2018 Annual Conference

Maria Grovner, Sonya Wright, Rebecca Ginsberg, Rachel Kaney, Anita Ragland

School counselors have a vital role regarding college and career readiness. Come on a college and career journey with the school counselors in Atlanta Public Schools to learn about their approach in implementing a comprehensive K-12 college and career plan, with a seamless transition from level to level. Counselors from all levels will present information and resources on how their efforts have helped meet the district’s mission of every student graduating college and career ready.

Tentative Outline:

• Technology and College/Career Readiness
• Literacy and College/Career Readiness
• Small Groups College/Career Readiness
• Activities and  College/Career Readiness
• College and Career Readiness Activities

Learning Objectives

• Educate stakeholders about our role in college and career readines
• Explain how one district used this as a way to create a districtwide mandated activites
• Replicate presented lesson plans and activities                                                                     
• K-12 program guide which includes handouts with lessons and activities that can be replicated no matter the grade level (electronic link)
• Audience Participation: use of mobile device, think-pair-share activity, action plan for what they will implement

Jennifer Collins

Elementary

Academic Student Led Teams are a great way for students to show leadership and ownership of their learning.  School Counselors are an essential part of students' success. Learn how an elementary school and school counselor took Parent/Teacher Conferences to the next level through social emotional strategies, lessons, and goals. Attendees will learn about the ASLT process and the counselor's role.  They will also receive lesson ideas and examples to take with them.

Academic Student Led Teams are a great way for students to show leadership and ownership of their learning.  Most schools traditionally do Parent/Teacher Conferences.  After evaluating parent involvement and student ownership we decided to go a step further which eventually resulted in ASLT or Academic Student Led Teams.  Learn how an elementary school and school counselor took Parent/Teacher Conferences to the next level through social emotional strategies, lessons, and goals.  In the ASLT process school counselors are essential in helping teach all students how to set goals, both social emotional and academic.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

• Attendees will understand the ASLT process and how to hold ASLTs
• Attendees will leave our session with the ability to implement ASLTs
• Attendees will know the role of the school counselor in ASLT
• Attendees will know how to help students set social emotional and academic goals and be able to set them with students

Attendees will participate in an opportuniy to set their own social emotional goals.  All participants will receive handouts containing information given in the presentation and lessons to implement immediately.

Sarah Wenham

Researching postsecondary opportunities can be an overwhelming task for some high school students. School counselors play a crucial role in helping students understand and navigate their options. Join this session to learn more about the University System of Georgia (USG) and the resources available to help students make informed choices. This session will also highlight some of the exciting and innovative USG initiatives that support student success and completion as they begin their postsecondary experience.

During the session:

• Participants will be introduced to the University System of Georgia and the location of the USG institutions across the state.
• Participants will learn about the four types/sectors of postsecondary institutions that comprise the University System of Georgia.
• Participants will learn how the USG freshman admission requirements vary by institutional sector and will learn where to find all USG admission requirements on the USG website.
• Participants will learn about the USG’s Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) and will be introduced to the USG's Staying on Course resource.
• Participants will learn where to find various admissions resources and related information on the USG website.
• Participants will learn about the USG dual enrollment admission requirements and will learn where to find the information for all USG institutions on the USG website.
• Participants will be introduced to a number of current USG initiatives designed to help students enroll, progress, and complete.

There will not be any handouts provided but participants will leave with an awareness of where to find a number of useful resources on the USG website.

There will be numerous opportunities for audience participation.  In addition to sharing information in the session, the session will also provide the opportunity for participants to share if there are any additional resources that the USG System Office can provide that would help school counselors as they help students explore postsecondary options.

Patty Montague

Counselors are always looking for creative and free ways to support students and families in the college admissions process.  With testing being important both for admission and for financial aid and scholarships, finding free tools that can help students prepare and boost their scores are important.  This session will highlight the similarities and differences between the ACT and SAT, and provide resources that counselors can share with students.

Counselors will come away with an understanding of the two main admissions tests - SAT and ACT and free resources for students to help with preparation for the tests.  Additional resources that counselors will receive are:

      - representative list of colleges that have scholarships that are tied to GPA / test scores

      - sites for financial aid, loan debt burden by college, net price calculator

      - listing of free or low-cost counselor PD opportunities for college admissions information

While the delivery will be mainly lecture, participants will get to see the sites and how to help students set up accounts or perform a search.  Additional value will come with information about helpful blogs, websites, and social media sites to stay current in a fast-paced constantly changing environment.

Counselors will leave the session with greater confidence about testing specifically and how to access college admissions information generally.

Dr. Natalie Looney, Kimberly Blackshear, Robin Blackwell, Pam Griswell, and Yunilda Nunez

Counselors have the ability to be change agents in their schools. They can help facilitate a caring culture where students, faculty, and families feel they are valued members of the school community. This session will explore how counselors can leverage their knowledge and expertise of ASCA Mindsets and emotional intelligence to help facilitate a positive culture. Participants will use a culture framework to examine and establish best practices for their school setting.

The session will begin with a review of the culture framework. The framework will include aspects of culture related to interactions in a school setting (student to student, student to teacher, teacher to teacher, school to family, and student to family). Using the ASCA mindsets and Daniel Goleman’s work on Emotional Intelligence, participants will examine how to enrich each of these relationships through social interactions. The session will include individual and group reflection, group discussion, and interaction with tangible resources. Participants will leave with an action plan to take back to their school to help facilitate the conversation and lead initiatives that help to cultivate a caring culture.

Zane Shelfer EdS, LPC, NCC, NCSC
Assistant Superintendent

If you have ever wondered what happens when a student enters the Department of Juvenile Justice School System, this presentation is for you. Come learn how the Department of Juvenile Justice School System is working to build a better future for students while they are enrolled. An overview of the agency and school system will be provided. In addition, information about programs, graduation, reentry, and transition into and out of the system will be discussed.

The content of my program will be a comprehensive overview of the DJJ school system with specific information that school counselors will find helpful when they work with justice involved youth. The learning objectives are 1) an understanding of the DJJ School System, 2) insight into working with justice involved youth, and 3) discussing how school counselors can be part of a support system for their DJJ youth. A PowerPoint will be provided.

Issues in Counseling

Rhonda K. Harris, LMSW
Jessica M. Thompson, Ed.S

Behavior is the way our students talk to us.  Within the school setting we have been taught to look at behavior as attention seeking, escaping or manipulation.  In this presentation, we will dig deeper and examine an innovative approach based on a new understanding of the brain.  We will share theories, practices and frameworks that best facilitate how to implement interventions within a three-tiered model. 

A hands-on session demonstrating and discussing the most engaging, strategies for addressing emotional and social concerns of students for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.  An overview of an effective student referral process, evidence based interventions like Positive Action and Second Step as well as tried and true tools such as Zones of Regulation, Social Thinking, Mindfulness and creative interventions.

The learning objectives are: 

1. Summarize relationship of how the brain effects behavior.
2. Summarize the framework of lagging skills to understand problematic behavior.
3. Summarize how an effective referral process of PBIS fits within the MTSS model.
4. Demonstrate interventions for addressing emotional and social concerns at Tier II and Tier III that address lagging skills.

We will examine the brains role in emotional regulation and how to connect and redirect when a student becomes dysregulated.  By using connection and redirection, we can build the neuro connections necessary by providing time and practice with students in order to develop the lagging skills they need for self-regulation. 

Amy Short
Lauren Butler

Secondary

Christina Cotsakis Cordón, Morgan Zwicker Jones

Have you ever wanted to include languages other than English in your counseling program, but were unsure how? This session will discuss how school counselors can identify languages present in the school community and intentionally incorporate these languages into the school counseling program in both dual-language immersion (DLI) and traditional classrooms, even if the counselor does not speak each language.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Ethical Standards for School Counselors state that school counselors should “strive to use… bilingual/multilingual school counseling program materials representing languages used by families in the school community” and “affirm the abilities of and advocate for the learning needs of all students” (2016, p. 7). This responsibility applies to all schools but is a unique challenge in dual language immersion (DLI) programs. School counselor training often does not include methods of utilizing bilingual or multilingual program components (Clemente & Collison, 2000; Smith-Adcock, Daniels, Lee, Villalba & Delicato, 2006). This session will discuss how school counselors can incorporate community languages into the school counseling program in both DLI and traditional classrooms.

As a result of this session, participants will:

1. Understand how school counselors can incorporate multiple languages in dual-language immersion classrooms,
2. Learn how to identify languages used in their school community and resources related to those languages, and 
3. Consider methods of incorporating languages used in the school community into traditional classrooms and schools, even if the counselor does not speak each language represented.

During the presentation, the audience will participate in activities in languages other than English that the presenters have used in the classroom. Presenters will ask for audience input to guide the direction of the presentation and specific content covered. The audience will also be able to participate by contributing any knowledge that they may have related to incorporating languages in the school counseling program. Participants will be able to discuss their thoughts on using other languages in their schools and share ideas. We will provide handouts related to finding out which languages have a presence in your community and finding resources in languages other than English.

 American School Counselor Association (2016). Ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

Clemente, R., & Collison, B. B. (2000). The Relationships Among Counselors, ESL Teachers, and Students. Professional School Counseling, 3(5), 339.

Smith-Adcock, S., Daniels, M. H., Lee, S. M., Villalba, J. A., & Indelicato, N. A. (2006). Culturally Responsive School Counseling for Hispanic/Latino Students and Families: The Need for Bilingual School Counselors. Professional School Counseling, 10(1), 92-101.

Hope Huey, McIntosh High School
LeeAnn Belknap, McIntosh High School

Secondary

A complete five day lesson plan targeting the Bridge Bill requirement for 11th graders.  Our presentation will cover career researching, college researching, college application process, college admissions essay, academic resume and documentation used for the Bridge Bill requirement.  We will be using Naviance as our tool for research. We also use an internet program called "Blackboard" to provide students with needed documents or information and we also make use of the Google Drive and Forms.

Lynne Watts

Elementary

Every student can develop their leadership qualities.  Through this interactive training, learn a series of lessons that incorporate the Seven Leadership Traits identified by Stephen Covey.  For each leadership trait a sample lesson plan, books to use, plans for evaluation and follow-up as well as activities to use will be included.  

Learning to be a Leader:  Lessons that Empower Students

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will review the leadership traits outlined by Stephen Covey.
2. Participants will experience some empowering lessons that address the traits of leadership. 

Learning to be a Leader:  Lessons that Empower Students 

Identify the Seven Leadership Traits and how to use them in schools: 5 minutes

• Classroom lessons
• Groups
• School Initiatives and themes

Leadership Trait #1 Be Proactive-Be Prepared-10 minutes

            Recommended Books:

                        Mom, What if I Don’t Want to Go to School?  By Michelle Lautanen

                        The Day the Earth Was Silent by Michael MGuffee

                        Simon’s Hook by Karen Gedig Burnett

                        Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten by Lynne Watts

            Activities/Game:

                        Use Problem situation cards as part of the lesson

   Plan for Evaluation and Follow-up

                        Students create a personal checklist to prepare for school each day

                        Counselor reviews checklists at next lesson

Leadership Trait #2:  Begin with the End in Mind-10 minutes- includes group interaction for Card Game Race

            Recommended Books:

• Annie’s Plan by Jeanne Kraus
• Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  By Carol McCloud
• What if Everybody Did That? By Ellen Javernick
• Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns to be Organized by Lynne Watts

Activities/Game: 

• Card Game Race-
• Marshmallow Test

Plan for Evaluation and Follow-up

• Each student creates a schedule
• Counselor checks for successful implementation of schedule at next lesson

Leadership Trait #3 Put first things first- -10 minutes

            Recommended Books:

                        Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Good Manners

                        Wanted a Best Friend by A. M. Monson

                        Who Moved my Cheese for Kids by Spencer Johnson M.D.

            Activities:  Large Jar Visual: http://youtu.be/6_N_uvq41Pg

 Plan for Evaluation and Follow up

• Students create a list of priorities and place on a 10 point scale
• Students review list of priorities and implementation at next lesson

 Leadership Trait #4 Think win/win 10 minutes-includes group interaction-Cup Stacking Game

            Recommended Books: 

                        Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Mindset by Lynne Watts

                        The Meanest Thing to Say by Bill Cosby

            Activities/Games:Cup Stacking Game-

Plan for Evaluation and Follow-up

            Students create a comparison chart for growth vs fixed mindset

            Students review ways they demonstrated a growth mindset

Leadership Trait #5:  Seek first to understand, then to be understood-10 minutes-includes group interaction-Reba & Ambler

            Recommended Books: 

                        Amazing Grace Mary Hoffman/Caroline Birch

                        Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy

                        Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester

                        Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Friendship, by Lynne Watts

            Activities/Games:  Reba and Ambler Activity

            Plan for Evaluation and Follow up

                        Students role play situations where differences are recognized and appreciated

                         Students identify ways that they have demonstrated an appreciation and acceptance                             of diversity

Leadership Trait # 6: Synergize: Cooperation and Collaboration-10 minutes

            Recommended Books: 

                        Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Cooperation, by Lynne Watts

                        Wanted: Best Friend, A. M. Monson

            Activity/Games: The Marshmallow Challenge

Plan for Evaluation and Follow up

                        Students role play situations where cooperation is difficult but necessary

                        Students identify ways that they have demonstrated cooperation and collaboration

Leadership Trait #7:  Sharpen the Saw (Always be a Learner)-10 minutes

            Recommended Books:

                        The dot by Peter H. Reynolds

                        Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

                        If I Were in Charge of the World by Judith Viorst

Activities:

                        Draw Yourself as A Superhero

                         Draw a heart or a coat of arms and fill in what you would like to learn about

Plan for Evaluation and Follow up

                        Students identify areas where they would like to expand their knowledge

                        Students identify specific ways they can increase their knowledge

Total minutes:  75 minutes

Crystal Jordan, M. Ed., NCC

Secondary

From Kahoot and Poll Everywhere to Padlet and Remind, attendees will walk away with ways to incorporate teen friendly technology into their core curriculum lessons for a more engaging and impactful session. Live demonstrations of the ease of use will take place with an opportunity to... 

Andre Prospere

Applying executive functioning skills is a viable means of developing strong character traits in students. It also supports a holistic goal of overall achievement. This presentation will focus on how introducing and reinforcing these skills in P12 students through a group counseling intervention can help bolster academic achievement. Handouts containing more specific information will be provided.

Lauren Peavler

Information on the scholarship process, applying for scholarships and keeping existing scholarships.

During this presentation, attendees will learn about college funding resources, such as scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid.  The presentation will help keep high school counselors invested in the process of supporting their student’s scholarship initiatives. In addition, the presentation will also inform counselors on how to encourage students to build and personalize a Scholarship Portfolio and turn it into their own strategic marketing tool.  Key topics of discussion include:

• Types of scholarships
• Partners in the process
• Preparing a scholarship portfolio
• A strategic approach
• Keeping your scholarship

College Readiness

Stefanie Hassing, Denise Lenares-Soloman, Ph.D.

This presentation is aimed to provide school personnel and educators information regarding the increased risks and needs for the LGBT+ population between the ages of 10-19 and how to address them.  These include suicide awareness and prevention, drug use, Safe Zone environment training, advocation steps that can be done within the classroom and the school, as well as state laws and regulations regarding sexual orientation protections called “safe schools laws”.

The presentation will cover various points of LGBT+ adolescent population needs that differ from general population within the educational environment.  This includes increased risk for suicide, substance use, depression, anxiety, self-harm, increased bullying, safety issues, and increased sexual risk-taking.  Protective factors and risk factors for this population are addressed, particularly that of a supportive or unsupportive environment and how it can affect a LGBT+ student within a learning environment.

Advocacy and social justice opportunities for the classroom, school and community will also be covered. 

There will be various opportunities for participation, including discussion, questions, and Q & A. 

Supplemental resources will be provided, primarly for Georgia but some nationwide resources and crisis information, via handout.  Information from the AFSP, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, will also be handed out per request.