School Counselor Blog

In my role as a school counseling department chair, I am always on the lookout for professional development opportunities. I know how challenging it can be to find relevant professional development that meets school counselors' needs. Below I share a few virtual professional development events and options for school counselors. These ideas and suggestions would be excellent options to for you to attend solo or to share with other school counselors in your district!  Hatching Results School Counseling Institutes Hatching Results is hosting two upcoming School Counseling Institutes! They are hosting a Secondary School Counseling Institute on November 15th and an Elementary School Counseling Institute on November 16th. For more information and to register for the School Counseling Institutes visit: https://www.hatchingresults.com/virtual-events/ You can participate in the sessions live and you will have access to the recordings for three months! Both School Counseling Institutes are

This will be my fourth year attending the ASCA Virtual Conference. I absolutely love attending ASCA in person, but I haven't been able to attend in person for the last few years.  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. Here's a link of all the 2022 ASCA Virtual Conference sessions: https://bit.ly/asca22virtual. . ..But Be Flexible Don't be hard on yourself if you can't attend live sessions. One major perk of attending the ASCA Virt

Heading to Austin, TX for the 2022 American School Counselor Association Conference?  Below Andrea Burston and I share tips to help you make the most of your ASCA Conference experience! ✨  PLAN AHEAD ✨ Do some research ahead of your arrival so that you are prepared for your trip.   Check out the following: - Health & safety guidelines - Weather forecast - Hotel location - Conference location  ✨  PACK FOR WORK AND PLAY ✨ When you're packing your bags, think about what you will wear to conference sessions and what you will wear during downtime. If you are attending special events or activities, be sure to pack for them. ✨  CONNECT WITH OTHER SCHOOL COUNSELORS ✨ One of the most amazing aspects of the ASCA Conference is the opportunity to connect with other school counselors! Some ways to connect: - State or local meet-ups - Planned social activities - Social media meet-ups - Between sessions  ✨  MAKE TIME FOR FUN ✨ ASCA Conferences are great for professiona

This Wednesday, April 6th at 3:30 pm EST, Andrea Burston ( @jyjcounselor ) and I are presenting  Get Funding for Your School Counseling Program  as part of the 2022 ASCA Webinar Series. ASCA Members can register for FREE at this link:  bit.ly/getfundingasca . We will share practical tips about how you can get funding for your school counseling program. We will provide examples of how we sought out funding and how we use our school counseling budgets.  We can't wait to connect with you! Join along the conversation on social media using #scgetfunding. Want to learn even more ideas to level up your school counseling program?  Request a workshop for your local or state school counselor association here:  http://bit.ly/drsworkshop Connect with me on  Twitter ,  Instagram ,  YouTube , and  Facebook . 

I love using Canva to make digital images to share with students. Last year I created a digital state testing tip image to share with students and families.  In Pennsylvania our state standardized tests are called the PSSAs and Keystone Exams. I created the image below and sent it to students in an email and shared them on my school Twitter account. My principal also shared the image in his weekly Schoology update. The State Testing Tips Digital Image contains the following tips: Get a good night's sleep Eat a healthy breakfast Come to school on time Know your testing location Bring a book to read Have a positive attitude You can use the state testing tip digital image below as it is by saving it as an image (right click on a PC or control click on a Mac). You can access an  editable version of these state testing tips digital images  by clicking the highlighted text. I made an editable version so you could customize the bottom to add your school district or change the title of you

Mark your calendar! Next Wednesday, April 6th at 3:30 pm EST, Andrea Burston ( @jyjcounselor ) and I are presenting Get Funding for Your School Counseling Program  as part of the 2022 ASCA Webinar Series. ASCA Members can register for FREE at this link:  bit.ly/getfundingasca . We will share practical tips about how you can get funding for your school counseling program. We will provide examples of how we sought out funding and how we use our school counseling budgets.  We can't wait to connect with you! Join along the conversation on social media using #scgetfunding. Want to learn even more ideas to level up your school counseling program?  Request a workshop for your local or state school counselor association here:  http://bit.ly/drsworkshop Connect with me on Twitter , Instagram , YouTube , and Facebook .