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I cannot believe we are already in April! I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy some time off with family and friends, or some restful time to yourself. You are in the homestretch!
Thank you to everyone who continues to support and use this newsletter. We started with 150 people for our inaugural edition in February 2016 and are now up to 872 people in our network! I am excited that connections and resources are being utilized. I am always open to feedback or suggestions, so please let me know if this newsletter is missing anything you need. Also, if you change positions or your email changes, please don't forget to sign up again with your new email for the newsletter.
I know you are beginning to plan and coordinate your calendars for next year. Although we do not have a finalized date yet, there will be a fourth annual School Counselor Leadership Conference in 2019! It will be either the week of Feb. 4 (National School Counseling Week) or Feb. 11. As soon as we have confirmed a location, I will get you the details. Also, keep an eye out for a call for presentations at the end of August. I really hope many of you will consider sharing your expertise, best practices, or ideas with us! The conference only works because of your willingness to share and learn.
Also, congratulations to Jeannine Oliver, counselor at El Capitan High School, for being our winner of a free 2019 conference registration. She was one of 73 people who completed an evaluation after our 2018 conference. We appreciate the feedback and are taking the suggestions we received into consideration for next year.
Happy Spring!
Counseling Coordinator
Learning and Leadership Services
858-568-5459
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If you are posting any pics of events on your campus, don't forget to use #sdcounselors and @SanDiegoCOE to share your great work with everyone! You can also submit photos to our
Google Folder. You may see them in next year's conference program or the slide show. Show your pride and all your hard work! Thank you to Tami Johnson who tweets from
@cvusdwellness for always thinking of sharing your resources!
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College Signing and Commitments
Are you looking for a way to recognize your seniors who have committed to four-year universities? Here are two great resources to help you do just that!
Encourage Them to Share their #Collegiance
The College Board's #Collegiance challenge is back! Between now and May 15, students can
pledge their #Collegiance on Instagram with a video or photo. Film and media professors from College Board-member institutions will select the most creative submissions, with 10 winners receiving cash prizes of up to $5,000 for college. There is also a
pledge kit for educators (scroll to bottom of page) to help you get started in spreading the message! View the
Collegiance video for inspiration and more information. Make sure your students also tag @SanDiegoCOE so we can see and share the great videos!
Better Make Room College Signing Day
Better Make Room college signing day is the student-facing campaign supporting the Reach Higher initiative. It gives young people a space to declare their commitment to their future and engage with others. It's a peer- to-peer encouragement model that speaks to students in their own language-because they're the ones doing the talking. Better Make Room aims to elevate students to the level of celebrities and says to the world, "These young people are about to do something great. We better make room." Get the college signing day toolkit at the link above.
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50/50 Gender Equity Day
On April 26, 2018, schools, companies, museums, and homes around the world will watch films, engage in discussion, watch live-streaming programming, and commit to action pledges. This is the second year of this annual event. 50/50 Day gives elementary, middle, and high school students an opportunity to build their awareness of gender equality and connect with others outside of their school around this issue. Here are some simple but impactful ways to incorporate conversation topics on April 26 or throughout the month at your school sites!
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Using
this discussion kit, have teachers choose an issue card, then engage students with age-appropriate discussion questions.
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Watch a livestream interview from the 2017 50/50 Day events by scrolling down
this page.
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Join the 50/50 Day livestream or online Q&A.
Sign up to get information and alerts.
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Are You a District or Site Leader Hiring a School Counselor?
Contact
Tracy Wilson for help in creating interview questions, better understanding the counselor's role, or any other counselor-related question.
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We Need Your Help! Professional Development and Supervision Needs Assessment
Please consider taking the
School Counselor Professional Development Survey conducted by Dr. Erika Cameron from the University of San Diego on your access to and need for professional development and coaching. She is looking for your view on counselor functioning and your access to and use of various means of professional development and coaching.
The completion of this survey is considered consent to participate in this study. This information is intended to be informational and descriptive in nature. The data gathered will be used for program planning and counseling-related publications. Results will be reported only in aggregated form. Identifying information will be destroyed before the data is tabulated. Your background information is in no way linked to your survey responses. You may withdraw from the study at any time by simply logging out.
As a small token of appreciation one participant will be randomly selected to win a $50 gift card.
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Opportunities and Scholarships for Students
The SDCOE
scholarship opportunities page lists local scholarship opportunities for students. Please share this information at your school sites! We will try to highlight a few in each newsletter, too.
The Taiwanese American Foundation of San Diego (TAFSD) has been awarding three to six scholarships each year to college-bound high school seniors in San Diego County. The scholarships are provided by TAFSD and the Wu Family Scholarship Fund. There will be six $2,000 scholarships this year; two are reserved for Taiwanese-American students. The Scholarship Committee evaluates the applicants in terms of their academic achievements, service to the community, and leadership ability. The deadline for application is April 15 (postmarked).
Free Laptop Opportunity - Deadline Extended to April 15!
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), Coca-Cola, and the San Diego County Office of Education will be giving away 40 laptops this spring! Students currently enrolled in a San Diego County high school (grades 9-12) are eligible to apply for the
2018 Laptop Scholarship Essay Contest.
CAASSP Video Contest
A new video contest from the Assessment Development and Administration division at the California Department of Education (CDE) is part of a new effort to raise awareness about the importance of the statewide assessments.
The
CAASPP Video Contest - For Kids, By Kids puts the script and the camera in the hands of our talented and creative students to create a message for other students. Open to all public schools in California, the video contest seeks creative ways to emphasize to students of all ages the importance of the CAASPP system in improving teaching and learning; how students can prepare for testing; and why it is important for all students to try their best to show what they know and can do.
Videos are due April 20, 2018. The top entries will be voted on statewide, with the winner being announced in late fall 2018.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will sponsor a group of four Japanese-American high school students to travel to Japan from June 23 through July 3. The program provides the opportunity to learn about Japan and to promote mutual understanding and exchanges between Japanese and Japanese-American younger generations.
Those with multiracial backgrounds and children of first-generation Japanese immigrants [
shin issei] are strongly encouraged to apply before the April 13 deadline. As this is a highly selective program, applicants are encouraged to provide ample detail when completing the application, highlighting the qualities, experiences, and future goals that make them an exceptional candidate for the program and for fostering the U.S.-Japan friendship.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Usyak at 213-617-6700, ext. 166 or
[email protected].
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Professional Learning Opportunities
Supporting Access to Higher Education for Immigrant and Undocumented Students
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Training
Topics to be covered:
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Definition of elements of human trafficking/CSEC
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Potential risk factors of CSEC
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Potential recruitment strategies of CSEC
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Potential physical, verbal, and mental indicators of CSEC
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CSEC and schools
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Mandated reporting
Creating a Safe Space for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth
The GLSEN 1.0 training for elementary, middle, and high school educators is from 9 a.m. to noon April 17 at the SDCOE main campus.
Creating a Safe Space for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth event is free and includes current federal and state laws that address bullying and harassment, and how to take a stand against bullying and harassment in schools. This training is specific to bullying that targets l
esbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (
LGBT) youth and includes what it means to become an "ally" to LGBT youth, and how to comply with the Fair Education Act, Senate Bill 48, The Success and Opportunity Act, and AB1266, which mandates the contributions of LGBT people into the curriculum and ensures fair opportunities for transgender students.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
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Recognize invitations for help
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Reach out and offer support
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Assess the risk of suicide
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Apply a suicide intervention model
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Link people with local resources
The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national conference will be held July 14 to 17 in Los Angeles. You're invited to join an estimated 3,000 school counseling professionals for four days of inspirational keynote sessions, informative breakout sessions, in-depth looks at hot topics in the school counseling profession, and networking opportunities galore. Learn more and register at the ASCA conference website.
On a personal note, I will be there and would love to meet up with you for lunch! Contact me and let's connect at the conference. I would love to see a large San Diego presence there since it's being held nearby.
California Association of School Counselors (CASC) Conference
The 2018 CASC Conference will be Oct. 17 to 19 at the Riverside Convention Center. Last year there were more than 1,300 attendees and about 100 experts from across the nation who provided the latest information, techniques, and strategies related to the school counseling profession. Attendees will be able to choose from more than 70 topics including effective technology integration, social-emotional learning, strategies for student transition, and college and postsecondary training. Registration opens this month. For more information, visit the
CASC website.
College Board Counselor Summer Institute webinars
Join the free, on-demand
Counselor Summer Institute webinars, a professional development opportunity designed to make it easier for you to prepare your students for college and career success. Engaging, online presentations by counseling and higher-education leaders will explore college counseling strategies and show you how to apply what you've learned when you get back to school. You'll also have the opportunity for continued collaboration and ongoing discussions with leaders in the profession.
All on-demand webinars are one to two hours in length and allow you to earn 0.1 to 0.2 continuing education units (CEU).
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Explore
this curated list of websites, resources, best practices, and articles that school counselors and others can use to aid students in exploring college options and selecting post-secondary options. If you have resources you think should be added, please
complete this form.
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My Next Move offers free O*NET OnLine interest profiler and career search.
Virtual Job Shadow empowers individuals to discover, plan and pursue their dreams with a unique video-based, career planning platform. The interactive tools help students and job seekers develop career paths based on choice, not chance.
The
California Career Resource Network is a program within the California Department of Education that provides free career development information and resources. Students can create accounts and take assessments, and there are lesson plans for grades 5 to 12. The
CalCRN Resource Handbook is a great place to start and learn all the valuable resources available.
The
San Diego Workforce Partnership website has great resources for educators and students such as current labor market information, links to
offered majors at community colleges, and assessments for students to take to understand their passions.
CTE Professional Learning Opportunities and More
You can find great resources for counselors at
www.sdcoe.net/cte. There are links to past workshops and resources to help you support students to find their right path.
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General Articles and Resources
The
School Counseling Analysis, Leadership, and Evaluation (SCALE) Research Center is an interactive tool focused on the facilitation and dissemination of school counseling research and evidence-based practices to demonstrate the connection between comprehensive and developmental school counseling programs and student success. There are many sample lessons and curriculum available. Use the search tool and discover the vast resources.
SDCOE's
Teachable Moment video series covers a different topic of interest to parents in each video. Topics include the new California School Dashboard, scholarship searches, the difference between SAT/ACT, how to find a great preschool, how to keep kids safe in school, and what to do if you think your child is being bullied. There are more being added every month!
In Case You Didn't Click on It Earlier
Professional Organizations
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Get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at SDCOE and in our districts across the county.
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