Be a Professional school counseloradvocate & educate

BacK to school 2011

VSCA Voicethe official PuBlication of the virGinia school counselor association

Test day is just the first step on the road to college.Learn more

The SAT Counselor Resource Center

vieWinG instructions

ad indeX

Catawba2 College

SAT/TheCollege1 Board

ASCAAnnual3 Conference

features

6 BeaProfessionalSchoolCounselor

By Margaret Baker

7 StrengthenYourPrincipal-SchoolCounselorPartnership

By eMily goodMan Scott

9 ANewLookatProfessionalDevelopment By tracy l. JackSon

10 SupportStudentsofMilitaryFamilies

By kie anderSon, tiM grothauS, tori Stone, aMy uPton

and helen runyan

10 “Theseareafewofmyfavoritethings…”

By PhylliS holliMon

11 SchoolDrop-OutRates:AddressingtheMyths

By donna J. dockery, Ph. d.

dePartments

5 President’sMessage

8 VSCAMemberSpotlight

6 VSCA2012Conference

CONTENTSBeaProfessional SchoolCounselor

By Margaret Baker 6StrengthenYour Principal-School CounselorPartnership

By eMily goodMan Scott7

ANewLookat Professional Development By tracy l. JackSon

9

“Theseareafewof myfavoritethings…”

By PhylliS holliMon 10

SupportStudents ofMilitaryFamilies

By anderSon, grothauS,

Stone, uPton and runyan10

SchoolDrop-OutRates:AddressingtheMyths

By donna J. dockery, Ph. d.11

President’sMessage 5VSCA2012Conference 6VSCAMemberSpotlight 8

dePartments

features

taBle of contents

VSCA Voice is published by the Virginia School Counselor Association, a chartered division of the American School Counselor Association. The opinions expressed in the articles and advertisements within this newsletter are those of the authors and not the association’s. Direct questions, suggestions and comments to Sylinda Gilchrist-Banks, Ph.D., newsletter chair, sylindagilchrist@aol.com.

For advertising inquiries, contact Ken Cibroski, Ad Guidance, ken@adguidance.com, (877) 965-7492, (877) 562-9189, fax.

7 BACK TO SCHOOL 2011 vsca voice

f or school counselors, the fall is our New Year, our time for fresh beginnings and resolutions. One

way to improve your program this year is to strengthen your principal-school counselor partnership.

Principals staff, manage and lead schools, including distributing resources and assigning staff duties. Although school counselors typically report to a district-level supervisor, we also report to our school principal, who can be highly influential in our day-to-day activities. As a result, it is imperative that principals understand and support school coun-selors so we can best perform our jobs. Principals’ support may ensure a greater majority of our time is focused on school counseling tasks rather than ancillary activities. Principals are also gatekeep-ers to school resources and stakehold-ers; principal-school counselor partner-ships may increase our access to school resources and help us build relationships with other stakeholders, such as staff and parents.

The principal-school counselor re-lationship is absolutely crucial to the school counselor, but the relationship can be complex. Last year, my principal and I asked other school counselors and principals for suggestions on how to cre-ate successful principal-school counselor partnerships. Here are five strategies they recommend.

hold a fall- PlanninG meetinG“At the beginning of the year we com-plete a principal agreement…we list all the programs we have planned for parents, staff and kids for the year. We sit with the principal to discuss it so we’re all on the same page.” - Middle School Counselor

At the start of the school year, sched-ule a planning session with the school administrators and the school counsel-ing department to discuss strengths and challenges from the previous year, and propose changes for the upcoming year. Create an agenda of topics to cover, and discuss the school counseling programs’ calendar for the year. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

National Model offers a variety of tools that can also help facilitate this meet-ing: the Management Agreement, the Use of Time description and the list of Appropriate and Inappropriate Counsel-ing Activities. Access these documents at www.ascanationalmodel.org. These tools help you educate the principal on your role, describe your school counseling programs and responsibilities and outline how you spend your time. This proactive conversation decreases future miscom-munications, such as clarifying the school counselors’ role in standardized testing prior to the spring testing season.

schedule reGular meetinGs“The one thing that helps our school tre-mendously is that the school counselors

and I have a standing Tuesday morning meeting every week for 30 minutes to an hour to discuss the week ahead and any situations we need to be aware of. It really keeps our communication going.” –Elementary School Principal

In the fall, set up a regular meeting with your principal and administra-tive team (weekly or bimonthly). Use this meeting to discuss schoolwide and student-specific issues and share news. Additionally, school counselors can advo-cate for their program by sharing success stories: “Let me tell you about our par-enting workshop, it was a huge success…” or “Look at the post-test results from our bullying-prevention lessons.”

School counselors can learn about administrative-run programs and gain the administration’s perspective on the school. These meetings can build rapport between the administrators and school counselors. As school counselors, we know the importance of building trust with our students before effectively working with them. The same is true with our principals. Build a professionally friendly relationship with your principal before a crisis hits and before you need a favor.

learn aBout the PrinciPal’s Priorities“My principal was pleased that I took an interest in what her goals were for the school. I helped her implement and carry out ideas she had.” –Previous Elementary School Counselor

What does your principal prioritize most in their school? Literacy? Com-munity involvement? Standardized test scores? Learn what your principal values, and let her know how your comprehen-sive school counseling program can help support her school goals, and then follow through by supporting your principal and her programs.

assess the PrinciPal’s leadershiP style“Different principals run the school in different ways. I had to adapt to the way my principal ran her school.” -Previous Elementary School Counselor

strenGthen your PrinciPal-school counselor PartnershiPWhat steps can you take to strengthen your relationship with your administration?By eMily goodMan Scott

Build a professionally

friendly relationship with

your principal before a

crisis hits and before you

need a favor.

Test day is just the first step on the road to college.Learn more

The SAT Counselor Resource Center

vieWinG instructions

ad indeX

Catawba2 College

SAT/TheCollege1 Board

ASCAAnnual3 Conference

vsca voice BACK TO SCHOOL 2011 8

Every principal has a unique leader-ship style; some principals prefer to work collaboratively with staff, others delegate and other principals manage authoritatively. Research shows that although principals and school coun-selors have different roles in the school, they typically have the same long-term goal: student success. Even if you and your principal have different profession-al work styles, focus on what you have in common and the mutual goals you share. And if your principal’s leadership style isn’t a good fit for you, you may need to find a setting that is a better fit. Different school counselors have differ-ent professional needs, and recognizing this is healthy and necessary.

inform PrinciPals of school counselors’ role & sKills“School counselors are so used to advo-cating for others, they need to advocate for themselves and let their principal know what they can do... let them know what they are capable of.” –Elementary School Principal

“My principal talks to the PTA on our behalf and requests money to support our programs.” –Elementary School Counselor

Believe it or not, principals are not always aware of the school counselors’ training and skills. As school counselors, it is our responsibility to educate our principals and advocate for ourselves and our profession. Inform your princi-

pal about the ASCA National Model, tell them about groups you run and show them the data-driven decisions you make. Once principals know our capabili-ties, they are better able to utilize and support us to best perform our job in the schools.

Principal-school counselor collaboration is a crucial part of implementing a success-ful school counseling program and meeting the needs of our students. Remember: a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. What single step can you take this fall to strengthen your principal-school counselor relationship?

Emily Goodman Scott is VSCA elementary

vice president and can be reached at

egscott@vt.edu.

carol KaffenBerGerCarol Kaffenberger reflects on where her VSCA membership has taken her.

“Joining VSCA was probably the most important professional decision I made since deciding to become a school coun-selor. As a result of my involvement with VSCA I grew as a school counselor and learned that I had leadership potential I had never previously explored. Soon after joining VSCA, I volunteered to be on a committee or two, and then agreed to run for secretary and eventually VSCA president. Through my involvement in VSCA I have developed a vision of a transformed school counselor; I have met and worked with some of the most talented school counselors in the country and have contributed to advocacy work on behalf of school counselors. Eventu-ally, I followed in the footsteps of such school counselor leaders as Mary Pat Mc-Cartney and served a term as American School Counselor Association (ASCA) school counselor educator vice president. I continue to value my membership in VSCA.”

eunice WallaceEunice Wallace finds that her VSCA mem-bership allows her to keep her school counseling skills current.

“I have enjoyed being a member of VSCA over the years. It has provided me with professional guidance, fellowship and opportunities. It was through a VSCA workshop that I first learned of the ASCA National Model and countless other

information that enhances our abilities to be great school counselors. Meet-ing and sharing information with school counselors throughout the state is both enjoyable and helpful as I have worked to keep my skills fine tuned. It was through a grant from VSCA that our department at Fairfield Middle School funded our ap-plication for the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award. As we navigated the application process there was always a VSCA member willing to assist with needed information. We are so proud to have received the RAMP award in June in Seattle. I encourage all school counselors to get connected and stay connected to VSCA.Æ

vsca memBer sPotliGht

carol Kaffenberger, Ph.d., was an elementary school counselor in fairfax county for 12 years before joining the George mason university counseling and development Program. currently carol is a faculty associate at Johns hopkins university department of counseling & human services. she has been a member of vsca since 1986.

eunice Wallace is a middle school counselor at fairfield middle school in henrico county.

BeaProfessional SchoolCounselor

By Margaret Baker 6StrengthenYour Principal-School CounselorPartnership

By eMily goodMan Scott7

ANewLookat Professional Development By tracy l. JackSon

9

“Theseareafewof myfavoritethings…”

By PhylliS holliMon 10

SupportStudents ofMilitaryFamilies

By anderSon, grothauS,

Stone, uPton and runyan10

SchoolDrop-OutRates:AddressingtheMyths

By donna J. dockery, Ph. d.11

President’sMessage 5VSCA2012Conference 6VSCAMemberSpotlight 8

dePartments

features

taBle of contents