2020-21 NSCW Daily Edition 1: Advocacy |
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Happy National School Counseling Week!
Feb. 1 to 5
National School Counseling Week (NSCW) is being celebrated Feb. 1 to 5 to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. Promoted by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), NSCW highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. This year's theme is School Counselors: All In for All Students.
To celebrate each day of National School Counseling Week, the San Diego County School Counselor Newsletter will be sent out daily spotlighting pertinent issues and resources centered around the following themes:
- Feb. 1: Advocacy
- Feb. 2: Social/Emotional
- Feb. 3: Academic
- Feb. 4: Social Justice/Equity
- Feb. 5: College/Career
We have created a NSCW checklist for you to use so that you don't miss an opportunity to advocate for our profession locally and nationally.
NSCW 2021 CHECKLIST
ASCA Photo Challenge
Download each day's sign, take a picture with it, and post to your social media channels with #NSCW21. Follow the #NSCW21 to see how school counselors across the country are celebrating. Download the Happy National School Counseling Week sign in a PDF or JPG file. Download the National School Counseling Week social media toolkit and find the printable daily photo prompts below .
ASCA Webinars and Events
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday events will be available for viewing on Facebook Live or ASCA On Air). Registration is required for the Monday and Friday webinars.
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Feb. 1: TeacherTalk: School Counselors Collaborating for Student Success, 1 p.m.
- Feb. 2: State of the Profession: Protecting the School Counselor Role, 11 a.m.
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Feb. 3: State of the Profession: School Counselors Respond to COVID-19, 11 a.m.
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Feb. 4: State of the Profession: School Counselor Demographics and DEI, 11 a.m.
- School Counselor of the Year Gala, 8 p.m. EST (watch on ASCA On Air or Facebook Live)
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Feb. 5: State of the Profession Q&A, 11 a.m.
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California Association for School Counselors (CASC)
CASC has many fun and exciting activities planned for NSCW 2021. They include giveaways, photo challenges, and themed days for each day of the week during NSCW 2021 consisting of self-care tips and downloadable materials that can be used to express your advocacy to the profession and appreciation for other school counselors as well as staff at your school site who support the work that you wholeheartedly do! All in for All Students! This is just a glimpse of what CASC has in store for NSCW 2021.
- Feb. 1: Check @myCASC for Instagram story templates you can repost
- Feb. 2: Join CASC 2019-2021 School Counselors of the Year for live Q&A
- Feb. 3: Join CASC executive director for CASC Chats
- Feb. 4: Social media prize giveaway on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- Feb. 5: Join CASC for school counselor virtual trivia night
Black Lives Matter at School Week
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Scaling Up: Is there a shortage of individuals with school counseling credentials in California?
By Dr. Loretta Whitson, Executive Director, CASC
In the past few months, I have heard several state-level leaders discussing the need to increase the number of counselors working in California schools. In early January, the governor released his budget, setting aside over $400 million in one-time, multi-year investment of non-Prop 98 funds to increase the number of students receiving preventive and early intervention services. Clarity on these funds' usage will be ironed-out in the months to come, including the accompanied announcement of managed care services in schools. The Governor's budget sets in place a possible shift in what typically happens to school counselors during a recession — where quite often administrators cut school counseling jobs, as well as other support service staff at the outset over other viable payroll reduction options. The $400 million might actually trigger the opposite effect. I would suggest the rising mental health needs weigh heavily on the minds of most school district decision-makers. I have already had several meetings with key officials on this matter and will keep you informed as things develop in the next few months.
As state officials consider scaling-up mental health services in schools, a question they will most likely be entertaining is, "Are there enough individuals with the appropriate training and credentials to fill new positions if they became available?" The answer is a resounding, "Yes!" To help respond to this plausible inquiry, CASC, in partnership with the California Association of School Psychologists and California Association of School Social Workers, compiled a two-page document outlining the number of credential holders currently working in California schools. Additionally, we compiled data outlining the number of individuals with active Pupil Personnel Service Credentials, who might not be using their credential at this time. We hope this information will be helpful, as many important decisions will be made in the next few months in preparation for the 2021-22 school year. We also compared education and fieldwork hours of California mental health professionals to demystify any perceptions of vast differences in training. Are there Enough Trained School-Based Mental Health Professionals to Meet the Growing Needs of California's PreK-12 Students?
On a final note, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts future school counseling jobs steadily increasing by 8% from now until 2029, much faster than other occupations.
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ASCA State of the Profession 2020
In October 2020, ASCA distributed a state-of-the profession survey to nearly 75,000 members and nonmembers. The survey was designed to gather details on school counselor demographic data, roles and responsibilities, the challenges of virtual learning necessitated by COVID-19, efforts to combat systemic racism, their most significant day-to-day challenges, professional development needs and other areas.
The data reveals that the nation’s school counselors consider meeting student needs in a virtual environment to be their biggest challenge, followed by managing a large number of students and addressing achievement and opportunity gaps.
Respondents largely began the 2020-2021 school year with all virtual (43%) or hybrid virtual/in-person (39%) classes, and they have seen their responsibilities change as a result, especially following up with students who haven’t participated in virtual classes.
Additionally, school counselors report taking a number of measures to address racism and bias, including monitoring student behavior to identify racist behavior or speech, providing individual counseling and providing classroom lessons. Read the report here.
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ASCA Position Statements
ASCA position statements describe the organization’s position on specific topics in education and define the role of the school counselor relative to those topics. Download a PDF of all position statements. Or, click here to view and/or print individual position statements.
ASCA creates and maintains position statements based on the following criteria.
- The issue has an impact on students in one or more of the following areas: academic development, career development, social/emotional development.
- Activities relative to the topic provided by a school counselor within a school counseling program may be affected by differences in opinion or educational philosophy.
- The issue is of national interest.
- The issue arises in the regular implementation of the school counseling program.
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Recharge, Re-center at the 2021 School Counselor Con
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Dates: Feb. 3 and 4
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Cost: $30 per person
- Register here
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Registration deadline: Feb. 1
Conference Session Topics
Presenters have prepared engaging workshops for participants in a virtual setting. We will have more than 30 offerings including:
- Counseling During the Pandemic
- Filling Your Vessel: Self-Care for School Counselors
- Creative Ways to Use Social Media in School Counseling
- A Call to Action — This School Counselor is Antiracist
- Institutionalizing Support for Multilingual Students
- Creating Student Connection through Fun and Games
- Unlocking Careers of the Future: School Counselors Have the Key
- Using Virtual Tools to Support your Students in Completing the FAFSA/CADAA
- Aligning College and Career Counseling in the Public School System
- Leading Schools in Difficult Times: Best Practices for Responding to Bias/Hate Incidents
VEBA will also provide a chair yoga session to all conference participants on both days of the conference during the lunch hour.
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Keynote Speaker Tara Brown
President of Learner's Edge Consulting, award-winning educator, author, and international speaker, Tara Brown believes strongly that a major key to student and teacher success is the ability to connect and build effective relationships in the classroom and school. Known as "The Connection Coach," Tara's passion and humor drives her to better equip adults with the ability to connect with youth in order to unleash their true potential. She is committed to helping strengthen organizations "one connection at a time."
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 3
- 9 a.m. Welcome/Keynote
- 10:30 a.m. UNPLUG (break)
- 11 a.m. Breakout Session No. 1
- 12 to 1 p.m. UNPLUG (break)
- 12 to 12:45 p.m. Virtual Chair Yoga by VEBA
- 1 to 2 p.m. Breakout Session No. 2
Thursday, Feb. 4
- 9 a.m. 2021 San Diego County School Counselor of the Year Celebration
- 10:30 a.m. UNPLUG (break)
- 11 a.m. Breakout Session No. 3
- 12 to 1 p.m. UNPLUG (break)
- 12 to 12:45 p.m. Virtual Chair Yoga by VEBA
- 1 to 2 p.m. Breakout Session No. 4
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School Counselor Professional Development Calendar
NEW! SDCOE Self-Care Workshop for Educators
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Newsletter, Website, Social Media
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If you have any questions or comments on the San Diego County School Counselor Network Newsletter, please contact Tanya Bulette, counseling coordinator.
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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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