parents and "tweeting" things about our students and school throughout the week.

Lindsay, me and Franciene

ASCA 2015 anyone?

You may have been to your state conference before and found it to be a great experience, I know I have.   However, as someone who has now attended both state and national conferences I can tell you there is nothing quite like it.  While it is an expensive venture paying for membership, conference fees, travel, hotel and food, it is more than worth it!  Luckily for me Orlando was a convenient drive and I was able to get my principal to cover the cost of the conference.  But next year,  since Phoenix is a cross country excursion,  I am already saving, scouting plane fares, and corralling roommates in order to be sure I  can  attend.  Start saving now, the professional development, networking and personal growth are priceless!  Hope to see you all in Phoenix in 2015!