School Counseling Program News
Spring 2016
School Counseling Regulations
This is an exciting time in our profession. The public comment period closed on March 25th. NYSED will summarize the public comments and forward them to the Board of Regents, who will then act on the proposal. Stay tuned to NYSSCA for news and information!
Summer Course Offering
Job Search
ASCA has a wonderful resource entitled Job Search Skills for the Professional School Counselor that provides valuable information on everything from resumes and cover letters to interview questions. You can also find additional information about brushing up your resume in this blog entry
If you are ready to look for a school counseling position in NY, be sure to check listings on websites such as OLAS and Schoolspring.com, as well as local newspapers and district websites. Have you been granted an interview? ASCA provides a list of potential questions for administrators here and you can find some interviewing tips here
Finally, don't forget about the Career Development Center at SUNY Oneonta. You can visit the webpage to get information about their services, which include resume and cover letter assistance and mock interviews.
Shout Outs!
Graduates:
- Kate Jaffie, M.S. Ed. '12, recently presented at Arizona School Counselors Association conference on the topic of PBIS in Elementary Schools. She presented on interventions and supports in each tier, phases of implementation, and working through challenges.
- Kayla Mahoney, M.S. Ed. '12, has presented to many audiences on the subject of Creating a Trauma Informed Culture. She will present at SUNY Cobleskill later this month.
Faculty:
- Maizy Jaklitsch, Lecturer, has been appointed Region 7 Governor for NYSSCA. She will complete the term vacated by Kristin Shearer, who is serving as the President Elect Elect. Region Governors serve on the Board of NYSSCA and provide support to the region. Region 7 covers Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, and Tioga counties.
Congratulations
Rebecca Clark (M.S. Ed '12) - School Counselor (K-12), Children's Home of Wyoming Conference
Poletta Louis (MS Ed '11, CAS '15) - High School Counselor, Stamford Central School Substitute
Leanne Schneider (M.S. Ed. '12) - High School Counselor, Tioga Central School District Long Term Substitute
School Counseling Program: Special Projects
- In December, a team put together a self-care workshop for undergraduate childhood education majors. Rick Algie, Aubree Jump, Steve Fabrizio, Marissa Hoose, Katie Parsons, Claire Pavlak, and Gabby Testani planned a variety of fun activities focused on self-care. Participants made calming jars and adult coloring books, and had the chance to play mini golf. We hope to offer this workshop again in the future!
- A group of students has partnered to create school counseling themed bulletin boards in the Counseling Lab classroom. Check out the examples of their creativity below!
- Chad Barnes, Pathy Leiva, and Claire Pavlak have been working with Catskill Area School Study Council, a partnership between SUNY Oneonta and ONC BOCES, to assist with the development and delivery of student leadership workshops for up to 200 students.
Laura (Lawrence) Bouton, M.S. Ed. '14
I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2012 and continued on to get my Masters degree in School Counseling, graduating in May 2014. I was a tutor and substitute teacher throughout my time in graduate work school and after getting my masters, until I was hired for a part time counseling position at Schenevus in November 2014. After I got started, the board of education recognized the value in my position and kept adding additional time to my part-time position. They officially made my job full time for the 2015-2016 school year! I still feel fortunate to this day to have landed this position. I feel very grateful to have a board of education and administration that values school counseling professionals, and a supportive staff. I work with the full span of students in my district, running groups and classroom lessons for PreK-8, and providing mandated counseling services for PreK-12. My day is never the same, and about 90% of my time is direct contact with students. I love it!
My first year was a crazy year, juggling many new tasks not only for me as a new counselor but also for my school district. Kristen Shearer (the other counselor in my building and strong NYSSCA advocate) and I worked hard to on setting a good example for other similar rural school districts as ours. We began by creating a Guidance Document that we shared with other schools as a guideline for advocating further for our profession and developing a plan of action for our programming and curriculum. We also started an Advisory Council, as NYSSCA suggests, composed of the counselors, school psychologist, principal, CSE Chair, and parent representatives in the district. We are currently looking to expand on our Advisory Council to include professionals in the field that are up to date with regulations and new strategies, to help us critically analyze our goals and plan to achieve them. We might even be adding students! We are also revising our guidance document to include the ASCA Mindsets and/or the CDOS standards. We are beginning to shift gears in focusing not only on all the things we DO as counselors, but narrowing the focus to specific goals based on the needs of students in our district and how we can provide interventions to meet those needs. The revision process never ends; we find ourselves adding and modifying. It is truly a collaborative, flowing document that helps to aid us in advocating and keeps us accountable.
My focus for this year has been about preventative counseling classroom lessons. This is my first year using the Second Step curriculum and program for K-6 students. I meet with each classroom once in every six day cycle. The benefits of getting in the classroom on a regular basis and providing this skill-based learning so far are amazing! Our discipline rate in the elementary has decreased significantly as the year progresses. It pleases me to walk through the hallway and see first and second graders reminding each other of the “calm it down steps” so they can “calm down, think and make good choices.” Although the classroom lessons comprise a lot of my schedule, there is so much value in what the students get out of them. It is also fun to bounce around to classrooms and see what students are working on before I begin my own lesson. It gives me a bigger connection to students, and allows them to see that I can be another person in the building they can go to if needed.
The biggest challenge I have faced is time. Even moving from part time to full time has not gotten me enough direct time with students! My schedule tends to be full, and there is often little room for crisis counseling, which can throw off my entire day sometimes. What I have learned in the field that I was not able to get in graduate school was that every day is truly different and that we have to be flexible to accommodate whatever walks through the door. We have to expect and be okay with the fact that what we set out do for the day may not happen due to student needs and interruptions. However, the impact we have on students’ lives is invaluable and so meaningful. My advice to those in the job search process would be to be flexible and highlight your strengths and advocate for yourself and all that you can offer a school district. And always think positive!
Kayla (Jones) Mahoney, M.S. Ed.
I have been working in Preventative Services since May 2010. Throughout Graduate School, I worked as a Family Educator with Schoharie County Development Council, Early Head Start. I had a caseload of twelve families which I was required to conduct weekly visits to their home and educate them on family/child development, parenting, health, and safety.
In September of 2013, I accepted a position as a Family Specialist with Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth's Vision Program. I was lucky enough to have the option to work in the same school that I completed my practicum in earlier that year. The goal of my program is to prevent youth from being placed on PINS (Person In Need of Supervision) which puts them at greater risk of being placed outside of the home. This position proved to be the perfect transition from working in a community setting to working in a school setting.
In February of 2015, my coworker and I developed a presentation titled “A Trauma Informed Culture”. The goal of the presentation is to change others' perspectives on trauma and how it can impact the lives of everyone in our community. We initially presented at a professional development day for teaching assistants and one on one aids. After receiving positive feedback and doing a little marketing in the community, we have had the opportunity to present to various groups once a month for the last six months.
All of the responsibilities that I have had in the preventative services field related to the counselor education program. I was able to build on the foundation of skills that I had and build my competence in the four C's: Counseling, Coordination, Consultation, and Curriculum. In my practicum experience I was able to build relationships and rapport with School Staff that consequently helped me get the position I currently hold. I would not have been able to complete my graduate degree without the flexibility of the part-time program, as I had a newborn and had to work full time to help support my family. Working in prevention services utilizes a lot of the same skills as working in the School Counseling field.
Contact Us
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If you would like to share the news that you've found a school counseling position, or volunteer to be profiled for our Spotlight on Program Graduates section, please contact maizy.jaklitsch@oneonta.edu