Counselor's Notebook, November 2008

Volume 45

Number 3

www.masca.org

Getting on Board with Data

KAREN D’AMOUR MASCA President

A

utumn is a beautiful time of year.

Fresh vegetables, trips to the apple orchards, walks in the park, warm days and cool nights. When you are outside enjoying the fall foliage, it is hard to believe the economy can be in such turmoil.

The effects of this turmoil are only partly being felt at this time. It makes one ponder: Will this turmoil in the economy affect our students and our school counseling programs in Massachusetts?

After only three months, schools are already trying to tighten their belts for what appears to be dark clouds on the horizon. Counselors are being asked to consider doing lunch duty, to cover classes when substitutes are not available, and to oversee the administration of the MCAS, all non-counselor duties.

Doesn’t it seem that this is a good time to collect data on how you use your professional counselor time on a daily basis?

In her article, “Data is a Counselor’s Best Friend” (Texas School Counselor Association, April 2008), Hilda Lopez credits ASCA with identifying three forms of data that counselors should use: process, perceptual, and results.

Process data, Hilda says, answers the question, “What did you do for whom?”

This kind of data documents how many students participated in guidance lessons,

small group guidance, and individual student meetings. It also documents the number of parents, teachers, and community members that a counselor has come in contact with on a daily basis.

Perceptual data, she continues, answers the question, “What do students know, believe, or can do?” This is where preand post-surveys can be helpful.

Results data answer the question, “What is the impact of guidance and counseling interventions?” Included here are discipline referrals, attendance rates, and drop-out and failure rates. Collecting results data occurs after school data has been analyzed and a need has been identified. Interventions are then planned, implemented, and data collected. If the results indicate that the counseling intervention did not impact the area of need, that is important to know as well.

I agree with Hilda; sometimes we keep doing the same things, never stopping to check if these interventions are having the desired results.

How are students better because of what you do? Can you back that up with data? If we all school counselors get on board with data, advocacy and accountability will certainly follow. ■

November 2008

MASCA Needs You!

THOM HUGHART MASCA Executive Director

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n my attempt to work smarter, not harder, I am reprinting my “Executive Director’s Welcome” that is posted on the MASCA website. It has a lot of important information, and I am sure not everyone will go looking for my welcome on the website. Do me a favor, right now.

Go to masca.org (bookmark it) and check it out. I am certain there is something for you right on the first page.

Dear Massachusetts School Counselors: Welcome to the school year 2008-2009.

And a special welcome to our new website, www.masca.org.

Communication is the life of an organization. And our website is alive and (continued on page 6)

Inside . . .

Advocating for Health: A Lesson Learned Lately

By Sally A. Connolly ....................... 3

Web Feeds: How to Get Them

By Ron Miller ........................... 13

A New World Through Technology

By Jennifer McGuire ...................... 8

What’s Happening to the Boys?

By Bob Bardwell ...................... 14

Who Needs a School Counselor Association?

By Christine Evans ......................... 10

MASCA PDP Protocol

By Helen O’Donnell ................. 17

In This Issue . . .

By KAREN D’AMOUR, MASCA President

N COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK 2008 – 2009 PRESIDENT KAREN M. D’AMOUR Manchester Essex Regional High School 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester, MA 01944 Tel. 978-526-7641 • Fax 978-526-2044 E-mail: damourk@mersd.org PRESIDENT-ELECT CHRISTINE EVANS Director of Guidance East Bridgewater High School 11 Plymouth Street, East Bridgewater, MA 02333 E-mail: cevans@EBPS.net PAST PRESIDENT JENNIFER JUST McGUIRE Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School 220 Sandwich Road, Bourne, MA 02532 Tel. 508-759-7711 x247 • E-mail: jmcguire@uppercapetech.org VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARY AMANNDA BARTRAM Lynn Public Schools, Lynn, MA 01902 E-mail: bartrama@lynnschools.org VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGH RICHARD WHITE Gateway Regional Middle School 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA 01050 E-mail: RWhite@GRSD.org VICE PRESIDENT SECONDARY JENNIFER LISK Medway High School Medway, MA 02053 E-mail: lisk@medway.k12.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT POSTSECONDARY JAY LEIENDECKER Vice President Enrollment Services, Dean College Tel. 508-541-1509 • Fax 508-541-8726 E-mail: jleiendecker@dean.edu VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATORS CAROLYN RICHARDS Somerville High School Somerville, MA E-mail: crichards@k12.somerville.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORS FELICIA L. WILCZENSKI, Ed.D. Professor and Associate Dean Graduate College of Education UMass Boston, Boston, MA 02125 E-mail: Felicia.Wilczenski@umb.edu VICE PRESIDENT RETIREES RALPH SENNOTT P.O. Box 1391, Westford, MA 01886 Tel. 978-692-8244 • E-mail: ralphsennott@hotmail.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THOMAS HUGHART Wellesley High School, Wellesley, MA 02481 Tel. 781-446-6305 x5142 • Fax 781-446-6308 E-mail: thom_hughart@wellesley.mec.edu TREASURER TINA KARIDOYANES P.O. Box 1007, Monument Beach, MA 02553 Tel. 508-759-3986 • E-mail: tkaridoyanes@gmail.com SECRETARY ANN HOURIGAN North Reading High School, North Reading, MA 01864 Tel. 978-664-7800 • E-mail: annhourigan@yahoo.com Questions concerning membership in the Massachusetts School Counselors Association should be addressed to:

ovember brings us many things. For all of us, it brings us a time to gather and give thanks for family, friends, and all that we have and share. For school counselors, November brings many college letters of recommendation to write and application packets to send. It also brings us recent memories of a wonderful MASCA fall conference and the friends and co-workers we saw there.

In addition, November brings us the November Counselor’s Notebook. In this month’s issue, you will have the opportunity to read a thought-provoking article on boys in education by Bob Bardwell. If the topic moves you, expect to pick up the subject again with Michael Thompson, the keynote speaker at the MASCA spring conference.

If you are reading this edition of the Notebook and you are not a MASCA

member, be sure to catch Christine Evans’ article on the benefits of a school counselor association. One of the graduate students who has come to know MASCA and has contributed to its richness describes a true benefit of membership. Also, be sure to check out MEFA’s appreciation of the work of school counselors.

In this issue, Jennifer McGuire focuses our attention to the topic of technology. MASCA is fortunate to have talented and hardworking members of MASCA’s technology committee who are working on our website to update our information (or as I like to say, data) for our members’ benefit.

I love information, and I think data plays nicely into our MASCA theme this year. Collecting relevant counselor data truly gets us all on board with accountability and advocacy. Ride the wave. ■

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR DEBORAH CLEMENCE P.O. Box 805, East Dennis, MA 02641 E-mail: DeborahClemence@verizon.net The Counselor’s Notebook is published by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. 10 times a year, September through June. The yearly subscription rate is $20.00; individual issues are $2.00.

Opinions expressed in the articles published herein represent the ideas and/or beliefs of those who write them and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. The acceptance of an advertisement for publication does not imply MASCA endorsement of the advertiser’s programs, services, or views expressed. © 2008 by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association.

All rights reserved.

Questions concerning submission of articles, publication deadlines, advertising rates, etc., should be addressed to: SALLY A. CONNOLLY, Editor 19 Bayberry Road, Danvers, MA 01923 Tel. 978-774-8158 • Fax 978-750-8154 E-mail: sallyconnolly@att.net

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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Advocating for Health: A Lesson Learned Lately

By SALLY A. CONNOLLY, CN Editor

T

his week I took my own advice. I found a new primary care provider.

I had urged my sister to find a new pediatrician for her granddaughter because the pediatrician’s office repeatedly disregarded the obvious warning signs of Lyme disease — even after telling them that two ticks had been removed from the five-year-old.

When my own doctor ignored a blatant warning sign, I lost all confidence in him and couldn’t return to his care. The lump in my breast, he had told me, was nothing: “Cancer didn’t feel like that.”

Fortunately, my annual appointment with the gynecologist had been scheduled for three weeks later. She thought that the mass should be investigated. But, again, she wasn’t worried. Mammograms detect 90% of breast cancers, she said; and I had been checked annually for years and at six-month intervals a few years ago.

The diagnostic mammogram ordered by my gynecologist still didn’t show cause for concern. But the ultrasound that immediately followed showed a jaw-dropping mass. I describe it that way because that is what I observed on the radiologist’s face as she watched the black hole emerge on the technician’s screen.

I had always thought that medical personnel were trained to present a blank mask to their patients. Didn’t they usually pronounce the gravest of news in the most innocuous of ways? My husband’s doctor had said matter-of-factly to him and the family gathered bedside: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is you didn’t have a stroke.

The bad news is you have a brain tumor.”

Coldly, distantly, as if no life hung in the balance.

All doubts about the lump I had discovered several months earlier were dispelled after having three additional mammograms, another clinical exam, and a fine needle biopsy. The mass was cancer.

The black hole on the screen had become, for me, a black hole of uncertainty.

And shock. Being physically active, eating a good diet, and maintaining a recommended weight had not been sufficient to prevent becoming another victim.

Had I inherited a defective gene? Was my immune system compromised, by illness or stress? Did the fault lie in the environment? Was it the air we breathe or the water we drink, the chemicals in our food and on our lawns, the plastic drinkNOVEMBER 2008

ing containers, or the continuous exposure to small quantities of radiation?

I faintly remember being measured for shoes as a child, stepping into the fluoroscope to be x-rayed for a perfect fit. I recall a lifetime of diagnostic tests: chest x-rays to qualify for a job, dental x-rays, barium, . . . .

What about the makeup I had used, the nail polish, the hair dye? The list of possible toxins astounds me.

If only I had monitored my health records more closely over the years. If only I had known about the risks of too much estrogen. If only I had known about the mammogram’s margin of error and had demanded that an MRI or ultrasound also be used.

But trying to pinpoint the cause of my breast cancer is useless, and “if only” leads nowhere.

Two months have passed since the dire diagnosis, and after two surgeries, the cancer is out. “I’m good,” I tell myself, “and getting even better.” My new group of health care specialists and I have a plan of attack. First, we will hunt down and

kill any lingering, errant cells with large doses of radiation. Shock and awe we will turn around onto the intruders.

This year, in the blink of an eye, my life changed. I became one of the approximately 200,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer. In time I will become part of another statistic. Chances are good that because the cancer was detected early, my new cohort will include fellow, five-year survivors.

And more good news: A report published this week in “HealthDay News” shows that women who survive lumpectomy and radiation for breast cancer have “a very high quality of life and state of health comparable to the general U.S. female population.” In any case, when it comes to matters of health, from now on, I’m taking charge. ■ –––––––––––––––––––––––––– Ms. Connolly’s book, Never Better: All Things Considered, has been named an award-winning finalist in the Women’s Issues category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News. For more information, go to www.neverbetter.net.

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50

YEARS

2011

MASCA: How It All Began

1961

By OSCAR KRICHMAR MASCA Life Trustee Warren Benson, head of the guidance section of the Massachusetts Department of Education, proposed that NDEA funds be sent directly to schools in the Commonwealth. Each school district was to decide how these funds were to be used to establish or expand guidance and counseling programs.

The funds could be extended for hiring professional and/or support personnel, for office equipment and/or supplies, for guidance and counseling materials, etc. Warren’s hope was that the NDEA funds would act as seed money; and, indeed, they were. The “keeping up with the Jones’s” syndrome took over as cities and towns did not want to be outdone by their neighboring school districts.

As a result, guidance and counseling programs expanded rapidly throughout the Commonwealth.

Get Involved to Get a Job

By ELIZABETH REED MASCA Graduate Student Liaison

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y this time of year, most of you are probably into a routine with your programs or practicums. While you may feel settled where you are now, you probably still have many questions. What type of school do I want to be in? What age do I want to work with? Will I find a job after graduation? What if I don’t get a job?

These are all overwhelming questions, and I wish I had the answers for you. The best way to learn the answers is to talk to the people that have already been where you are.

How do you do that? Get involved in MASCA! Becoming involved in MASCA will help you to gain knowledge about the profession, and it is also a great resume builder. Not to mention, it is the best way to network with the people who may be hiring you after graduation.

How do you get involved?

Become a member. Basic membership is only $15.

Attend the conferences. Learn more about the field and network with other students and professionals. You could also present a poster session, which looks great on a resume.

Join a committee. From conference planning to membership services, this is a great way to meet other people in the organization and get involved.

Join an affiliate. Meet people who are more locally involved. (This is also one of the first places that job openings are announced.)

I hope these suggestions have encouraged you to take the next steps to become involved. If you have any questions about MASCA, please email me at reedec @bc.edu. I will be more than happy to help. ■

Mission of MASCA The mission of MASCA is to advocate for school counselors in Massachusetts by providing leadership, collaboration, and professional development.

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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

NOVEMBER 2008

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MASCA Spring Conference 2009 Sturbridge Host Inn, Sturbridge April 30 – May 2, 2009 Keynoter: Michael Thompson Author of Raising Cain

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HUGHART (continued from page 1) full of information. It is constantly being updated with information about affiliates, conferences and professional development opportunities, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education information, American School Counselor Association news and events. There is also a variety of important information about counselor licensure, the Mass Model, and our fall and spring conferences. Ron Miller has created a website that is both helpful and manageable. Thanks, Ron. Our fall conference in Boxborough in-

cludes presentations by Jim Bierma, the president of ASCA, Dr. Karla Baehr, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Representative Alice Piesch, from the Joint Commission on Education and Representative Kevin Aguiar, a state representative who a year ago was a school counselor himself. Our keynote speakers – Dr. Barent Walsh, a national authority on self-injury, and Dr. Carey Dimmitt, Ph.D., from the University of Massachusetts Center for School Counseling Outcome Research – will enlighten, entertain, and empower counselors across the state.

Our spring conference will be held in Sturbridge this year, April 30 – May 2, 2009. Our keynote speaker will be Michael Thompson, the author of many books, particularly on boys. His book, Raising Cain, has received many awards and has been recognized as a powerful contribution to the literature on adolescent male psychology and development.

We are all well aware of the economic and political worlds we live in. Educational legislation is cranked out almost daily. The media quotes test scores, graduation rates, drop out figures, college attendance, and college completion numbers.

Guess what! These numbers are about us. School counselors can make the difference. But we can’t sit on the sidelines waiting to be appreciated and discovered.

We must step up and be counted.

MASCA needs you and your colleague who has not joined yet. We need you to make a difference in your office, school, town, state, country and world. On February 4, we will be on the Hill (Beacon Hill) meeting with the legislators and telling them who we are and what we are doing. We each have a story about making the difference in a student’s life and now we have to tell that story.

The nation has set a lofty goal, No Child Left Behind. The state has developed one of the most challenging Educational Reform plans of any state, which includes MCAS. Each city and town is attempting to improve their measurements; attendance rates, discipline hearings, graduation and dropout statistics, Advanced and Proficient numbers, and educational proficiency plans. We are the difference. A comprehensive, developmental guidance program will make it happen. But we have to tell them, educate them and convince them.

This is such an exciting year to be a counselor in Massachusetts. We need you to help make the difference. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

NOVEMBER 2008

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A New World through Technology

I

t is remarkable how technology has changed our world—and more specifically— how it has changed the way in which we communicate. From cell phones to e-mail, we are able to connect from just about anywhere. And we are expected to do so. Sometimes it almost seems like an invasion of privacy; yet, at the same time, it is hard to imagine living without being so connected.

The world in which my students live is so different from my world as a high school student. Way back then (in the early 1990s), if I was expecting a call from someone, I had to wait at home for the phone to ring. This meant that if I hadn’t confirmed my plans for the night by the

JENNIFER McGUIRE MASCA Past President time I left school on Friday afternoon, I pretty much had to go home and get on the phone.

Similarly, if plans unavoidably changed, you had no way to reach anyone. I will

For the latest news on school counseling in Massachusetts and to renew your membership, go to www.masca.org.

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never forget coming home from a college visit in the spring of my senior year. I had taken a Friday off from school to go to an accepted students’ day. On the way home, an overturned truck on the highway meant that my mother and I (and everyone else) were stuck on a highway for over three hours. I remember that all I had on my mind was that I wasn’t going to make it home in time to meet my friends and had no way to let them know.

When I was growing up, my parents generally knew when I was on the phone.

When the phone rang, someone had to answer it just to find out who was on the phone (those were the pre-caller I.D. days). Of course I gave them the landline number. What other kind of line could I have given them?

Today, high school students exchange cell numbers and e-mail addresses. I don’t think any of my students understand the idea of waiting by the phone.

When I was in high school, moreover, I couldn’t even imagine e-mailing my guidance counselor. Now I routinely get emails from students and their families.

It seems so normal.

Back in June, after lots of nudging by several friends, I joined Facebook. Not only have I now connected with almost 200 “friends” (most of whom I haven’t seen in at least a decade), I now learn about where they are and what they are doing every waking moment. It is amazing what people are sharing online! Now I don’t even need to e-mail my friends. I just log on to Facebook. In fact, in the last two weeks, two of my friends have had babies, and the news was shared on Facebook.

The evolution of technology over the past fifteen years has simplified the way in which we get information. We have become absolutely dependent on the Internet, and at the same time, very impatient.

We expect that any respectable organization or institution will have a website. In fact, I know I get frustrated when a website doesn’t have up-to-date information.

And if I go out without my cell phone, I feel totally lost. What did people do when they needed to reach someone in an emergency? ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

DEAN COLLEGE T H E W A Y T H E R E.

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9 8 % ! We m u s t b e d o i n g s o m e t h i n g r i g h t .

1-877-TRY-DEAN • www.dean.edu

NOVEMBER 2008

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Who Needs a School Counselor Association?

L

CHRISTINE EVANS MASCA President-elect

ast week I attended the South Shore Guidance Association first fall meeting for 2008-2009 at LaScala Restaurant in Randolph. I had the pleasure of copresenting with Kate Salas, MASCA membership services coordinator; and we had a lovely time talking to the group about the benefits of belonging to MASCA and ASCA. Kate’s presentation included a Jay Leno type countdown of the top ten reasons to join MASCA. As I thought about all

MASCA nominates Evans for ASCA award The MASCA Awards and Publicity Committee is pleased to announce the nomination of Christine Evans for the ASCA School Counselor of the Year Award.

Christine is the coordinator of a dynamic school counseling program at East Bridgewater High School, and from 2005-2008, she was president of the South Shore Guidance Association. Congratulations, Christine.

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of the information Kate shared on why it makes sense to belong to a school counselor association, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about who should consider membership.

Who needs a school counselor association? For starters, I work as a school counselor and I need to belong to MASCA. The free resources, website, Counselor’s Notebook monthly journal, MASCA Matters periodic e-mail newsletter, and excellent professional development conferences and workshops are all a tremendous help to me in my daily work.

MASCA advocates for school counselors and the important role we play in closing the gap strategies.While there is no doubt that I have benefitted from all of the aforementioned features of membership, I believe the best part of belonging to MASCA is the opportunities for networking and friendships with colleagues from all over the state. It is incredibly fortifying and energizing to get together with other school counselors to share ideas, struggle, and victories. If you are a school counselor in need of collegial friendships with others as passionate as you are about helping students succeed, you need a school counselor association.

If you are a graduate student intern, you have a need to make connections and learn about the community of school counselors. You also have a need for a forum to showcase your research and accomplishments; the annual conferences give you the time and space to do that.

Graduate student interns need a school counselor association for the valuable training, workshops, and especially for the networking.

Professors and counselor educators from the colleges and universities that train school counselors also need a school counselor association. It is essential that counselor educators stay connected to practicing school counselors, to keep curriculum relevant and to develop relationships with guidance departments for future placements for interns.

School administrators also need school counseling associations, as a resource to learn about best practices and the importance of implementation of a comprehensive guidance curriculum.

Who needs a school counselor association? We all do! ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

NOVEMBER 2008

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ED’S VIEWS

MASCA Professional Development Committee proudly presents

Legal and Ethical Workshop Afternoons with Regina Williams Tate, Esq. An expert on Massachusetts school law, Attorney Tate presents workshops around the state to school administrators. She will present three workshops on legal and ethical issues that relate to Massachusetts school counselors.

ED BRYANT, NCC MASCA Life Trustee

Three workshop sessions:

Hickory Ridge Golf Club, Amherst • November 17, 2008 Co-hosted by Franklin Hampshire Guidance Association Buffet Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Workshop: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Universal Technical Institute, Norwood • November 18, 2008 Luncheon and School Tour: 11:30 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.

Workshop: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

On the North Shore • TBA Date and location to be announced.

For details about dates, sites, and registration, go to www.masca.org.

We offer Degrees and Certificates in

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C

ongratulations to Dr. Helen O’Donnell and her crew for their hard work and professionalism in organizing the MASCA fall conference.

Recent “Ed’s Views” have preached how important it is for counselors to stay healthy. “Ed, practice what you preach. You have been sick for several days with food poisoning and have difficulty walking since a tractor-mover’s left wheel rolled over your foot.”

I did miss a few meetings and some golf; but we know that healthy, tough counselors get stronger. Robert Fulghum said, “Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday School.”

Are you going green with your office? Do we need to discuss this with all your other problems and concerns? Is it not a priority?

How about panic attacks? Do you know the signs of this disorder? According to Dr. Nancy O’Reilly, some coping strategies include: breathing exercises, visualization techniques, muscle relaxation exercises, and appropriate labeling of emotions.

We talk about advocacy. How about better public relations as preached by past president Louise Forsyth. We need to continue to teach each generation the role and importance of the school counselor. Why do many businesses have a VP for Marketing? My new role is to market a huge parade for the 375th celebration of Ipswich.

These anxious times and the holiday season ahead remind us not to weaken.

Let’s continue to be supportive and helpful. These words of Cervantes apply today: “He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses his courage loses all.”

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holidays! ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Web Feeds: How to Get Them

By RON MILLER, MASCA Webmaster

H

ow do you prefer to gather information? Do you hunt and peck, search here and there, or do a Google search? Another method is to have information sent to you automatically, not in your e-mail box, but in a free piece of software that gathers information from places you select: a web feed.

Many websites, blogs, and podcasters offer web feeds. The MASCA webpage is starting to use this feature more often.

It allows you to have MASCA News / Information and Job postings sent to your RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader, rather than having to check the website frequently.

MASCA news, thus, can be “pulled” to your reader. It is a quicker way to get information, involves less clicking, and can be used to gather content from many other websites as well. Besides, it is free.

Because it is a little involved, I will try to explain how the process works.

When you see a little orange icon on a website that says XML or RSS or has the (now) standard icon, you can click on the icon and read it in your web browser or in an RSS reader. Web browsers like to be treated as individuals (kind of like students!). They handle web feeds in their own unique ways. The recent versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer have built-in readers, so that when you click on the icon it should open a readable page. Try it when you come across one of those icons on a page.

But, if you’d rather not have to keep clicking on icons all the time, you might prefer to have the information sent to you. In that case you need an RSS reader.

Use the freeware Feedreader (www.feed reader.com), which is for Windows users.

There are a bunch of other free readers out there for different platforms. Do a search for “RSS reader” and you should find many for your particular platform to choose from. Once you have a reader, you can subscribe (for free) to web feeds.

Here is an example of what I do: • First, I download the software from feedreader.com and install it on my laptop.

• Then, after opening it, I click on File -> New -> Feed. In the address box I copy the address for the MASCA feed, http://www.masca.org/rss/news.xml) or the NY Times address, http://www.nytimes.

NOVEMBER 2008

com/services/xml/rss/nyt/HomePage.xml • Then I click OK. Almost immediately I start getting updated information or headlines.

I can add as many feeds as I’d like. The RSS reader can be configured or customized to your preferences. For example, you can have it notify you when something new arrives, or once an hour, or not at all.

Here is what happens from the website side. I post a news article on the site.

Then, I summarize the article or job and make it available as a web feed. As soon as I do that, RSS readers that have subscribed to MASCA will get the article summary. Pretty neat!

If you have questions or suggestions, contact me at webmaster@masca.org (in this case about your organization) ■

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What’s Happening to the Boys?

BOB BARDWELL MASCA Past President

I

f Doug Anglin, a member of the Class of 2006 at Milton High School, had his way, boys will no longer be discriminated against in school. Anglin filed a complaint in his senior year with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights claiming that the current American school structure inherently favors girls over boys. He says that school expectations for behavior and teacher expectations for classroom performance favor girls. And, he says, the brains of boys are not wired to succeed in school. Can this

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be true?

Statistics show that girls do outnumber/ outperform boys in many ways: • The number of male undergraduates on college campuses today is 44%, compared to 58% in 1976.

• Elementary school boys are two times more likely to be diagnosed with a learning disability and two times as likely to be placed in special education classes.

• Boys aged five to twelve are 60% more likely than girls to repeat at least one grade.

• Females receive higher grades in virtually every subject and thus are more likely to be on the honor roll and receive more academic honors.

• The self-esteem of boys is negatively affected when they are labeled as lowperforming, poor learners, or “problem” students.

• A University of Michigan study reported that the number of boys who didn’t like school rose 71 percent between 1980 and 2001.

• Boys are 33% more likely than girls to drop out of school; thus, more girls than boys graduate from high school.

• High school girls are 36% more likely to take Advanced Placement or honors biology than high school boys.

• Twelfth-grade girls score an average of 16 points higher than boys on standardized reading tests and 24 points on standardized writing tests.

• High school boys are 30% more likely to use cocaine than high school girls.

But why does this happen?

One theory of the changing trend towards improved achievement for girls is that the way teachers teach these days favors the girls. Also, curriculum that is driven by standardized tests often dictates what, when, and how a teacher delivers instruction. There is so much focus on “passing the test” that teachers have lost their individual freedom to do what is best for all students. Boys, in addition, are likely to be more competitive in their learning, yet the learning environment is focused on a cooperative, more collegial approach, which favors girls. Boys, also, are not helped by the increased studentteacher ratios found in many schools and the fact physical education, sports programs, and recess time have been reduced or even eliminated.

Some scientists believe that boys are not wired for school success. A boy’s brain, they say, develops slower a girl’s.

A girl’s brain fully develops eighteen months sooner than a boy’s, and girls develop sexual maturity about two years earlier than boys. Since they mature more quickly and process information much faster, girls have an academic advantage.

Scientists caution, however, that the environment, family background, and temperament do play a part in a boy’s development. But it is not enough to negate the differences.

As boys begin to experience failure, frustration, and academic roadblocks, they begin to shut down. Their self-esteem is negatively impacted; they begin to feel incompetent and fail to develop a sense of belonging.

Gender stereotypes also contribute to COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

this phenomenon. Boys resist being labeled as smart, a “brain,” or a nerd. The peer pressure for boys to resist demonstrating intelligence or academic success is immense. It’s just not the cool thing to do.

Instead, boys are generally applauded by their peers for negative school behavior.

For many years, girls have received a great deal of necessary attention from all aspects of society to improve their status. Programs like “Women in Engineering and Medicine,” which encourage girls to go into these traditionally male dominated

• Encourage boys to assume leadership positions outside of sports such as a class officer, yearbook editor, or Boy Scout leader.

• Emphasize the importance of going to college and provide positive male role models, men who are successful because of going to college.

Many boys are very successful and manage to navigate through the educational system without any problems. However, many girls experience the same types of barriers boys face, although to a lesser

degree. We must provide learning environments and a societal norm that give all students appropriate educational instruction. If we can reach this goal, then all students will benefit. ______________________ Bob is director of student support services for the Monson Public Schools. He is the secondary level vice president-elect of the American School Counselor Association and president of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling.

He also is an adjunct professor of school counseling for Springfield College, Westfield State College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. ■

A proper learning environment and positive expectations benefit all students, male and female alike. fields, have been widespread. Title IX— the 1972 federal law requiring schools to provide equal opportunities for girls both in the classroom and in the athletic arena — has done much to improve options for girls. But what are we doing to promote success for our boys that are falling behind?

Obviously, changing our society or educational structure is a Herculean task, but being aware of this trend and removing some of the barriers that hinder boys are critical. Here are some things that we can do to help boys reach their full potential: • Make it a point to discuss your concerns regarding your son with his teacher(s), school counselor, or administrators.

Encourage the teacher(s) to provide extra help to your son that supports academic success.

• Model good school behavior. Sit down with your son and do “homework” together. This not only accomplishes the task, but also creates bonding time. Encourage your son to read. Have him read to you and you also read to him. Choose titles that will be of interest to him, ones that will help to instill the value of being able to read.

• Men (preferably fathers) have to advocate for their sons. They should go to PTSA meetings and be visible at other school/community functions and not just as coaches. If dad isn’t available, seek out other positive male role models – uncles, grandfathers, or trusted family friends – who can act in this capacity.

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Workshop on legal issues planned for November

MASCA PDP SIGNUP FORM I want to sign up for MASCA PDPs. Name: __________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ E-mail: _________________________________________________________ Send a check for $25 made payable to MASCA along with your stamped MASCA conferences’ Certificates of Attendance and completed Evidence of Learning Forms documenting AT LEAST 10 HOURS of professional development training to:

REGINA WILLIAMS TATE

Helen O’Donnell, Ed.D., 10 Maplewood Terrace, Hadley, MA 01035

T MASCA 2009 DIRECTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS The Directory lists school counselors in K-12 public, private, parochial, and regional and technical high schools. Phone, fax, and e-mail information is included. Each MASCA member will receive one (1) complimentary copy.

PLEASE USE THE ORDER FORM BELOW to order more copies. Download the form at www.masca.org or order online and use your credit card.

1-5 copies @ $30.00 each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. ____

$ _________

Additional Copies 6 or more @ $25.00 each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. ____

$ _________

Shipping / Handling @$3.50 each copy . . . . . . . . No. ____

$ _________

5.00 P. O. Processing Fee (per order) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________ Make checks payable to: MASCA

TOTAL: . . $ __________

If mailing this form, send to: Ms. Marla Schay, Weston High School, 444 Wellesley St., Weston, MA 02493

Questions? E-mail SchayM@mail.weston.org

Your name and contact information: Name: ______________________________________________________________ School District/Business: _______________________________________________ Mailing Address: _____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ E-mail Address: ______________________________________________________ Phone: _____________________________________________________________

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hree workshops will be held throughout the state on legal issues as they relate to school counselors. Presenter will be Regina Williams Tate, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane since 1987.

Ms. Tate is a graduate of Chestnut Hill College and Harvard Law School. She has been practicing law since 1978, primarily in the areas of labor and education.

Her practice in the area of education covers a broad range of issues, including student discipline, special education, Education Reform, due process rights of teachers and other school employees, academic freedom, and civil rights.

Ms. Tate also participates in the collective bargaining process on behalf of her education clients. She has served as counsel to over 60 school committees and private schools, providing advice on a daily basis as well as advocacy in litigation and in hearings before administrative agencies. She also frequently litigates issues before the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, the office for Civil Rights, the Labor Relations Commission, and arbitrators on behalf of school systems. Ms. Tate has represented school committees and superintendents at all levels of the court system, including the Supreme Judicial Court.

Her cases have included key decisions on teacher tenure, the right of a district court judge to order a special education residential placement, due process rights of principals and assistant principals in a reorganization, and the appropriateness of a school-based IEP’s.

For information on a workshop in your local area and to register, go to MASCA’s website, www.masca.org. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

MASCA PDP Protocol

By HELEN O’DONNELL, Ed.D., MASCA Professional Development Chair

B

ecause the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DOESE) certifies Massachusetts school guidance counselors and our counseling colleagues using PDPs, MASCA has become a registered PDP provider. MASCA, however, does not provide CEUs. The DOES requirements state that PDPs are issued only after a minimum of 10 hours of professional development in a single content area. Evidence of learning must be provided. This includes action plans, narratives, research, evaluation data, summary report, or other documentation. Attendance certificates and evidence of learning forms can be combined to reach the minimum number of hours.

In your personal Professional Development Agreements be sure to list MASCA professional development opportunities.

Doing so supports your request to attend MASCA events.

MASCA PDPs All MASCA conferences and workshops provide participants with Certificates of Attendance and Evidence of Learning

NOVEMBER 2008

Forms. These can be found in the conference packets at registration. Attendees must have their Certificates of Attendance stamped at the registration table at the end of each conference day.

It is also the participant’s responsibility to keep track of MASCA Certificates of Attendance and Evidence of Learning Forms. MASCA keeps professional development attendance records for five years after the event, but MASCA does not have your DOESE required evidence of learning documentation, unless they have been submitted for MASCA PDPs. You may yoke your MASCA Certificates of Attendance/Evidence of Learning Forms to accumulate the minimum of 10 hours.

Converting MASCA Certificates Once you have accumulated a minimum of 10 hours of PD, you can receive PDPs: From your school district: Since Massachusetts school districts are PDP providers, inquire about your district’s PDP protocol. Submit your completed MASCA conference Evidence of Learning Forms and Certificate of Attendance to the dis-

trict for PDP certificates.

From MASCA: MASCA has a $25 registration fee for a minimum 10-PDP certificate. If you have not paid for PDPs with your conference registration, you must send a $25 check made out to “MASCA” along with your materials.

Obtaining PDPs from MASCA Submit the original and one copy of each documented Certificate of Attendance / Evidence of Learning Form. “Documented” means that your stamped Certificate of Attendance Form(s) and completed Evidence of Learning Form(s). The attendance stamp is available when you leave the conference. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The Professional Development Chair will review submitted materials, identify PD hours earned, and, when requirements are completed, issue a PDP certificate with the original copies of the Certificates of Attendance and Evidence of Learning Forms attached. Use the form on page 16.

For questions, contact me at helenod@ worldnet.att.net. ■

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Promoting School Counselors Thank you,

By PAUL LYNSKEY Director of Secondary School Relations Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA)

School Counselors, for your continued cooperation with and support for the work of MEFA.

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S

chool counselors play an essential role in assisting students and their parents to successfully navigate the entire college enrollment process. Research conducted

by MEFA verifies that the school counselor not only assists with the admissions aspects of enrollment, but also serves as

the initial contact for most families regarding how to pay for college. This fact serves as another example of the increasingly complex demands placed on school counselors every day throughout the academic year.

Throughout the past few years, MEFA has become a major partner of school counselors across Massachusetts. In 20072008, MEFA conducted over 400 free seminars on college financing, college admissions, and early college planning in over 300 high schools. These sessions attracted over 40,000 parents and students.

Additionally, MEFA provided professional development trainings to approximately 600 counselors.

None of this success would be possible without the support of the MASCA leadership and the strong commitment and hard work of the many school counselors with whom we at MEFA work on a daily basis.

In recognition of the critical cooperation MEFA enjoys from school counselors, we have dedicated the 2008-2009 academic year to publicly honoring the counseling profession and its members.

All of the tens of thousands of MEFA seminar booklets that will be distributed to families in high schools contain a letter from Tom Graf, Executive Director, which honors and thanks school counselors for their assistance in bringing MEFA’s services to families. School counselors will also be acknowledged at the beginning of each of the 400+ high school seminars for their dedication to broadening access to college. Finally, MEFA will celebrate the extensive impact of counselors with ads in the MASCA newsletter, press releases to newspapers statewide, and a special statement at www.mefacounselor.org.

On behalf of MEFA and thousands of families across Massachusetts, I’d like to thank MASCA and all school counselors for the vital role they play in helping to make the dream of college a reality for so many families. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Comack Receives Human Rights Award

A

lice Comack, founder and director of the Somerville Mediation Program, has been chosen recipient of the MASCA Human Rights Award 2008.

The award honors an individual who has been involved in the sponsoring or delivery of outstanding human rights projects / activities. The recipient is a person who embraces the tenets within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, leads by example, and actively engages in activities that promote human rights for all.

This year the Human Rights Committee was gratified by the outstanding human rights advocates nominated for this award. Unlike last year, the 2008 nominee is not a school counselor but an individual whose work supports the work we do in every way.

The following summarizes Alice’s nomination by Carolyn Richards, Supervisor of Guidance and Testing and MASCA VP Administrators: “I consider Alice to be one of the most dedicated professionals I have ever worked with . . . . Alice has a catalog of achievements that paint a remarkable picture of a woman who has spent nineteen years working extensively on the issues of violence and racism among our young people. She has had her fingers in every part of the process: developing, promoting, teaching, and directing.

In 1984, Alice, founder and director of the Somerville Mediation Program for the Somerville Public Schools, K-12, developed the first mediation program which, over the years, has been replicated by twenty-six schools.

Under Alice’s direction, Somerville High School’s mediation program received national recognition when it was showcased on CNN. The program has also been highlighted on National Public Radio.

After a racial riot closed Medford High School for a week, the Attorney General designated Alice as the chief coordinator to lead the Conflict Intervention Team.

She also served a three-year term as a member of the Supreme Judicial Courts’ Committee on Dispute Resolution, where she developed the rules and qualifications standards for Neutrals serving in Massachusetts trial court.

Among her awards are The Director’s Award from the Massachusetts Association of Mediation Programs, the Local Initiatives Support Collaborative Entrepreneurial Star Award, the Creative Leadership in Human Rights Award from the

NOVEMBER 2008

Massachusetts Teachers Association, and a scholarship named in her honor from the Somerville PTSA.” Alice has trained over 5,000 individuals, including students, faculty, administrators, police officers, social workers and community members across the country in mediation and conflict resolution and diversity issues. Her international influence was instrumental in helping representatives from South Africa, Northern Ireland, Pakistan and India develop programs for their own schools and

communities.

Alice recently received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Human and Civil Rights Award from the city of Somerville and the Somerville Human Rights Commission. In a letter to Alice congratulating her on the award, Attorney General Tom Reilly wrote: “Thank you for everything you have taught me about making schools and communities places where differences are respected, violence is not an option, and people work together to support a common vision.” ■

Saturday, November 8

JUNIOR

9

Friday, April 24 Please call to pre-register:

800-338-7057 admission@sjcme.edu

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SAVE THE DATE! Massachusetts School Counselor Advocacy Day on Beacon Hill Wednesday, February 4, 2009 • 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM Advocate for our students, our schools, and our profession MASCA, NEACAC, and the College Board have joined together to sponsor the 2009 Massachusetts School Counselor Advocacy Day on Beacon Hill.

School counselors and others who believe in quality school counseling programs in our schools will spend a day at the State House advocating for issues that are important to school counselors and the young people we serve.

Participants will receive training on legislative issues and advocacy and will talk in person with our elected legislators and other policymakers to inform them about who we are and what we do, and about the importance of quality school counseling in our students’ education and lives.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS CRUCIAL FOR THIS TO WORK! All of our voices are needed for this effort to be effective.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! This will be a free event. Lunch will be provided. Please mark your calendars now. More details are forthcoming.

Questions? Please contact Brad MacGowan at bmacgowan@comcast.net, Bob Bardwell at BardwellR@monsonschools.com, or Jon Westover at jonw@admissions.umass.edu.

YOUR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL DATE IS INDICATED BY YEAR AND MONTH ON YOUR ADDRESS LABEL BELOW.

When you renew your membership, return both the application and your check made payable to “MASCA” to the Membership Coordinator. To receive an acknowledgement of your membership, please include your e-mail address.

Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK Sally A. Connolly, Editor

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November 2008