It seems too soon to be writing another newsletter! I ho
pe all of you had a rested and blessed summer. We are one of the only professions that get a fresh start every year (other than maybe tax accountants).
I am recently back from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Conference in Los Angeles. What a rejuvenating and refocusing time with more than 3,000 school counselors from around the country! Scroll down for a link to presentations and resources from the event. Now I am gearing up to start our New Counselor Institute and help host the
Equity Symposium on Sept. 27 and 28.
Welcome to the many new counselors who joined us over the summer! If you change districts or get a new email over the summer, don't forget to sign up to receive this newsletter with your new email.
I hope this newsletter helps to inform and connect you with necessary resources, but also to connect you to other school counselors across the county. Many of you are the only counselor at your site and it can be an isolating job. But it is a worthy and necessary job, and I'm here to make sure you get the support you need.
Counseling Coordinator
Learning and Leadership Services
858-568-5459
|
|
As a community of school counselors, we lost a wonderful member of our tribe on June 29. Denise VoDang worked at San Pasqual High School and will be missed by her colleagues, students and peers.
|
|
If you are posting any pics of campus events online, don't forget to use #sdcounselors and tag @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 slide show. Share your pride and all your hard work!
|
|
If you are not a member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) or the California Association of School Counselors (CASC), I highly recommend you join. The resources alone are well worth the cost. The annual conferencewas held this year in Los Angeles and it did not disappoint. The hall was filled many vendors and free resources, including career presenters. I was able to download all the sessions from the app into one
Google folder to share with all of you, but it's no substitute for being there in person. You will see there are over 160 files. You can hover over the title to see the topic, or look at the title on the powerpoint. Many people also included their contact information if you have more questions.
|
|
Online School Counselor Connections
|
Below are a few blogs that I find really useful. If you have a blog, social media page, or other resource you think other school counselors would like, please share it with me! I will also keep a list on the
SDCOE School Counselor website
.
- Hatching Results — Podcasts, a blog, and online learning courses for school counselors
- Counselor Clique — Stories, resources, creative endeavors of a high school counselor
- Middle School Counselor — Helping students reach for the stars
- The Counseling Geek — All things school counseling, 21st-century tech, and more!
- Counselor Up! — Productive, organized, and effective ideas from an elementary counselor
- Savvy School Counselor — Making a difference one child at a time
- Grown and Flown - A blog by parents
- Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) — Free and paid resources created by educators who understand what works in the classroom and in schools.
- Facebook Groups: Caught In The Middle School Counselors, Elementary School Counselor Exchange, and High School Counselor Connection
|
|
Looking for a Topic to Study This Month?
|
|
SDCOE and education have changed a lot in the past 30 years, but SDCOE's logo had stayed more or less the same since 1988.
If you use the SDCOE logo on a district flyer or partner website, please email
communications@sdcoe.net
to update your materials with the new logo.
|
|
College Board and ACT Official Concordance Tables
|
The ACT and the SAT measure similar, but not identical content and skills, and they employ different score scales. The ACT Composite score is based on a scale of 1 to 36, while the SAT Total score ranges from 400 to 1600. Both the ACT and SAT are accepted at all colleges and universities in the United States.
The concordance tables are designed to be used by colleges, K-12 education professionals, scholarship organizations, students, policymakers, and others to inform policies, processes, and decisions. They are the only official concordance tables between the ACT and the SAT and should be used as the single source of reference moving forward when comparing scores on the two tests. These tables replace the concordance tables that were released in 2016.
|
|
Start Planning Now for Professional Learning
|
|
New School Counselor Institute
If you are a new school counselor or a school counselor who could use a refresh, you will find support and customized learning at the New School Counselor Institute. The six-part series dives into the skills and resources with which every school counselor should be familiar. Topics include understanding ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors (standards), working with unique populations, group and classroom facilitation, college and career readiness, and mental health support/suicide prevention. The annual School Counselor Leadership Conference in February is included. The institute is supported by both Learning and Leadership Services and Student Support Services, two different divisions at SDCOE. Past participants said they enjoyed the activities, learned about new resources, and were grateful to know they are not alone in continuing to learn and grow.
Download the flier and register
.
|
|
School Counselor Leadership Conference
The annual
School Counselor Leadership Conference
will be Feb. 14 at the Handlery Hotel. Registration will open Sept. 1 followed by a call for presenters in October. Start thinking about what you would like to present! This day is a success because practicing school counselors share the great work they are doing.
|
|
Don't Miss Highlights Day
|
|
Equity Symposium Registration Now Open
The SDCOE
Equity Symposium
on Sept. 27 and 28 in San Diego features expert speakers as well as seasoned practitioners sharing best practices. The annual event is designed to meet the unique needs of district team members, including cabinet level leaders, site administrators, classroom teachers, counselors, and parents. Author Zaretta Hammond will kick off the event with a keynote speech on the tenets of her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. There are also several featured speakers leading 90-minute sessions such as Horacio Sanchez on school climate, Dr. Loui Lord Nelson on universal design for learning, and Dr. Nancy Dome on culturally competent learning environments. Inspirational speaker Michael Hingson, a 9/11 survivor, will chronicle his experience fleeing down 78 flights of stairs with his seeing eye dog.
|
|
CASC Fall Conference
The
CASC Fall Conference
on Oct. 18 and 19 at the Riverside Convention Center attracts about 1,300 attendees and about 100 experts from across the nation who provide the latest information, techniques, and strategies related to the school counseling profession. Attendees can choose from more than 70 topics including effective technology integration, social-emotional learning, strategies for student transition, and college and postsecondary training.
|
|
ACT College and Career Readiness Workshops
The
ACT College and Career Readiness Workshop
is a free learning opportunity from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 27 at the University of San Diego. Attendees will learn best practices from schools, discover new resources for students and educators, acquire valuable data interpretation strategies, and create a comprehensive assessment plan.
|
|
College Board Counselor Workshop
The half-day
College Board Counselor workshop
provides updates on College Board programs, as well as tools, tips, and resources designed to make it easier to clear a path to college and career success for your students. The event is Sept. 20 at the University of San Diego.
|
|
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) High School Counselor Workshop
The
CSAC High School Counselor Workshop
will be offered two times. Participants can attend Oct. 4 or 5 at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego. Together with the California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, CSAC provides information and updates on state-funded financial aid programs and the student application process for California Dream Act, Cal Grant, and the Chafee Grant. Attendees will also receive a comprehensive overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
|
|
California Community College Resources — Career Pathways
|
The California Community Colleges launched a
new campaign
to help students explore, locate, and apply to any of the 114 community colleges with more than 200 career pathway programs in California. They have created a new free app for students called
Here to Career
that allows students to take a quiz to get their RIASEC results. They can then save them or share them and explore salaries, the educational pathway, and colleges where those courses are offered.
|
|
Need to Update Your School Profile?
|
Are you looking for a way to spruce up or make your school profile easier for colleges to access? There is a new, FREE, service that allows you to do just that.
Your School Profile
has normed the School Profile and created a dynamic, easy-to-use and free site for high school counselors. Simply create an account and input your high school 's contextual information. Colleges can search your high school and find the students to fit their mission.
|
|
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
.
|
|
Resources from Affordable Colleges Online
|
|
Regional Admission Counselors of California (RACC)
- RACC will host programs at high schools for college awareness and preparation.
|
|
My Next Move
offers free O*NET OnLine interest profiler and career search.
DreamWakers
uses free and existing video technology to connect diverse and dynamic professionals working across a variety of industries to classrooms across the country. Working with 4th to 12th grade classrooms nationwide, they exclusively serve schools in which at least 50% of the student body is eligible for free and reduced lunch. Each conversation is designed to shed light on the real-world applicability of classroom curriculum, while at the same time inspiring and empowering students to plan for their futures.
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.
|
|
Workforce and College Guidance 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 students can take to understand their passions.
|
|
CTE Professional Learning Opportunities and More
You can find great resources for counselors a the
SDCOE CTE webpage
. There are links to past workshops and resources to help you support students to find their right path
|
|
General Articles and Resources
|
Student Mental Health Trainings
Access this
Google folder
to view and download flyers for the professional learning opportunities on the topics below:
- Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Adult Mental Health First Aid
- PBIS - Jeff Sprague BEST training
- Assessing Suicidal Students
- ASSET training for youth and families
|
|
School Counseling Analysis, Leadership and Evaluation (SCALE) Research Center
|
|
Teachable Moment Videos
SDCOE's
Teachable Moment
video series covers a different topic of interest to parents in each video. Topics include the role of school counselors, continuous learning, the new California School Dashboard, scholarship searches, the difference between SAT/ACT, 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!
|
|
Professional Organizations
|
|
Get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at SDCOE and in our districts across the county.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|