January 2025

Table of Contents

A Message from the WSCA Executive Director

Honoring WSCA Legends

For the past few years, I have been sharing the importance of Standard e, which is the Wisconsin law that addresses Guidance and Counseling Services. One thing I was unaware of was that the first version of this law was passed in 1973, with many thanks to the efforts of a very young professional association of counselors! As WSCA celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it is vital for us to reflect on the tremendous leaders who built this amazing organization and have done so much to promote the profession of school counselors in Wisconsin. I frequently say that where we are today is built on the shoulders of innovative and future-forward leaders of our past.  

John Bowen was one of the WSCA legends who helped the WSCA conference be recognized as one of the best state school counseling conferences in the United States. John was the WSCA conference chair for over a decade and impacted many school counselors throughout his tenure. John passed away in October, and we know that many of you were saddened to hear of his death. You can see John’s tremendous contributions throughout his life in his obituary.  

Since becoming the Executive Director in 2015, one thing that I realized is that we do not have a strong collective history of all the leaders who contributed to the success of WSCA.  We currently have one award (Mary Gehrke) and one scholarship (Mike Troy) that we have no written documentation of why their names are associated with the award/scholarship. We tend to think of this as an organization when one of our past leaders passes away. To help WSCA honor and document the significant contributions of our past leaders, please join us in capturing our collective history using this form.    

~Stacy Eslick

College Goal Reminder!

College Goal FAFSA completion events are available throughout the state and virtually! 

Click here to learn more about dates and locations.

CGWI is also seeking volunteers for its events, and you don’t need to be an FAFSA expert to help. 

A Message from the WSCA Board of Directors

Celebrating National School Counseling Week: A Time to Recognize and Reflect

I am thrilled to join with all of you this February and celebrate National School Counseling Week. This is a time when we can stop, take a moment to reflect, and recognize the incredible impact school counselors make on behalf of the students, families, and staff with whom we work each day. This is an opportunity to appreciate the critical difference it makes in keeping students on track academically, emotionally, and in their future pursuits.

National School Counseling Week is not only an occasion for celebration but rather all about recognition. Let’s showcase the great work, at times hidden, which counselors do on a daily basis: being a guiding hand through the process of academic planning, a comforting ear when students are fighting personal battles, or intervening in times of crisis. School counselors are at the heart of students’ educational journeys. Our commitment impacts not only the students with whom we work directly but also their families, our colleagues, and our communities.

This year, let’s get together and make this National School Counseling Week a very special time. Following are a few ways we can connect to and celebrate the week:

  1. Host an Appreciation Event:
    Reward the counseling team in your school with an appreciation ceremony. This can range from as small as a recognition during the staff meeting to as big as one of the school’s events that students, parents/guardians, and staff take part in. Take some time and highlight some of the special things school counselors do each and every day. Consider asking students to write “thank you” cards or create posters about the ways their counselor has touched their lives.
  2. Stories to Tell:
    Share the impact of school counseling through storytelling. Utilize regular newsletters, social media, or school announcements to share specific success stories with your students, families and teachers. This could be in the form of student testimonials on how they feel supported or helped because of the counseling service provided, a reflection from a teacher in regard to how classroom dynamics have improved because of these services, or the numbers that show the positive outcomes for which we work. Sharing these stories helps us to continue advocating and creating awareness of the value and effectiveness of school counseling.
  3. Professional Development:
    National School Counseling Week is also a tremendous time to invest in your own professional development: Attend a WSCA School Counseling Week Breakfast event, participate in a webinar, or hold a small workshop with colleagues on new tools, strategies, and trends in the field. Growth opportunities during this week enable us to reflect on our own practices and learn new ways to better serve our students and schools.
  4. Advocate for the Profession:
    School counselors are essential, but often our work is misunderstood. Take this week to raise awareness about the scope of what we do and to push for what we need. Think about advocating through activities like WSCA’s Day on the Hill where you will have the opportunity to meet with legislators and share information regarding school counseling program outcomes. Advocacy helps make certain the school counselor receives the due recognition and support for continued work on this critical area of needs.
  5. Community Engagement:
    Community engagement has proven to be a very powerful strategy in raising awareness about the school counselor’s role. Collaborate with local organizations, businesses, or community leaders to bring awareness about the counseling service in schools. You can even organize one joint event or service project that showcases the school counselor and community power together. Building these relationships promotes greater understanding and support for what we do.

As we get ready to observe National School Counseling Week, let us remember that this week is a time of recognition but also further solidifies our charge to empower students towards reaching their full potential. Every day, your commitment changes lives, and this week acts as a reminder to others of that important truth.

Thanks for your tireless dedication to students and for being part of the school counseling community. Let’s come together in celebration, recognition, and reflection of our awesome work! Here’s to a memorable National School Counseling Week 2025!

-Sincerely, Jen Binneboese

WSCA Board of Directors

ASCA Connections

Apply to run for the ASCA board 

Interested in running for an ASCA Board of Directors position? Applications are due Jan. 31.

Apply Here

Position Statement Public Comment

The ASCA Position Statement Committee is revising a number of position statements. Counselors are encouraged to share any comments by Jan. 31, 2024.

ASCA Social Media

ASCA is now on Bluesky, an X (Twitter) alternative – @weareasca.bsky.social

Counseling Program Recognition

Feature Article

From Worry to Resilience: How Counselors Can Help Anxious Students Thrive

Travis Nugent, LMFT, Rogers Behavioral Health

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent challenges facing students in schools, and simply put, the way out of anxiety is through it. Recent studies hypothesize that one in five students experience symptoms that are severe enough to impact functioning, including students’ struggles with finishing school work, concentration, school attendance/refusal, relationships, and self-esteem. School counselors are uniquely positioned to help influence students, their families, and the school environment to help students endure, work through, and become more resilient with their anxiety. To do this, counselors need to understand anxiety symptoms and patterns, family and school accommodations that can worsen anxiety, and clinically proven interventions to support students.

Interventions start with observations. Students with anxiety may exhibit patterns of reoccurring physical symptoms including headaches, stomachaches, and fatigue. Parents may accommodate by consistently removing students from school without medical intervention. Students with anxiety may also be emotionally irritable and have excessive worry, or fearfulness. Recurrent behaviors include avoidance, perfectionism, and difficulty finishing tasks. School counselors should familiarize themselves with the most common anxiety diagnoses in schools, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Separation Anxiety Disorder. Counselors can also utilize screening tools including GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) and SCARED (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders). Utilizing observations and screening tools can help counselors with interventions for the student, their families, and their school environment. 

Although students with anxiety may need a reasonable accommodation to function (i.e., more time on tests, time-restricted breaks, etc.), often parents and schools accommodate the anxiety, effectively worsening anxiety symptoms. There may be unlimited avoidance, reinforcing the belief that school work and other situations are dangerous. Another is the overuse of escape options such as a retreat to a “safe place,” undermining the gradual building of tolerance. Lastly, significantly lowering expectations for those who struggle compared to their peers may undermine confidence and foster feelings of inadequacy. 

The goal of working with students with anxiety is to build tolerance and resiliency. School counselors can educate students, teachers, and parents on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). Utilizing CBT, counselors can help students challenge their anxious thoughts through cognitive restructuring, rewriting negative thoughts into more realistic and helpful ones. Counselors can work on their own discomfort with anxiety, and work on tolerating uncertainty. The more comfortable they are, the more confident they will feel in “pushing” students to get through it. ERP focuses on the gradual exposure to the student’s fears while resisting safety behaviors that have worsened anxiety (like avoidance, isolation, and rumination). Exposure therapy assists in the natural processing of feelings through habituation or increases resiliency through inhibitory learning. To help support students, coping skills such as progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises are encouraged as a way to “get through” difficulties. A common metaphor used to explain habituation and inhibitory learning is: if there is fear of a dog, the natural response is to avoid it, which will make them feel safe, which reinforces that all dogs are/can be dangerous and should be avoided as opposed to slowly introducing yourself to a dog to get feedback that not all dogs are dangerous (habituation). 

School counselors create a bridge between teachers, students, and parents/guardians. Their unique position allows them to help by educating others on anxiety, intervening in unhelpful accommodations, and facilitating students’ growth. By maintaining high expectations, creating realistic accommodations, encouraging tolerance of uncomfortable feelings, and helping students gain resilience in facing anxiety, they can help students and families gain confidence in managing their anxiety. 

DPI Connections

DPI ACP Software Tool RFP and Survey Deadline January 17, 2025

Your district can share input on what you feel should be included in the ACP software tool between January 3-17, 2025, by completing a survey found on the DPI’s website.

February 3-7 – National School Counseling Week – DPI Proclamation

Dr. Underly signed a 2025 NSCW proclamation

State Superintendent Statement on School Shooting in Madison

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly released the following statement on December 16th regarding a school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School.

2024 Diversity Award

The Department of Public Instruction has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Diversity Award, presented by the State Council on Affirmative Action (SCAA). Read more here.

You Spoke, We Listened

Legislative Updates

WSCA Encourages Administrators to Support School Counselors Attending Virtual Day on the Hill to Share Why Funding for Education and Additional Mental Health is Important to Your District/School!

Before winter break, WSCA emailed Wisconsin administrators about one of WSCA’s keystone events, WSCA’s Virtual Day on the Hill on February 4, 2025.  This year is significant as the Joint Finance Committee plans for the 2025-27 state budget, and school funding is a key topic! We asked administrators to encourage their counselor(s) to be a voice at the legislative table to advocate for our students and the need to fund school counselors in your schools.

PLEASE join this critical event and advocate for funding for school counseling services.  WSCA will provide advocacy materials, tips, and advice for impactful and successful conversations with legislators. WSCA leaders will be available on the day of the event to answer questions and provide support.

These advocacy events are always FREE!

Note that appointments are scheduled with elected officials in advance (typically 30-minute meetings), so participating in this event does not require all-day attendance.

Click Here for Virtual Day on the Hill Details

Please see the details below about the Education and Joint Finance Committee members from the Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance. 

The beginning of the legislative session in Wisconsin marks a pivotal moment in the state’s political calendar, as lawmakers gather at the Capitol in Madison to address key issues and set legislative priorities for the year ahead. Legislative Committees have been announced. You can utilize this online search form to locate your legislators as they may have changed since last session. An interactive map is also available showing school districts with the overlapping legislative districts.

Members of the Assembly Education Committee:

Members of the Senate Education Committee:

Members of the Joint Finance Committee:

2024-2025 Professional Development

Conference Information & Updates