School Counselor Blog

A great option to still get top notch professional development and connect with other school counselors across the country is to attend the ASCA Virtual Conference! Below I share tips that Andrea Burston (@jyjcounselor) and I compiled to help you optimize your ASCA virtual conference experience. Make a Schedule Familiarize yourself with the conference schedule and determine what sessions you want to attend. Use the virtual event platform to add sessions to your schedule. Be aware of the conference time zone when planning to attend live sessions. For example, the 2025 ASCA Conference is in Long Beach, CA so the time is Pacific Time. Here's a link of all the 2025 ASCA Virtual Conference sessions:  https://bit.ly/asca25virtual . ..But Be Flexible Don't be hard on yourself if you can't attend live sessions. One major perk of attending the ASCA Virtual Conference is that you have access to all the virtual sessions through October 15, 2025. Get Organized Make a plan for recording...

Last month I hosted a webinar for the American School Counselor Association Webinar Series. I hosted  Promote Self-Care to Your School Community where I shared fun, creative, and practical ways you can promote self-care at your school.  The webinar is now available for on-demand viewing on the ASCA website for ASCA Members.  🎬 Watch the full webinar here:  https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/promote-self-care-to-your-school-community/ (Free to ASCA Members) This Promote Self-Care to Your School Community   ASCA webinar was based on an article I wrote for t he January/February 2025 issue of   ASCA School Counselor  Magazine , Tools for Self-Care . I wrote a blog post that includes links and resources for many of the initiatives mentioned in this  Tools for Self-Care   article and the  Promote Self-Care to Your School Community   ASCA webinar. You can find the link to the blog post here:  https://www.schcounselor.com/2025/01/f...

I am excited to share that an article I wrote,  Tools for Self-Care ,  is featured in the January/February 2025 issue of ASCA School Counselor Magazine ! This issue highlights the importance of school counselor and student mental health. In   Tools for Self-Care , I provide practical ways to promote, model, and encourage self-care to  students, educators,  and graduate students! ASCA Members can read the article online here:  Tools for Self-Care . You can also find Tools for Self-Care  in the January/February 2025 issue of ASCA School Counselor Magazine starting on page 30. Below are links to initiatives I mentioned in the article. 12 Days of Self-Care Check out this  12 Days of Self-Care  post for information about how I facilitated 12 Days of Self-Care at my school. This was an event leading up to winter break, but you could use the activity ideas and "self-care selfies" other times during the school year to promote, model, and encoura...

I can't wait to connect and share with other school counselors at the 2025 American School Counselor Association Conference in Long Beach, CA! 🌴🌊 Check out my session for   #ASCA25 : 💻  📣  Design Products to Promote Your Program  with Andrea Burston ( @jyjcounselor ) This session will provide participants with the opportunity to design materials with Canva that you can start using immediately to promote your program! I'm beyond excited! Let the countdown to  #ASCA25  begin! Who's ready to Navigate and Innovate ?  🙋🏼‍♀️🧭💻 Will you be attending virtually or in-person? What are you looking forward to about  #ASCA25 ? If you are speaking at  #ASCA25 , and are looking to make an image like the one above, I made a free template on Canva  here: https://bit.ly/asca25speaker . Drop all your info in on Canva and use it to promote your session! If you use it, tag me! I'd love to see it! ASCA Conference Details Get all the details about...

Market Your School Counseling Program Did you know that when you share about your school counseling program you are engaging in professional advocacy? 📣 In my presentation Market Your School Counseling Program at the ASCA National Conference,   I shared various ways that school counselors can market their school counseling program to educational partners by sharing what they already do!   Advocating for your school counseling program is NOT bragging! Engaging in professional advocacy and marketing your program is a great way to let others know how you support the academic success, social-emotional well being and career development of ALL students! You can view my full presentation here:  bit.ly/asca24market What new things did you learn from my presentation? Connect with Danielle! If you have questions, connect with me on on  Instagram ,  Facebook ,  BlueSky ,  LinkedIn  or email me at  danielle@schcounselor.com . If you use this id...

Heading to a professional school conference soon? Whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-time attendee, having the right items in your conference bag can make or break your experience. From essential gadgets to must-have comfort items, being prepared ensures you can focus on networking, learning, and having a blast without any unnecessary stress. Below I will walk you through everything I packed in my conference bag when attending the ASCA National Conference in Kansas City, MO. My hope is that this post will give you some practical ideas of what to pack so you can be prepared for your next professional conference.  Let's dive in to my conference bag! I linked specific items, when available, in the Travel Section of my Amazon Store . 😋 Snacks - I like to pack a few snacks in my conference bag to keep me from getting hangry! I have some Chomps, Barbells & Fruit Bars from Trader Joe’s. 🛍️ Tote Bag- I love this Compakt fold-up tote bag by Calpak. I pack it with me in cas...

I’m still #FiredUp from the ASCA Conference in Kansas City, MO! During the ASCA Conference, I presented two sessions, attended inspiring presentations, and connected with school counselors from across the country. I also made sure to carve out some time for fun! Here are some highlights from my ASCA Conference experience this year.  Presenting at #ASCA24 Market Your School Counseling Program On Day 1 of the ASCA National Conference I presented “Market Your School Counseling Program.” During my presentation I shared ways to market your school counseling program to educational partners. Anytime I present my goal is to share real-life examples and practical resources that you can begin using right away.  I am so glad Angela Avery was able to capture some pictures during my presentation. One of the main points I try to get across during my presentation is that marketing your program is professional advocacy. When school counselors share about their school counseling program, it’s ...