Counselor Connection--March 1
Education Service Center Region 15
School Counselor Spotlight
Email: kimber.bennett@brownwoodisd.org
Website: https://www.brownwoodisd.org/brownwoodisd
Location: 2707 Southside Drive, Brownwood, TX 76801, USA
Phone: (325) 643-5644
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BrownwoodISD
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week March 20 - 26, 2023
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) is from March 20th to 26th. NDAFW is coordinated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The goal of NDAFW is to draw youth’s attention to science-based facts about drugs and alcohol.
NDAFW is an annual, week-long health observance that inspires dialogue about the science of drug use and addiction among youth. NDAFW offers educators, prevention specialists, counselors, and other youth intermediaries flexible programming to identify topics of greatest interest to their community and science-based information and resources that help improve knowledge and awareness, while also promoting skills that support informed decision-making, healthy coping, and other skills that are critical to the prevention of substance use among youth.
During NDAFW 2023, NIDA encourages event planners to use the Institute’s resources to help support social media, web and email promotion. Every year, we have representation from every state in the U.S. along with several international countries. We welcome the opportunity to tell you more about this exciting, upcoming opportunity to connect with NIDA and incorporate NDAFW into the important work they are already doing to prevent substance use in their communities. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact drugfacts@nida.nih.gov for assistance and please register your event today.
Vaping Prevention and Education
Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest
For more information visit: https://gallery.txsystemofcare.org/
School Connectedness
Greg Hickey, LPC met with students (grades 6-12) at Christoval ISD on February 15 to discuss what mental health is, what’s “normal,” signs that they or their friends are struggling, how to connect with one another as helpers, and where and how to seek help.
Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Training Module
College, career, and military readiness resources
ASU FAFSA NIGHT
Need Assistance with your 2023-2024 FAFSA? Financial Aid Counselors will be available to assist with the process and answer any questions. January 15th is the priority date!
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the single most important thing you can do to get money for college. By completing a FAFSA, students may be eligible for federal grants (free money), work-study funds, and federal student loans, including some institutional and state-based aid.
For information on items needed to complete the FAFSA, please read 7 Things You Need Before Filling Out the FAFSA® Form.
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2023, 05:00 PM
Math-Computer Science, Dena Dr, San Angelo, TX 76909, USA
Professional Development with Texas OnCourse
Texas OnCourse is excited to provide free virtual college and career readiness and success workshops to support your counseling and advising efforts. Our current offerings are listed below. Each webinar will last one hour. Click the link to register.
- Get Your Students OnCourse to a Brighter Future: An Overview of Texas OnCourse
- Improving College and Career Knowledge Using the Texas OnCourse Academy
- Making an Impact Using the ApplyTexas Counselor Suite
- Meet ADVi: Texas’ Virtual Advisor
Visit our Professional Development page for full descriptions of all of our offerings and feel free to share with your colleagues. If these sessions don't work for you, you can make a specific request from our PD page.
We are so excited to provide extended learning opportunities and events to support your efforts!
Scholarship Opportunities
- The Steiner Family Scholarship (closes 3/2): learnmore.scholarsapply.org/steinerfamilyscholarship
- Barry Griswell: (opens in late April): learnmore.scholarsapply.org/barrygriswellscholarship
- Scorpion Cares Scholarship Program will open in March and is open to high school seniors: learnmore.scholarsapply.org/scorpion
- PG&E Foundation Better Together STEM Scholarship Program: (3/13 – 4/17) for CA high school students planning to study a STEM field (more info here)
- Lockheed Martin:
- Lockheed Martin Vocational Scholarship (Open until 3/31) learnmore.scholarsapply.org/lmvocational
- Lockheed Martin STEM Scholarship: learnmore.scholarsapply.org/lockheedmartin
- Wells Fargo Veterans Program (includes Emergency Grants) – currently closed, but should be opening soon (more info here)
- MissionSquare Retirement Memorial Scholarship Fund (2/14 – 4/1) for surviving children of those who died in service (health care, government employees, public safety, etc.): learnmore.scholarsapply.org/missionsq
Proposed IBC and Programs of Study Accountability Phase-In
The Performance Reporting Division updated the proposed phase-In timeline for IBCs and programs of study for accountability in February.
Proclamation 2024 State Review Panel
The Texas Education Agency needs volunteers to review career and technical education materials submitted in response to Proclamation 2024 to determine the extent to which the materials address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. We need reviewers for the following courses:
Chapter 127. Career Development/Subchapter I. Health Science:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Health Science Theory
- Leadership and Management in Nursing
- Medical Assistant
- Medical Billing and Coding
- Medical Microbiology
- Medical Terminology
- Pathophysiology
- Pharmacology
- Pharmacy I
- Pharmacy II
- Food Science
- Forensic Science
- Computer Science I
- Computer Science II
- Cybersecurity Capstone
- Fundamentals of Computer Science
- Foundations of Cybersecurity
- Engineering Design and Presentation I
- Engineering Design and Presentation II
- Principles of Applied Engineering
ACET Updates: Scholarship deadline
The 2022-2023 ACET Scholarship for qualifying students and paraprofessionals is available, and the deadlines for submissions are approaching!
Please help spread the word by forwarding the following online application links to your campus/district staff, families, and students. All information regarding the application process including the application, submission timeline, and scoring rubric for this scholarship can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Students: https://acetx.org/student-scholarship-application/
Paraprofessionals: https://acetx.org/paraprofessional-scholarship-application/
All applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Friday, March 3, 2023. Scholarship recipients will be notified by the ACET organization in May 2023.
Professional Development
Beyond Burnout: Exploring the Cost of Caring Lunch and Learn
The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) is partnering with the Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health to bring Beyond Burnout: Exploring the Cost of Caring Lunch and Learn virtual events.
Educators, administrators, and school safety professionals have the strenuous task of caring for students and staff, in addition to caring for their own families and themselves. Utilizing a light-hearted, engaging approach, this presentation explores the ways in which our work impacts us as helping professionals. Participants will be given tools to decrease risk for compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and burn-out.
Discussion will then focus on enhancing compassion satisfaction and resilience through individualized strategies. This presentation seeks to reframe the way we think about self-care and will include a live Q and A with the Director of School and Community Engagement for The Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health.The lunch and learn virtual events will take place from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Central Time.
- March 3, 2023
- April 14, 2023
- May 12, 2023
Please Note: This training is open to public ISDs, open-enrollment charter schools, junior colleges, school-based law enforcement, and state agencies that support Texas schools. Due to limited space, vendors and contractors are not permitted to register for this event.
TEA Mental and Behavioral Health Team and Project AWARE Texas Webinars
The TEA Mental and Behavioral Health Team and Project AWARE Texas will be hosting a series of monthly webinars on school mental health topics including substance use/abuse prevention, school and community partnerships, parent engagement, and school safety.
Join a webinar every 2nd Wednesday of the month from 11:00 am CST to 12:00 pm CST from January to June.
This Webinar Series is sponsored by
Project AWARE Texas
for the purpose of advancing wellness and resiliency in education.
Save the Dates
and Time via Zoom
11:00 am-12:00 pm (CST)
- March 8th: Accessing Resources Using the School Mental Health Database
- April 12th: Securing Community Partnerships
- May 10th: Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT)
- June 14th: Parent & Family Engagement
Upcoming Sessions at ESC
Texas School Safety Center Restorative Practice Training
Restorative Practices helps us to build healthy relationships by identifying core values and establishing consensus around how we relate to one another. Restorative Practices provides a process for effective communication, establishing healthy boundaries, taking responsibility, solving conflict, healing when harm has occurred, and creating accountability for self and others.
In this 4-hour session, participants will first learn about what Restorative Practices is and is not, followed by why Restorative Practices is a proactive and reactive tool that campuses should have in their intervention toolbox. Participants will also learn how to facilitate the restorative process, implement foundational structures for implementation, key components for data collection, and analysis to track program effectiveness.
Register Online at https://forms.txssc.txstate.edu/rpe/fy23-reg/form?selected=43198
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2023, 07:30 AM
612 South Irene Street, San Angelo, TX, USA
Emergency and After Hours Resources
This list is of known providers of particular services. The providers on the list are from a variety of sources. The list is being provided as a courtesy, for information only, and the user should understand that no assurances or guarantees regarding the providers on the list are being made by providing this list. We do not endorse, approve, or recommend any specific provider listed below. This list is not inclusive of all community agencies, services, or organizations that provide the particular service, and the omission of an agency, service, or organization from this list does not imply disapproval. It is the responsibility of the user of this list to determine whether any of the content is of value to them and whether or not the agency, service, or organization meets their specific needs.
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National
- Emergency: (24/7): 911
- Referral Services: (crisis counseling, housing, food, health care, family services): 211 | https://www.211texas.org/
- Suicide Prevention: 988 | 988lifeline.org
- Self-Injury/Cutting: 1-800-366-8288 | selfinjury.com
- Eating Disorders: 1-800-931-2237 | nationaleatingdisorders.org
- Runaway Hotline: 1-800-231-6946 | 1800runaway.org
- Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 | childhelp.org/hotline/
- Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 | rainn.org
- Domestic/Relationship Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | thehotline.org
- Trevor Hotline for LGBTQ Youth: 1-866-488-7386 | thetrevorproject.org
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline | samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
- Other resources for developing healthy lifestyles, including mental and emotional help: helpguide.org
ESC 15 Counseling and Mental Health
Email: mentalhealth@esc15.net
Website: https://www.esc15.net/
Phone: (325)658-6571
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Region15ESC/
Twitter: @Region15ESC
Lesley Casarez, PhD, CCTS-I, CTP, CSC
Greg Hickey, LPC
(325) 658-6571 x2113
Anne Hardegree, LPC-S
(325) 481-4019
Alex Robles, LPC
(325) 481-4009
Alex Nieto
(325) 481-2151
Ella Nichols, LBSW
(325) 481-4062
Noemi Ucuk
Jessica Flores, LPC, BCBA
(325) 481-4057
Carol Stevens, M.Ed. CSC
McKinney-Vento, HELP Grant, and Counseling