August 2024

A Message from the WSCA Executive Director

It is hard to believe all of you will soon be in your schools greeting students to a new school year! Your WSCA leaders have been hard at work this summer planning events that you know and love as well as working on creating new opportunities to meet the changing needs of school counselors. As we are puting the final touches on our plans for the upcoming year, we hope you will be able to squeeze in another day of summer relaxation before the school year is in full swing!

The WSCA leaders are wishing you all a great year!

~Stacy Eslick

A Message from the WSCA Board of Directors

Hello my fellow Wisconsin School Counselors and those who are here to learn more about our incredible work! I hope that you are having an incredible summer with opportunities for rest, reset, and relaxation. As this newsletter arrives in your inbox I hope that you are feeling the excitement that comes with new opportunities for the new school year. Just as we are excited for the opportunities to start our new years in our schools, our Board of Directors launched our new year with our summer Leadership Development Institute and quarterly meeting at the end of July.

Our time at the end of July provides us the incredible opportunity to come together and continue our work to build the Ends Policies which set the organizational goals that help guide the incredible ways in which WSCA serves you. We spend two full days engaged in deeply enriching conversations to help us understand the world of school counseling.

We determined, as a Board, that Leadership will be a particular focus of our work and spent time learning our leadership styles and those of all of the members of the Board so we better understand how to engage with one another. This work is critical not only for the stance that we are leaders as Board members, but because we understand that all School Counselors are leaders. Understanding that leadership doesn’t just fall from a title such as “director of…”, but comes from the work that we need to do for our students is important for all of us as we enter our buildings this year with our hearts hoping that we will give an opportunity for all students to be their most successful selves.

My fellow Board Member, Vicki Cox-Clayborn, and I had the incredible opportunity to attend the ASCA National LDI and Conference and report back to the Board on National Trends and information shared by presenters across the nation on the Board selected topics of Equity, Leadership, and Mental Health. Through sharing this learning we as a Board had some vibrant discussions on approaching difficult conversations about equity, the challenges our youth face regarding social media and call-out and cancel culture, the state of youth mental health, the definition of the role of a school counselor, and secondary trauma and burnout.

Finally, we laid out what is quite likely the most important piece of our work as a Board, our opportunities to connect with you as members. Our ongoing learning as a Board on equity, mental health and leadership are a small part of what drives us. The information of greatest value is the stories we hear from all of you. As you take advantage of the many opportunities you will have through WSCA this year, you will see us there learning with you, and learning from you. I encourage you as you meet us throughout the year to share your stories, your successes, your challenges, your needs and your dreams. It is these stories of what it means to you to be a School Counselor that make up the heart of what we do as a Board. After all, we are here to serve you so that, as our ENDS state, you can “…practice with the highest level of effectiveness using an equity lens…”

~Russ Nelson

ASCA Connections

ASCA Revised/Added the Following Position Statements in 2024:

ASCA-Certified School Counselor

Check out Wisconsin’s very own Steve Schneider on the ASCA website to learn why he is an ASCA-certified School Counselor.

Congratulations to Sarah Wiseman from Milwaukee on earning the ASCA-Certified School Counselor in 2024!

Feature Article

Annual Administrative Conference as a School Counseling Program Advocacy Tool

Stacy Eslick, Executive Director, Wisconsin School Counselor Association

School counselors often share they do not feel that their administrators understand their role or support the implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program aligned with state and national standards. One of the simplest ways to communicate a data driven school counseling program is through the use of the Annual Administrative Conference. It is recommended that the counselor and administrator meet during the first eight weeks of the school year to review the document together. The counselor comes to the conference with a draft template and then collaborates with the administrator to finalize it. Below are the following components of the school counseling program that are included in the conference:

Brief data review summary that explains how data was prioritized to determine the goal(s) for the school counseling program.
Based on the data review summary, one to two annual student outcome (attendance, achievement, discipline) goals are developed and shared during the conference. These goals should be connected to the school and/or district priorities.
School counselor use of time is also discussed, reviewing the average from the previous year (2023-24) and what the counselor would like it to be this upcoming school year (2024-25) to achieve the annual student outcome goal(s) and implement the action plans.
The student-to-counselor ratio is included in the conference allowing the counselor to advocate for lower ratios if needed.. Make sure to consider “other duties as assigned” when calculating the ratio, if the school had to give a teacher an allocation to do the additional roles you do, how much time would that be? How much time do you actually have to spend as a school counselor?
Sharing action plans and the annual calendar during the conference allows the counselor to demonstrate how they will meet the annual student outcome goal(s) and student standards. The Closing the Gap Action Plan outlines what school counseling program services will be utilized for subgroups of students needing additional support. The Classroom and Group Mindset and Behavior Action Plan shows the administrator how the school counseling program is meeting the standards. The annual calendar outlines when activities in the action plans are being delivered, as well as other school counseling program services.
The advisory council is one of the last phases of school counseling program implementation. The group meets twice per year to give feedback on goals and action plans in the fall and then reviews the results reports in the spring.
The administrative conference gives the counselor the opportunity to advocate for professional development to achieve school counseling goals and develop the requisite skills to successfully implement action plans. When counselors demonstrate why they need professional development and how this ultimately helps meet the school/district priorities, it is more likely they will have support for counselor-specific training.
The conference closes by reviewing all the different committees, task forces, and other leadership roles the school counselor provides. This is your opportunity to highlight your unique perspective and what you bring to the school community. This section also includes details on the school counseling program budget and support staffing. Once again, this is the opportunity to collaborate with the administrator on ways the counseling program may be able to receive additional clerical and program support.

You don’t have to have all the sections of the annual administrative conference completed to meet with your administrator. It provides a powerful and succinct outline of the school counseling program so your administrators have a better understanding of what you do and how they can support the program. Some additional resources to support your implementation of the ASCA model include an annual timeline to implement program components as well as the annual school counseling program assessment. Watch for the upcoming WSCA Professional Development catalog, which will include many opportunities to support your model implementation journey.

DPI Connections

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Practices and Needs Survey

The Student Services, Prevention and Wellness Team at DPI is seeking input to learn about the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) efforts and needs in Wisconsin schools and districts. Your input is crucial in helping inform and direct the focus of DPI’s resource development and technical assistance. Please consider completing this survey or forwarding it to colleagues leading SEL, with a preferred response date of September 11, 2024.

Questions can be directed to dpisspw@dpi.wi.gov or (608) 266-8960.

DPI Releases Releases Information Bulletin on Clinically Trained Mental Health Professional License

This bulletin answers questions about the clinically trained mental health professional license, which became available for the first time in August 2024.

DPI releases 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Summary Report

New data shows Wisconsin youth continue navigating mental health crisis. Read more here.

DPI Released a Revised Edition of the New Non-Attending Minor Students and Attendance Process FAQ

This document is intended to provide answers to frequently asked questions regarding the attendance process for situations where minor students stop attending school for long periods of time. The revisions include a more accessible format, reminders related to topics that must be covered as part of the district truancy plan, clarity around district withdrawal procedures, and considerations for non-attending students with IEPs.

Herb Kohl Foundation Student Scholarship Update

The Herb Kohl Foundation announced it will no longer offer new student scholarships. Previously awarded scholarships will be fully honored. The Teacher Fellowship and Principal Leader award programs will continue.

DPI Back-To-School Transforming G/T Teaching & Learning Meeting

Join DPI Education Consultant for Gifted/Talented, AP, and IB Mark Schwingle on Friday, August 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This half-day (virtual) meeting will recap our Transforming G/T Teaching & Learning discussions on creativity from the 2023-24 school year and begin considering our theme for the 2024-25 school year: leadership. You can join using this Zoom link.

DPI Regional Career Pathways Quarterly Newsletter (Volume 1 Issue 4)

RCP 2023-2024 QUARTER 4 HIGHLIGHTS AND UPDATES

DPI Completed Standard-Setting and Benchmarking Process for the Forward Exam

Following an extensive process involving input and guidance from hundreds of educators across the state, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced it has completed the standard-setting and benchmarking process for the Forward Exam. Student achievement results on the standardized assessment, released this fall, will reflect these updates.