PLSCN Update
Prairie Lakes School Counselor Network - September 2020
Social Justice & Equity Webinars
The inaugural webinar for the Iowa Department of Education’s Social Justice and Equity in Education series kicks off on Sept. 23 with two sessions each month following, culminating in a conference in March.
The first session, which will be opened by the Department’s Director Ann Lebo, will feature A’ndrea Wilson, a professor at Grandview University, who will deliver “It’s Okay to be Uncomfortable: Moving Toward Racial Equity in Education in Iowa.”
Look below for more details, future sessions, and how you can submit proposals.
Suicide Risk Assessment Workshops Open for Registration
Learn best practice in suicide risk assessment procedures and receive a copy of the book Suicide in Schools in this virtual training workshop.
September 29 and 30, 2020
8:30 - 3:30 with a one hour lunch break
$50/attendee
Become an ASCA-Certificed School Counselor
Learn more about ASCA's new certification program for school counselors.
Join Iowa College Aid's Course to College
The goal of Course to College is to promote a college-going culture in schools, school districts, communities, and throughout the state of Iowa.
Iowa College Aid defines college as a degree-awarding institution. Completion is defined as the act of earning a postsecondary degree, certificate, or credential.
Course to College recognizes the following college pathways:
- Associate and bachelor’s degrees
- Certificate and credential programs
- Registered apprenticeships
- Industry certifications
Virtual training: Diving deeper with Individual Career and Academic Planning (ICAP)
Look below for more details and how to register for this two part virtual training session!
Iowa’s only college access training program!
Participants who complete 101-301 will earn the College Access Professional Certificate.
Participants who complete 101–501 will earn the College Access Specialist Certificate.
Participants who complete 101–601 will earn the Specialist Certificate and an Equity Badge.
Save the Date: October PLCSN - AM Roundtable
Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020, 09:00 AM
undefined
"Hey! I like the roundtables just for the simple fact to see other counselors and gather some ideas. We're on our own island, so every little bit helps!" - Kristi Roberts, Algona Elementary
October PLSCN - PM Roundtable
Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020, 01:00 PM
undefined
“It’s Okay to be Uncomfortable: Moving Toward Racial Equity in Education in Iowa.”
The inaugural webinar for the Iowa Department of Education’s Social Justice and Equity in Education series kicks off on Sept. 23 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm featuring A’ndrea Wilson, a professor at Grandview University.
The series will include two sessions each month, culminating in a conference in March.
Register now to participate in the first webinar.
Licensure renewal credit is available for those who want it.
The purpose of the first webinar is to provide information to educators on the impact of racism on students of color, and how participants can unintentionally contribute to the problem and actively contribute to the solution. Attendees will be given concepts, resources and tools to aid them as they explore their own behaviors and commit to the process of creating more racially inclusive educational environments.
For planning purposes, participants should also put down on their calendars two other already scheduled webinars:
- Oct. 8, 3 to 4:30 p.m., featuring the Department’s Attorney Thomas Mayes, who will present “COVID-19: Class Disparities”;
- Oct. 22, 3 to 4 p.m., featuring the Department’s Janet Boyd, Pam Spangler and Jeanette Thomas, who will present “Equity Coordinators Refresher and Updates.”
The Department also continues to seek guest presenters for webinars. Learn more about the series and how to put in a proposal to be a guest speaker.
Individual Career and Academic Planning Virtual Training Sessions
The two-part virtual training sessions will offer multiple virtual sessions that will:
- Explore the foundational facets of career development and successful ICAP implementation;
- Uncover the expectations and competencies that Iowa wants as a picture of your high school graduates (Career and College Readiness/Postsecondary Workforce Readiness) and how this fits into Iowa’s economic future (Future Ready Iowa);
- Discover CTE and Career Pathway development connections - School counselors as CTE champions;
- Practice and emulate Meaningful Career Conversation Training;
- Address opportunities for work-based learning and experiential opportunities where Career Conversations exist naturally;
- Apply an equity-and-inclusion lens to this work; and
- Facilitate a “Yes, and....” mindset when conversing about barriers, strengths, challenges and celebrations.
Here are the details:
Session 1: Sept. 9 or 10 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Session 2: Sept. 16 or 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. (Prerequisite: Session 1)
Register or contact Katy Blatnick-Gagneat at katy.blatnick-gagne@iowa.gov or 515-681-6733 for more information.
Website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrGz9e7lngAzKawB1Ald_u8FQGxs-jRamWUbAW7qLz5VPxpg/viewform
Challenges and problems can derail your creative process ... or they can make you more creative than ever. In the surprising story behind the best-selling solo piano album of all time, Tim Harford may just convince you of the advantages of having to work with a little mess:
For the past two years, Ed Insight has housed data about how Iowa high school graduates are doing in regards to postsecondary enrollment, persistence and completion. The data was recently updated and it shows interesting new findings.
Enrollment in postsecondary within 1 year of graduation for PLAEA students has gone each of the last 3 years:
2016 graduates 73.7%
2017 graduates 69.3%
2018 graduates 68.0%
2019 graduates 64.3% enrolled within the first semester; first year enrollment numbers are not yet available
Overall, 70.5% of all students who graduated from a PLAEA public high school enrolled in postsecondary within one year of graduation (2012-2019 average). Of those students who enrolled, 86.9% returned for a second year, that is 62.5% of the graduating students. And just 50.5% of the PLAEA graduating students completed postsecondary with a degree or other award. That 69.9% of the students who enrolled.
When we compare those same years' average for different populations of students we see the outcomes are not equal for all students.
You can access this data for your district through Ed Insight. If you would like more help understanding, analyzing, and planning around the data, please contact Mark Shea, Postsecondary Readiness lead at mshea@plaea.org.
Upcoming webinars:
September 4: SEL Bright and Ripe Spots for Teachers and Parents of Students with Special Education Needs
September 11: Let's Get to Work: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
September 18: Building Equitable Learning Environments in Crisis Mode
PLAEA School Counselor Supports:
Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health Coordinator
Mark Shea; mshea@plaea.org
Postsecondary Readiness Lead