June 2022
Table of Contents
A Message from the WSCA Operations Manager
Hello and happy summer, WSCA Members!
As the face behind the WSCA phone and email, I wanted to take a moment to connect with you as you head into this time of rest and rejuvenation after a very tough year. I know you are ready to check out for your well-deserved breaks, but I do want to make sure you are aware of the high-quality opportunities for summertime learning, personal growth, and self-care during these months off.
As a perk to engaging with our start of summer newsletter content, you can find a short three-question quiz in the body of the email version of this newsletter. Fill it out to be entered to win a WSCA goodies giveaway!
Happy resting to you all.
~Nicole Kester
A Message from the WSCA Board of Directors
Hello June! We are happy to see you!
What a year it has been. After two unprecedented years due to the pandemic, I think many of us came into the 2021-2022 school year with hope, optimism, and the excitement of being face to face with our students. What everyone was hoping would be a return to “normal” has, for many of us, been anything but. Due to staff shortages, the continued presence of COVID-19, pressure from community members, and students adjusting to life in person again, this school year brought some very unique challenges. As board members, we recognize the uphill battles that were faced this year and continue to be so thankful for all of our very talented school counselors around the state.
This school year, the board focused its work on racial equity and ensuring we are meeting the needs of all of our members. We will continue this work into the summer as we look into our focus for the next school year. We will be sending two board members to the ASCA conference to bring back learning that we hope will be very informative for our organization and our members.
As you all wrap up your school year, we again thank you for your hard work this year and continued contributions to this organization. We hope that everyone has time to rest, recharge, and take care of themselves this summer. We appreciate all that you do.
~Katie McCormick
Feature Article – Celebrate Pride Month
Celebrate Pride Month
Lauren Schultz
Menasha High School Counselor, WSCA Scholarship and Professional Recognition Director
It’s June! We made it! As we wrap up another school year, it is the time for celebrations. We celebrate the achievements of our students, the progress of our schools, and the personal growth we have obtained from another challenging year now behind us. June is also the perfect time to celebrate Pride Month and our LGBTQ students, staff, families, and surrounding community.
Pride month is celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising and raise awareness about efforts for equal justice and equal opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBTQ Americans were commonly subjected (History). This event was a turning point in the movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQ+ Americans. Read more about it here.
Now that we are shifting to time away from our students, the month of June provides us an excellent opportunity to assess the policies and practices of our school and district, analyze how our counseling programs provide equitable access for LGBTQ+ students, as well as reflect on our personal beliefs and biases. Year after year, data show students report feeling unsafe in school due to their sexual orientation, perceived orientation, gender identity, or gender expression and report experiencing homophobic remarks, harassment, and bullying (GLSEN). According to HRC’s report, LGBTQ students have a difficult time accessing affirming and supportive school counseling services. Of the LGBTQ youth surveyed, 77 percent reported that, on average, they had felt down or depressed in the past week. Yet, only 27 percent are comfortable talking to their school counselor about issues related to their LGBTQ identity.
(Check out this free ASCA webinar on Supporting Safe and Healthy Schools for LGBTQ students!)
School Counselors have the unique opportunity to be an ally for all LGBTQ students, whether they are out to us or not. An ally is a supporter that will stand up to discriminatory practices, act when they hear or see anything offensive, display their allyship visibly so others know you are a safe person to talk to, and be the empathetic, supportive people School Counselors naturally are (Inclusion Ally.)
As we wrap up the 21-22 school year, I invite you to reflect on the LGBTQ work that was done in your building. There are always moments to celebrate! There are many moments to celebrate, whether it’s something monumental like starting a Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) or something small and symbolic like displaying a rainbow flag in your office. Thank you, School Counselors, for all the work you do to make school a safe, accepting place for all students. In the words of WSCA’s own Lisa Koenecke, “Thank you for saving lives!”
Resources
Advocacy & Support Organizations
Books
- Be an Inclusion Ally: ABCs of LGBTQ+
- LGBTQ Inclusive Books for Elementary
- LGBTQ Inclusive Books for Middle School
- LGBTQ Inclusive Books for High School
- LGBTQ Reads for Adults
Lesson Plans
Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs)
You Spoke, We Listened
Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in our Schools
Brian J & Lisa K’s recent online learning presentation on “Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in our Schools” is now available on-demand.
You can find this recording, along with all the other 2021-2022 online learning presentations, in the Members’ Only area of the website.
If you are looking for even more content, be sure to peruse our on-demand video archive where you will find 100+ recordings broken down by level and track.
Advocating for Your LGBT+ Students in Your School Community
With the recent events in Wisconsin around schools supporting LGBT+ students it is helpful for school counselors to look to our professional ethics and ASCA position papers to review what our professional responsibilities are for this population of youth. These resources can assist in you in advocating for your LGBT+ students in your school community.
Below are excerpts from the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors that guide this work.
RESPONSIBILITY TO STUDENTS
A.1. Supporting Student Development
School counselors:
- Respect students’ and families’ values, beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identification/expression and cultural background and exercise great care to avoid imposing personal beliefs or values rooted in one’s religion, culture or ethnicity.
A.6. Appropriate Referrals and Advocacy
School counselors:
- Refrain from referring students based solely on the school counselor’s personal beliefs or values rooted in one’s religion, culture, ethnicity or personal worldview. School counselors maintain the highest respect for student diversity. School counselors should pursue additional training and supervision in areas where they are at risk of imposing their values on students, especially when the school counselor’s values are discriminatory in nature. School counselors do not impose their values on students and/or families when making referrals to outside resources for student and/or family support.
A.10. Underserved and At-Risk Populations
School counselors:
- Strive to contribute to a safe, respectful, nondiscriminatory school environment in which all members of the school community demonstrate respect and civility.
- Advocate for and collaborate with students to ensure students remain safe at home and at school. A high standard of care includes determining what information is shared with parents/guardians and when information creates an unsafe environment for students.
- Understand students have the right to be treated in a manner consistent with their gender identity and to be free from any form of discipline, harassment or discrimination based on their gender identity or gender expression.
A.11. Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse
School counselors:
- Report to the administration all incidents of bullying, dating violence and sexual harassment as most fall under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 or other federal and state laws as being illegal and require administrator interventions. School counselors provide services to victims and perpetrator as appropriate, which may include a safety plan and reasonable accommodations such as schedule change, but school counselors defer to administration for all discipline issues for this or any other federal, state or school board violation.
B.3. Responsibilities to Self
School counselors:
- Monitor and expand personal multicultural and social-justice advocacy awareness, knowledge and skills to be an effective culturally competent school counselor. Understand how prejudice, privilege and various forms of oppression based on ethnicity, racial identity, age, economic status, abilities/disabilities, language, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity expression, family type, religious/spiritual identity, appearance and living situations (e.g., foster care, homelessness, incarceration) affect students and stakeholders.
- Refrain from refusing services to students based solely on the school counselor’s personally held beliefs or values rooted in one’s religion, culture or ethnicity. School counselors respect the diversity of students and seek training and supervision when prejudice or biases interfere with providing comprehensive services to all students.
- Work toward a school climate that embraces diversity and promotes academic, career and social/emotional development for all students.
- Make clear distinctions between actions and statements (both verbal and written) made as a private individual and those made as a representative of the school counseling profession and of the school district.
ASCA also creates and maintains position statements based on the following criteria.
- The issue has an impact on students in one or more of the following areas: academic development, career development, social/emotional development.
- Activities relative to the topic provided by a school counselor within a school counseling program may be affected by differences in opinion or educational philosophy.
- The issue is of national interest.
- The issue arises in the regular implementation of the school counseling program.
Below are four position statements created by ASCA that outline of the appropriate role of the school counselor related to supporting LGBTQ+ students.
The School Counselor and Transgender/Gender-nonconforming Youth
School counselors recognize all students have the right to be treated equally and fairly with dignity and respect as unique individuals, free from discrimination, harassment and bullying based on their real or perceived gender identity and gender expression. School counselors work to safeguard the well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.
The School Counselor and LGBTQ Youth
School counselors promote equal opportunity and respect for all individuals regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. School counselors recognize the school experience can be significantly more difficult for students with marginalized identities. School counselors work to eliminate barriers impeding LGBTQ student development and achievement.
The School Counselor and Cultural Diversity
School counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to expand personal multicultural and social justice advocacy, awareness, knowledge and skills to be an effective, culturally competent school counselor. School counselors work toward cultural competence and cultural humility to provide culturally sustaining school counseling. School counselors demonstrate responsiveness by collaborating with students and stakeholders in support of a school and community climate that embraces cultural diversity and helps to promote all students’ academic, career and social/emotional development.
The School Counselor and Gender Equity
School counselors are committed to creating an emotionally, intellectually and physically safe environment for all students and to using inclusive language and positive modeling of gender equity. Creating this environment facilitates and promotes the development of each individual by removing bias and stereotypes for all students in school.
Student Services are Central to Technical College Experience During and After COVID
Wisconsin Technical College System
If you’re a new school counselor or staff person within the past two years, our staff may not have had many opportunities to bring you up to speed on the services we provide to students, thanks to the limitations placed on all of us by the pandemic. Even if you’re not a new school counselor or staff, we think it’s important to know a few things about Wisconsin technical colleges.
There’s a good chance you already know this. Still, as of the fall semester of 2022, the technical colleges will be expanding the products and services and broadening equitable opportunities for all students, especially those who may dream of transferring from a two-year technical college to a four-year college or university. The University of Wisconsin System has partnered with the technical colleges to accept all credits in an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science program offered by a technical college. Until recently, only five of the technical colleges had the authority to provide these programs with a seamless transition into a UW college. This will open many more doors for students, especially those who may want to earn an affordable associate’s degree and transfer into a bachelor’s degree program.
Many people who might have enrolled in a college or university during COVID may have set aside their plans due to financial constraints, job losses, parents’ financial challenges, or even illness. You may already know that technical colleges are incredibly focused on removing barriers that prevent students from accomplishing their academic goals. The services available to students are inclusive in depth and breadth. For example, there is a renewed focus on technical college campuses for mental health for students. Many of the colleges may offer daycare centers for parents of young children with limited options for childcare. All the colleges offer some type of food pantry and invite all students to shop there instead of choosing between enriching their future and enriching their stomachs.
Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges also offer emergency assistance grants. These grants are helpful for students who would be in class but may have an unexpected and unbudgeted need threatening their continued attendance, for example, a new car battery or other transportation issues. Many automotive programs at the colleges will even examine and, if possible, repair or perform maintenance on a student’s vehicle for free.
Reduced rate haircuts, massages, and other cosmetology services may be available for students lacking the disposable income to keep their hair freshly cut or have grooming concerns. Colleges with optical centers have discounted services for students who need them, and even campus restaurants might have food available at a discount that culinary students prepare as practical training. Tax preparation may also be available for students who might need help filing.
Several technical colleges also have health clinics on campus. Students in allied health programs can get practical experience, and a health professional can see students with health concerns for free.
Work study opportunities are available for students to generate income, along with opportunities to do work for the school. There are also services for students who may have trouble with tests, ADHD, communications problems, or other potential setbacks to completing their education.
The services available to students are plentiful, but they also require some proactivity by the students to find them and inquire about their access. We hope every school counselor who knows of students who may have obstacles to completing a credential will consider the technical colleges as a partner to help students cross over from high school to college with a smooth experience rather than students feeling like they are traversing rough or rocky terrain.
Visit us online to connect with student services departments at our colleges.
Legislative Updates
ASCA Urges Congress to Address Gun Violence
Excerpt from ASCA’s Press Release:
“Dear ASCA members,
In today’s issue of USA Today is a one-page letter asking congressional leaders to pass legislation to promote gun safety and increase gun violence research. ASCA has signed on to this letter along with American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association Services, Clinical Social Work Association, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association, National Parent Teacher Association and the School Social Work Association of America.
The letter, which is a full page ad, states: “We stand together as educators, principals, school staff, parents, health professionals and professional associations to say, ‘No more!’ No more hashtags. No more headlines. No more short-lived outrage. No more empty promises.”
The letter is in alignment with ASCA ‘s position statement on the Prevention of School-Related Gun Violence and makes the argument that gun violence is a public health crisis and should not be conflated with mental illness.
“Arming educators is not the answer. Neither is forming another commission,” says Jill Cook, ASCA executive director. “The answer is common-sense gun laws. Congress must act. The lives of our school students and staff depend on it.”“
2022-2023 Professional Development
Conference Information & Updates
Counselor Connections
