LCSCA Newsletter
Volume 1 Issue 2
Message from the LCSCA President
As we bring closure to the first half of the academic year I need to thank all LCSCA members, and Board Members for welcoming me and supporting me in my role as President but above all for your undeniable support for your local professional organization. Growth Day 2014 was a success and attendees benefited from the special address by our Superintendent Dr. Graham and our National Keynote Speaker Dr. Mike Thomson. We look forward to hosting the annual School Counseling Awards Breakfast/Administrator Awards in the spring as well as networking opportunities. As always, the door is open and we invite you to join LCSCA leadership; we are seeking members that are interested in joining us at the leadership level for possible positions on the board in the future. As a final reminder I will echo a very important message from our leadership at the district level regarding our profession and the momentum we are building through comprehensive school counseling plans: we are moving beyond random acts of guidance to purposeful, data driven, and evidence based practices. We are stepping up to the plate… we are professional certified school counselors!
I leave you with remarks from our First Lady’s keynote address at ASCA ‘14 in Orlando… “Too often, you are the only adults in their lives who aren’t there to grade them or judge them or punish them, and that’s why they seek you out when they have nowhere else to turn. So before I say anything else today, I want to say something that I’m sure you all don’t hear nearly enough, and that is, thank you.”
-Nestor Avila
Faces of LCSCA
Lee Cummins
"Being a part of LCSCA is like finding a wonderful oasis in the middle of a hot, parched, windblown desert. Such is the life experienced by a school counselor at ALC Central. I love understatement, don’t you? For me LCSCA means, networking, feeling connected, being part of a District-wide Team, being way behind on the learning curve, yet being accepted as almost normal. And best of all, the friendships that have developed through both laughter, and occasionally tears, that bring us all to a common ground of trust in one another. And provides us with a positive hopefulness towards those we serve. Thank you Debbie Trust for inviting me to my first LCSCA meeting.
Not to mention, where else would I find such a group of people so desperately starved for quality singing that they occasionally ask me to sing. Everybody knows I’m hard of hearing,….and tone deaf." LOL
Anne Marie Nicol
The benefits to joining LSCA are endless. The first that comes to mind is as an Elementary School Counselor, we are often the only counselor in the building and do not have a colleague to share with. By joining LSCA you are able to network and benefit from others’ experiences, share lesson plans and best practices. We all share a common goal; to help students become the best they can be!
Colin Kleinmann
"The Lee County School Counselor Association means a lot more than people realize. Not only do we advocate for our students and encourage personal growth and success; we advocate for our teachers, build bridges with our administrators, document our efforts to improve achievement, and ultimately improve the image of the Professional Certified School Counselor. With ever-improving clarifications of our roles and with continuous efforts from LCSCA and state and national associations, we are able to advocate for lower student-to-counselor ratios and proper roles within schools across the state. With a concerted effort, it won’t be long before it is widely realized that we are specialists in student success!"
Best Practices
Top Ten Tips for Writing Your Comprehensive Counseling Plan
by: Caroline Toadvine
10. – Don’t reinvent the wheel – network, share ideas, google – there are a lot of great plans out there – share ideas!
9. – Start small to go far – you don’t have to start with 10 program goals – start with three – and go from there
8. – Temporary Duty – once you have all your materials ready to go – take a day off campus and take the time you need to actually write your plan
7. Use your schools SIP – how can you support the schools vision/mission through your program goals – also the SIP has a great deal of information about your schools demographics, etc…
6. Calendar – Jot down all that you do each month – specific to that month, and then jot down ongoing counseling services
5. Get the most bang for your buck – how can you most affect change – what are the needs of your students to succeed – how can the school counseling programs help?
4. Network – were all in this together
3. Vision/Mission – What are the districts? What are your schools? Use them when coming up with your own.
2. Breathe – It’s seems overwhelming – but it’s really not that bad – just carve out some quiet time to develop your plan
1. And the number one tip is – have fun!!! This is your department’s program – an opportunity for you to be creative and passionate when helping kids every day.
Lee County School Counselors in Action
Lee County Counselors @ FSCA Conference
Growth Day 2014
Lee County School Counselor Association
Website: bit.ly/leecountysca
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Twitter: @leecountysca