Why Be A Member

Membership with the Wisconsin School Counselor Association

WSCA_AOH_2017

Becoming a member of the Wisconsin School Counselor Association is a tremendous asset to your professional career! We are an organization that is comprised of school counselors throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Counselors need each other for:

  • A strong professional image
  • Personal and professional growth
  • Promoting continually improved counseling services by working with and learning from allied professional organizations such as:
    • Wisconsin Association for Career Development (WACD)
    • American School Counselor Association (ASCA)
    • American Association for Career Development (AACD)
  • Professional Recognition for outstanding school counselors
  • Staying on the leading edge of your profession!

Features & Benefits of a WSCA Membership

Leadership Development

We have so many different opportunities to help build up our members into amazing state and national leaders of the school counseling profession!  Some areas that members can look forward to taking part in include:

  1. Professional Recognition
    1. School Counselor of the Year
    2. Equity in Action
    3. School Counseling Team
    4. WSCPAR?
  2. RAMP Application Fee Support
  3. Leadership Academy
  4. Graduate Student Scholarships
  5. Graduate Student Conference Fee Waiver (volunteer)
  6. WSCA Volunteer Leadership Development Training
  7. ASCA Leadership Specialist Certificate

Coaching and Consultation

In any professional career there are moments when we need the advice and support of others.  WSCA’s leaders are well equipped to listen to your situations and share advice or resources that can help even some of the stickiest of situations.  A few of the areas that you could receive support in are:

  1. Ethics
  2. Advocacy Consultation
  3. RAMP/WSCPAR/ASCA Model Consultation
  4. General School Counseling

Member Connection

Some of the best times in life and in any profession are those when we get to create lasting connections with others who understand us!  WSCA is proud to support and offer numerous ways to connect with your fellow counselors which include the following:

  1. Special Interest Groups
  2. Mentoring
  3. Ambassador Program
  4. Graduate Student Program Representatives
  5. Volunteering
  6. Member Voice (surveys, etc.)

WSCA Events

WSCA holds the largest school counselor specific conference in the midwest every year, and we know how much people love attending!  Along with the conference there are a number of other annual events, ad the list of them grows larger every year.  As a member of WSCA you’ll enjoy a number of benefits that come along with these:

  1. Discounted Event Registration Rates
  2. Conference Handout Archive
  3. Professional Headshot Archive
  4. Online Learning Archive
  5. NSCW Eblast

High Quality Resources

Everyone values the opportunity to take advantage of content that helps us help ourselves.  WSCA prides itself on the creation and sharing of numerous high quality resources that will only be available to you through a membership!  Some of these resources include:

  1. WSCA Created Resources (ie. Family Support Guide)
  2. Advocacy Toolkit
  3. Online Learning included with membership
  4. WSCAlink/Counselink Archive
  5. Online Learning (starting in fall 2021 – member online)

Advocacy & Government Relations

WSCA sets a high value on promoting the school counselor profession throughout the state and nationwide.  We have worked long and hard to cultivate relationships that allow us to be at the table as important discussions and decisions are made in these arenas.  Our ever popular Afternoon on the Hill event at conference is a great culmination of much of the work we do behind the scenes throughout the year.  Along with these efforts, some ways you will see these benefits as a member are:

  1. Monthly Advocacy/Government Relations Update (WSCAlink)
  2. Advocacy Alerts
  3. Member input into state level projects

Initiatives That YOUR Member Dollars Help Support!

  • Professional Recognition (Administrative Assistant, Supervisor, Mary Gehrke, Mike Troy, etc.)
  • WSCPAR 
  • Advocacy/At the Table 
    • ASCA, DPI, DOJ OSS, OCMH, WAPSO, AWSA
  • DPI State Superintendent Candidate Meet & Greet
  • Afternoon on the Hill
  • WSCAlink/Counselink 
  • Position Statements
  • Career & Job Fair
  • COVID Counseling & Equity Resource Webpages
  • Online Learning
  • National School Counseling Week in Wisconsin
  • Largest Conference in the Midwest
  • Rotating Summer Academy
  • ASCA Model Training
  • Trauma Training
  • Social Media Presence
  • Sharing of Counselor Voice (surveys, etc.)
  • High School Student Scholarships
  • Customer/Member Support via Staff

Who Can Join?

Membership is open to anyone who is interested in the field of school counseling and wants to be professionally informed and involved.  We have a number of levels of membership no matter where you are at in your school counseling journey.

If you are a graduate student just starting on your school counseling career path, take note that your first year of membership with WSCA is FREE!  Take advantage and start reaping all the rewards of membership early!

Ready to join?

Join the WSCA Facebook group – Connect with Statewide School Counselors Today!

Looking for a way to network with other school counseling professionals around Wisconsin?

Searching for information to support your school counseling needs? 

The Wisconsin School Counselor Association is excited to announce the addition of a WSCA Facebook group. The WSCA Facebook group will provide a way for Wisconsin school counseling professionals to ask questions, receive information, and share documents specific to our state school counseling curriculum and needs. This is a free service provided by WSCA and does not cost your organization anything to participate.

The benefits to you include the ability to:

  • Ask a question and receive responses from others in Wisconsin
  • Provide input on posted discussion topics
  • Stay current with important school counselor-related events posted to the page

If you have already have a Facebook account all you need to do is join the WSCA Facebook group.  If you do not have a Facebook account, you will have to create an account in order to participate in the WSCA Facebook group.

Please note that by joining the WSCA Facebook group, members do not have access to your personal Facebook page unless allowed through your personal privacy settings.

If you have questions about the WSCA Facebook group please contact the WSCA Technology Coordinator at socialmedia@wscaweb.org.

Membership Assistance Program

WSCA encourages a diverse membership and for some school counseling graduate students and practicing school counselors, payments may present a challenge. 

With this in mind, WSCA will consider on a limited and case-by-case basis requests for financial assistance with membership dues.  

If you wish to be considered for WSCA membership dues assistance, please provide your request with as much detail as you feel is appropriate by completing this form and emailing it to the WSCA office at admin@wscaweb.org.  Consideration for each request will depend on funds available for financial assistance. 

If you are a prospective member of WSCA, please submit your application for membership and your dues assistance request at the same time.