MASCA
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION
VOL. 46, NO. 8
Keeping a Positive Outlook By CHRISTINE EVANS MASCA President
CHRISTINE EVANS
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he school year is nearly three-fourths completed, and there is still so much to do. In my school we are busy with a wide variety of tasks, from chasing the last of procrastinating seniors to send out their college applications to working on course selections with the eighth-grade students and their parents. All of this — with dozens of other tasks in between. Early spring finds students restless, faculty tired and working hard to fit in more content before spring break, and administrators knee-deep in the budget process. The pressures make the month of March seem longer than it really is, and everyone is left looking forward to vacation. With budget cuts being announced, tension and discouragement in my school are on the rise, and morale throughout the system is at its worst. Conversations with colleagues reveal that my observations are not unique. School personnel everywhere are feeling the same way. With the current economy, rising above negative vibes can be a challenge. But in order to be successful in helping our students, we need to find ways to overcome getting bogged down in the doom and gloom.
This is easier said than done. As school counselors, we have the skills, resources, and knowledge to encourage students when they are down. We help them by listening, responding with care and compassion, and pointing out possibilities. Our students respond positively to these acts of kindness and concern. When our colleagues feel unappreciated and disillusioned, we can use the same skills and extend the same kindness to help lift their spirits. Although we may not have the power to make the financial worries go away, we can do our part to take care of ourselves, our students, and our colleagues. We can rise above negative talk and keep a healthy perspective on our worth. In doing so, we can avoid falling into the trap of becoming part of the problem. As we head into the busy spring season, I urge everyone to take up the charge to make things better in our schools. Each time we overcome the tendency to fall into negative thoughts and words, we do much to raise the morale in our buildings, and we help everyone in the building do a better job. Ultimately, our students will benefit. Stay positive. Put focus and energy into the things you can impact for the better. It is easy to be at our best and enthusiastic when the going is good. The real test of what we bring to our schools is how we lead others to do what is best for students when times are tough. A smile and sincere words of encouragement can go a long way in showing that we care. It costs little to make the effort to brighten someone’s day. In these difficult times, I wish you brighter days ahead. ■
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Public Agenda Report: ASCA’s Perspective
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recently released study by Public Agenda illustrates what can go wrong when there are not enough school counselors to support students and when school counselors are placed in positions preventing them from performing the functions they were trained and hired to do. Although the American School Counselor Association, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association and other organizations recommend a pupil-to-school-counselor ratio of 250-to-1, the national average is 460 students to one school counselor, with some school districts as high as 1,000-to-1. The result, as this study confirms, is a significantly decreased ability of school counselors to work individually with stu(continued on page 14)
MASCA 2010 Spring Conference Connecting Counselors in the 21st Century April 11-13, 2010 Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore GREAT PROGRAMS GREAT PRICES GREAT SPEAKERS
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
MASCA
2009 – 2010 MASCA OFFICERS PRESIDENT CHRISTINE A. EVANS East Bridgewater High School 11 Plymouth Street, East Bridgewater, MA 02333 Tel. 508-378-5851 • Fax 508-378-8236 E-mail: cevans@ebps.net PRESIDENT-ELECT CAROLYN RICHARDS Somerville High School 81 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143 Tel. 617-625-6600 x 6120 • Fax 617-628-8413 E-mail: crichards@k12.somerville.ma.us PAST 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
April 2010
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VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARY TBA VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGH RICHARD WHITE Gateway Regional Middle School 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA 01050 E-mail: RWhite@GRSD.org
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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 RUTH CARRIGAN Whitman-Hanson Regional High School 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA 02382 Tel. 781-618-7434 • Fax 781-618-7098 E-mail: carrigan.ruth@whrsd.org VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORS THERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D. Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325 Tel. 508-531-2640 E-mail: theresa.coogan@bridgew.edu VICE PRESIDENT RETIREES RALPH SENNOTT P.O. Box 1391, Westford, MA 01886 Tel. 978-692-8244 E-mail: ralphsennott@hotmail.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DONNA M. BROWN Adjunct Professor, UMass Boston P.O. Box 366, 779 Center Street Bryantville, MA 02327 Tel. 781-293-2835 E-mail: dbrownmasca@gmail.com TREASURER TINA KARIDOYANES P.O. Box 1007, Monument Beach, MA 02553 Tel. 508-759-3986 E-mail: tkaridoyanes@gmail.com SECRETARY CARRIE KULICK-CLARK Braintree High School, Braintree, MA 02184 Tel. 781-848-4000 x 2273 E-mail: Jd02375@aol.com MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR DEBORAH CLEMENCE P.O. Box 805, East Dennis, MA 02641 E-mail: DeborahClemence@verizon.net COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK EDITOR SALLY ANN CONNOLLY 19 Bayberry Road, Danvers, MA 01923 Tel. 978-774-8158 • Fax 978-750-8154 E-mail: sallyconnolly@att.net
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MASCA Government Relations Update By Bob Bardwell
Middle School Counselors: Building the Foundation of Career Education By Ruth Carrigan
Come Tweet With Us By Donna Brown
Lifelong Learning By Joe Fitzgerald
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MASCA Official Ballot 2010-2011
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People, Places, and Programs
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Quotes of Note
Published by: Massachusetts School Counselors Association 10 issues per year, September through June. The yearly subscription rate is $30.00. Individual copies are $3.00. 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. Questions concerning submission of articles, publication deadlines, advertising rates, etc., should be addressed to Sally Ann Connolly, Editor.
www.masca.org
©2010 by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association. All rights reserved.
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Hearing on the Hill supporters
MASCA Government Relations Update By BOB BARDWELL MASCA Government Relations Committee Chair
BOB BARDWELL
S MASCA members and other supporters are shown attending the October hearing on House Bills 470 and 471.
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chool counseling is finally the hot topic on Beacon Hill. In mid-February, the Joint Committee on Education voted to move HB 471 out of Committee to a vote by the full House and Senate. HB 471 would establish a 13-member committee to review and make recommendations on the development and implementation of six-year career planning standards. These would be coordinated by licensed school guidance counselors for grades 6-12 and would be in place for students scheduled for graduation in 2017. Some school counselors, however, have concerns that this would be an unfunded mandate and that since we are already so busy, how could we possibly add more to our plates. While this may be an add-on to our duties, mandatory Career Plans are already being implemented in many schools; and if they are not already in place, they should be. Career Plans make sense. They help students to focus on career goals and to think about specific academic, personal/ social, and workplace readiness strategies to achieve their goals. School counselors have found creative ways in which to implement career plans. Templates have been provided by the state, so all you would have to do is just change the school name. Having students complete them can be easily done in a classroom setting as part of your developmental guidance lessons. Yearly updates can be done when counselors meet with COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
students (either individually or in small groups) in the spring to discuss scheduling for the following academic year. Some plans are printed on folders, which can be used to hold all of the student’s careerrelated assessments and materials.
School counselors finally have the attention of lawmakers and support for their work.
Volunteers sought for ASCA Conference July 3-6, 2010 • Boston The ASCA National Conference is looking for volunteers to help with registration, monitoring sessions, and manning the local information table. You do not need to register for the conference in order to volunteer, but registering gives you access to all of the professional development benefits. For more information, contact Jenn Lisk: ascabostonvolunteer@gmail.com
Besides making sense for students, this bill is huge for our profession. If passed it would be the first law in the Commonwealth to our knowledge that would specifically mention a certified school counselor. It gives us legitimacy for school committees and administrators and a reason why a school counselor is needed in our middle and secondary schools. Furthermore, this bill is important to school counselors because we finally have the attention of lawmakers. Bill sponsors and Education Committee staff members are consulting with us as opposed to school counselors having to go to them for attention. This committee, in addition, would finally put us at the table with thirteen other major associations in the state—the Secondary School Administrators Association, Massachusetts Superintendents Association, and the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association, just to name a few. For years we have been trying to establish ourselves as an organization with extensive expertise in student well-being and achievement, yet to this point very few have given us the time of day. This initial committee experience should lead to a permanent commission that regularly meets to discuss issues around success and achievement. The Government Relations Committee is aware of the concerns surrounding Career Plans and encourages you to discuss them with us in more detail. The committee meets monthly via conference call. If you have any questions or want to become more involved with MASCA’s advocacy efforts, contact me at bardwellr @monsonschools.com. ■ APRIL 2010
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Middle School Counselors: Building the Foundation of Career Education By RUTH CARRIGAN MASCA VP Administrators
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s you read this April edition of the Counselor’s Notebook, I imagine that in your district, like mine, the budget is in bad shape and job cuts are looming. As professional school counselors, we need to continue to look ahead to do what is best for kids in spite of the challenging fiscal times that we face. One MASCA initiative, the six-year career plan for all students in Massachusetts, is a great opportunity for school counselors on the middle school and high school levels to work together. The work that starts under the guidance of the middle school counselors can help build the foundation of a comprehensive career education program that can continue throughout a student’s high school years. In my school district, the work of the school counselors in our two middle schools is an essential part of our school counseling curriculum. Despite the many
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that was created by Kate Salas and featured in the November 2008 ASCA School Counselor magazine.
Soarin’ Into Your Future
RUTH CARRIGAN demands on their time, including complete responsibility for MCAS administration, Kate Salas from Whitman Middle School and Jan Sweeny from Hanson Middle School have made a commitment to career education for our students. In an effort to share best practices with counselors around the state, I am happy to highlight “Soarin’ Into Your Future,” an excellent middle school career lesson
“Welcome to the Whitman Middle School Travel Agency,” I tell the eighth-graders in the career planning unit I created to help them select classes for high school. “Soarin’ Into Your Future” is the unit’s name, and, as you can surmise, it’s themed after a travel agency. Over the course of the unit, students select their airline (the high school they want to attend) and their trip destination (their desired career). In Whitman, high school choices consist of the regional high school, a vocational technical school, an agricultural school and various private schools. I talk about what each school has to offer, the criteria for acceptance, the timeline of transition activities and where to acquire additional information. This class is best taught in the fall as most private school applications are due in December. It’s also a gentle reminder to the students who want to go to the vocational technical school that now would be a good time to start working on their grades, attendance and behavior. After students have selected their secondary school options, we then have them complete an interest inventory online. There are numerous free resources on the Web, although you’ll want to ensure the interest inventory you select is based on some solid research. You’ll need to encourage some students to have more than a few interests. If students respond negatively to all of the questions on the interest inventory then the results won’t yield any useful information. Upon completion of the interest inventory, students will receive a list of careers to explore. Middle school students are typically interested in the salary aspect of the career. One student was excited to discover that the average salary for a model was $15,000 a year. That’s a lot of money to a 13-year-old. After she completed the budget activity, however, she realized just how little money this was and proceeded to explore other careers. Place a copy of the interest inventory COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
in students’ files to provide background information to their high school counselors. Students enjoy the interest inventories and frequently request the Web site address so that they can complete another one at home.
Filing a Flight Plan The next step in our unit involves a “Flight Path.” The Flight Path homework involves interviewing someone to discover how they got to be where they are today and what positions they held along the way. The technology applications teacher, who I co-present the unit with, and I talk a little about how we ended up at Whitman Middle School. Ironically, we both worked in the airline industry at one time. It’s strange how few educators go into the education field wanting middle school; most of us just ended up here. The students laugh as we recall all of the entry-level positions we endured, of which chambermaid, flight attendant and cowgirl waitress were just a few. But it is through these entry-level jobs that one starts to figure out what career to pursue. Sometimes we find a job wasn’t what it
APRIL 2010
appeared to be and by working in the position for awhile we confirm the job isn’t meant for us. Other times we enjoy something so much we want to do more. Rarely do people end up doing what they love without at least a few changes in direction along the way. Through the interviews, students can learn what it takes to land their dream job. I also created a staff job match in which I asked staff to recall a previous occupation that may have been strange or unusual. The task is then to match the staff person with the occupation. Students are required to talk to staff members about jobs to complete this activity. I also distribute it to staff so they can give it a try. This creates a buzz around the building as both staff members and students talk to each other about jobs. We had some unusual careers, such as the faculty member who performed whale necropsy, a dune buggy driver and a rock climbing instructor for Disney. The students get the answer key in class, and the staff receives the answer key at the next staff meeting. We conclude this unit with a job fair. Students research their career choice and
create a tri-fold brochure or PowerPoint presentation. This project requires the students to know what training and/or education is required for the job, what general skills are required, which school subjects may be helpful and what salary is expected. This assessment also measures the student’s ability to use computer applications such as PowerPoint, MS Publisher and Web searches. This career unit addresses ASCA National Standards for Student Competencies number four and six, which relate to exploring student interests and how they relate to the world of work and understanding the relationship between personal qualities, education, training and the world of work. The unit is flexible and works well with differentiated instruction. All students can complete the interest inventory and learn about a career. Students who can handle more of a challenge can research the salary, educational requirements and search for colleges that offer that major. They can then explore what courses they need to take in high school to increase their chances of getting into that college — and have fun doing it. ■
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Come Tweet With Us By DONNA BROWN MASCA Executive Director
D
DONNA BROWN
o you tweet? Have you started a blog? Are you on Facebook? Most of your students and almost all of the younger counselors and teachers will answer “yes” to at least two out of three of those questions. Many do all three — and more. Plaxo. Ping. Crackberry. Kindle. Droid. Skype. Every day there seems to be a new communications possibility or device. How does all this impact us as counselors? Let’s take a look backwards for just a
minute. For those of you in the profession for twenty-five years or more, this may be a walk down memory lane. For the younger counselors it may seem more like theater of the absurd! Some time during the 70’s, computers the size of Smart Cars rolled into schools and took up residence in rooms usually called Data Processing. Initially, attendance and grades were the only computerized items, and the input for these was via IBM cards. Eventually, scheduling became part of DP. Gone were the gigantic charts in the Guidance Office where seats in various classes were filled by hand and recorded in pencil. In spite of this, life was good. There was a guidance secretary who handled applications, scheduled appointments and, best of all, typed letters of recommendation. This all came to a screeching halt the year the Apple IIe’s appeared. For a while we had a former aide as our secretary, and we began typing and typing and typing. Technology then took the fast track. Every summer brought workshops and new scheduling options. Huge Barron’s College Guides were replaced by online services, while college catalogues arrived as CDs and DVDs. All-school and, then, specific guidance websites were designed and mounted. More online services were needed. Niche services like College Impressions—which collects and disseminates information from colleges and universities about programs, open houses, and scholarships — were needed to free up counselors. Naviance then replaced almost everything. We have arrived in the 21st century. Or have we? Recently, the Pew Research Center released the most up-to-date report from their Internet and American Life Project. This report compared Internet and social media use among three groups: adolescents, young adults (18-29), and adults over 30. The findings were fascinating, and while some were expected, others were not.
Cell phone It comes as no surprise that 75% of all teens and 93% of adults (18-29) own cell
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
phones. In fact, 58% of 12-year-olds now have a cell phone.
Internet use Internet use was also pretty much as expected. Ninety-three percent of teens and young adults go online virtually every day, while only 74% of adults over 18 go online. One very interesting finding dealt with how teens and young adults use the Internet. Thirty-one percent go online to get health, dieting, and fitness information. Of those interviewed, 17% said they used the Internet to gather information about “health topics that are hard to discuss with others such as drug use and sexual health.” Additionally, 62% of teens get news about current events and politics online.
tion Night be videoed with highlights posted on You Tube? Would using clickers during classroom presentations make them more interactive? The opportunities are endless! Let’s begin to explore these possibilities. MASCA is on Twitter, so why not tweet your thoughts: http://twitter.com/ MASCAExDr. ––––––––––––––––––––
MASCA’s Executive Director Donna Brown is on Twitter. Follow her at www.twitter.com/ MASCAExDr
Editor’s Note: To see the full ASCD report, go to www.pewinternet.org. ■
Blogging Among the somewhat unexpected findings were those dealing with blogging. Only 14% of online teens blog. Only four years ago, 28% blogged. ASCD, however, reported recently that a number of teachers are experimenting with blogging as a demonstration of understanding and mastery. Teens also reported responding less to friends’ blogs on social networks. Tweeting Twitter holds little attraction for teens; only 8% tweet. About a third of young adults (18-29) and 19% of all adults either tweet or use status updating. Social networking Social networking, on the other hand, is extremely popular with both teens (73%) and young adults (72%). Online adults have increased usage to 47%. Facebook is by far the most popular social network, although the study also found that over half of users have two or more profiles. With younger teens, MySpace is more popular. What does all this have to do with us as school counselors? Well, it offers both challenge and opportunity. The challenge is how to harness the myriad of communications possibilities to make us more effective. Does the school counseling department need its own Facebook page as well as a traditional website? Should students submit college essays on Google Docs? Could College InformaAPRIL 2010
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Lifelong Learning By JOE FITZGERALD MASCA Technology Committee Chair
W
hile thinking about a technologyrelated topic to write about, I began to think about what I have been doing to stay current with the cyber-revolution. Here is my story. About seven or eight years ago, I discovered the best-kept secret in the state of Massachusetts: the community college system.
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I was looking for courses to take in the technology area, and I began looking at those offered at Massasoit Community College (MCC) in Brockton and Canton. I took courses in Microsoft Office, Photoshop, film editing, Web creation, and similar courses. These courses were great, and they really helped me stay current. They forced me to learn things that I
could not or would not do on my own, and after I retired, they kept me busy doing something that I love. I also discovered that MCC has a senior waiver program that covers full cost of courses when a course goes over fifteen students. I have taken a quite a few for audit credit (no grades, no pressure!) and have really enjoyed them. A few times I have paid full tuition but it is still worth it. They also have non-credit community education courses, which are less expensive and do not meet for a full semester. While going to the MCC Brockton campus, I discovered a great program called SeniorNet. Massasoit is one of the learning centers of this national organization. You can Google the national site, www.SeniorNet.org to find out about the organization and where the centers are. Their purpose is to “bring technology access and education to adults 50+ to enrich their lives and enable them to share their wisdom.” This winter and spring I have taken several of their workshops/classes in the SeniorNet Learning Center at Massasoit Community College. And I plan to take more. These workshops cost from $10.00 to $35.00 and cover a wide range of technology programs. You can find them listed at http://seniornet.massasoit.mass.edu/ Most community colleges, colleges, and universities have some type of lifelong learning program. Although I realize that what I am writing may appeal to retired counselors and educators, all counselors could benefit from looking into the programs that include technology and other interest areas. Because this is a technology column, I am emphasizing technology, but there are other programs that have a wide range of courses, workshops, etc. My best advice is to Google schools near you: community colleges, state colleges, and state universities. Look into private colleges as well. Community outreach is on all of their agendas and, if it is not, it should be. Some sources of Lifelong Learning Programs that I have looked into include: • Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston • Academy for Lifelong Learning at Cape Cod Community College For more information, e-mail me at registrar@masca.org. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
ED’S VIEWS By ED BRYANT MASCA Life Trustee
Connecting Counselors in the 21st Century ED BRYANT
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now, rain, 80 mph winds, wires down, lights out, no computers, etc. Things could be worse, though. Look at the world situation. My hands-on study of hospital careers continues. My wife, Mary Lou, and son, Kurt, took me to the orthopedic surgeon at Lahey Clinic for terrific pain in my shoulders. In brief: shots on both arms and weeks of physical therapy. Hospital jobs are available. As founder of the Northeast Counselors Association in 1979, I share with you some thoughts regarding the growth of MASCA and its affiliates. • Recruitment is our life blood. If we do not recruit, we will probably close our doors. • Why not adopt a strong expansion program? • Does MASCA have standards for its affiliates? • Do we need to start new affiliates? • Does our procedure for helping these groups need updating? • Should we offer a leadership session at the MASCA conference for counselors interested in starting a new affiliate? Members of the Governing Board would be willing to help. Have you heard of OLPC or of Nicholas Negroponte? He is proposing One Laptop Per Child. He believes “that children become involved in the learning process with interactive digital technology.” And he predicts: “networks over paper.” He is expanding OLPC to poor children all over the world. Is this another good topic for a conference? On a different note. Have faith. Spring will soon be sprung. From St. Patrick’s Day, here are some Irish thoughts to live by: “May your neighbors respect you, troubles neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.” ■ APRIL 2010
Renew your membership. Check the expiration date on the mailing label of the Notebook. Then go to MASCA’s website to complete the process: www.masca.org. MASCA members are eligible to vote for officers. You can vote online, at the spring conference, or by using the ballot on the following page. For more information, go to the MASCA website.
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MASCA Official Ballot for 2010-2011 PRESIDENT-ELECT (one-year term) ____ Michelle Burke, School Counselor, Beverly High School ____ Linda Dagradi, Instructor, UCLA Extension ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
VICE PRESIDENTS (two-year terms) VP JR. HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELORS ____ Richard White, School Guidance Counselor, Gateway Middle-Jr. High School ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
VP ADMINISTRATORS ____ Ruth Carrigan, Director of Guidance, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
VP COUNSELOR EDUCATORS ____ Theresa Coogan, Assistant Professor of Counselor Education, Bridgewater State College ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
VP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS ____ Jacqueline Brown, Counselor, East Somerville Community School ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
VP RETIREES ____ Ralph Sennott ____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)
Only Professional Members (who are current) or Retired Members who previously held Professional Membership are eligible to vote. Vote in one of four ways: 1. Vote at the MASCA Spring Conference, April 11-13. 2. Mail this ballot to Karen M. D’Amour, MASCA Past President, Manchester Essex Regional High School, 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester, MA 01944, received by April 9. 3. E-mail this ballot to Karen at damourk@mersd.org, received by April 9. 4. Fax this ballot to Karen at 978-526-2044, received by April 8.
For voting using methods 2-4, you will need to give your name or MASCA membership number in order to verify your vote.
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
Emerging Leaders Program seeks candidates PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PROGRAMS Career exploration for high school girls offered S.E.T. in the City, a day of career exploration for high school girls, will be held on April 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is the second year that Boston area colleges, non-profits, and industry have collaborated to encourage the exploration of careers in science, engineering, and technology. The program begins the day at Boston University and extends to venues including Harvard, Emmanuel, Simmons, Wentworth, and Biogen Idec Community Lab. The day ends with an Omni show at the Museum of Science. A $5 registration fee covers breakfast, lunch, and bus transportation between venues, and pre-registration is required. To register, go to http://www.bu.edu/ lernet/setinthecity.
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re you a professional school counselor who has not been an elected or appointed member of the MASCA Governing Board and who wants to be involved in our profession in some way, but you’re not sure exactly how? Then the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is for you. The ELP was approved in early 2007 by the MASCA Governing Board. Its main goal is to identify potential leaders in the school counseling profession in Massachusetts and to get them involved with MASCA. Emerging leaders have to be a professional school counselor and MASCA member who wants to give back to our profession but has not been an elected or appointed Governing Board member. Emerging Leaders must present at a MASCA-sponsored conference, attend a Governing Board meeting and one of the affiliate meetings, write articles for the Counselor’s Notebook, and participate in EL trainings. ELs are also expected to attend the annual MASCA Leadership
Development Institute (LDI) in early August as well as the ASCA North Atlantic Region fall workshop usually held the weekend before Thanksgiving. In return, Emerging Leaders receive a free one-year MASCA membership, reduced conference registration, and free leadership training. The major project that ELs worked on this year was to assist MASCA’s Government Relations Committee by supporting the hearings on Beacon Hill in October and planning for the March 10 Leadership Forum at the Statehouse. Interested candidates must submit a letter of interest, resume, and letter of recommendation from his/her supervisor by April 1 to Bob Bardwell, MASCA Past President, Monson High School, 55 Margaret Street, Monson, MA 01057. Or you can fax the information to 413-267-4157 or e-mail bardwellr@monsonschools.com. Don’t miss out on this unique and exciting program. It will forever impact you as a professional school counselor. ■
Firesetting Conference planned The fourth annual Northeast Juvenile Firesetting Conference will be held on May 13-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Worcester. Co-sponsors are the Brandon School, Department of Fire Services, MA Property Insurance Underwriting Association, and MA Association of Safety & Fire Educators. Keynoter for the conference is Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council. Topics will include: cyberbullying, social media, and the Internet; anger management; CBT skills for firesetting; working with parents; middle school fire safety; and community interventions. Up to 9 CEUS are available. For information or to register, go to www.brandon school.org. Vermont leads the way Of the forty states participating in the National Farm to School Network, Vermont leads the way in “getting healthier meals into school cafeterias, teaching kids about agriculture and nutrition and supporting local farmers.” — Lisa Rathke, Associated Press, http:// abcnews.go.com/print?id=9774614, Accessed on 2/15/10. ■ APRIL 2010
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Quotes of Note Bullying
Student Testing
The most recent and compelling research [on bullying] indicates we need to intervene on many levels simultaneously. In other words, bullies, victims, peer bystanders, school personnel and parents all have a role to play in preventing and reducing bullying.
In her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, Diane Ravitch “laments what she sees as an Orwellian shift from standards-based assessment to testing for testing’s sake. This trend reached its apotheosis in the Bush plan, whose relentless emphasis on testing robs classroom time for subjects not on the test — that is, science, social studies, and the arts — and distorts the way math and reading are taught.”
— John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan, co-authors of Tough Kids, Cool Counseling, ASCA, Articles for Parents, http://schoolcounselor.org/
Teaching Civics: www.ourcourts.org We know from statistics that young people spend about 40 hours a week in front of some kind of screen, whether it’s a computer or a television. That’s more time than they spend at school, more time than they spend with their parents — and I wanted to use some of that time. I wanted to provide some games on the Web site that have the effect of being fun to play but also teaching along the way. — Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, NEA Today, March/April 2010, p. 25
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— Kate Tuttle, reviewer, Boston Sunday Globe, February 28, 2010 ––––––––––––––––––––
This year, as Congress prepared to reauthorize the federal education law, NEA asks that it recognize the individual needs of students, including non-fluent English speakers and those with disabilities. More than test scores should be used to measure student learning and school progress. — NEA Today, March/April 2010, p. 13
PUBLIC AGENDA (continued from page 1) dents in navigating the complex financial aid and college admission process. In addition, as the study notes, school counselors are increasingly called on to do work outside of their mission, including: “discipline issues and sorting out scheduling and other administrative mix-ups with the high school.” ASCA agrees with many of the conclusions of the Public Agenda study: more school counselors are needed, and existing school counselors should not be overloaded with non-counseling duties preventing them from spending time successfully guiding students to academic success and postsecondary education. ASCA works closely with school administrators, professional school counselors and the colleges that train school counselors to ensure the highest level of professionalism, but the burden on even the best school counselors has obvious implications for their ability to help students. ASCA believes the findings of this study can serve as a wake-up call that could bring about substantial and needed changes. The study points out that “young people who characterized their interactions with counselors as anonymous and unhelpful were less likely to go directly from high school into a postsecondary program.” Therefore, strong relationships between school counselors and students can lead to more students seeking postsecondary education. This is a good opportunity to provide a positive perspective on the problems and to highlight the need for supporting school counselors so they can be effective, rather than eliminating their positions because some consider them to be ineffective. ASCA hopes to work with policymakers, education leaders and the Gates Foundation, which underwrote this survey, to place more certified professional school counselors in our schools and to allow them to help students improve academic achievement, career planning including postsecondary education, and personal and social development. If you would like to comment to MASCA, please e-mail Karen D’Amour at damourk@mersd.org to have your comments included in the next Counselor’s Notebook. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
APRIL 2010
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Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK Sally Ann Connolly, Editor
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MASCA 2010 Spring Conference Connecting Counselors in the 21st Century April 11 – April 13, 2010 Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore, Danvers GREAT PROGRAMS • GREAT PRICES • GREAT SPEAKERS Sunday, April 11 Welcome Reception • Keynoter Workshops • Graduate Student Events
Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13 Exciting Exhibits • MA Model Showcases Workshops • MASCA Awards • Hospitality Events Details, keynote speakers, agenda, exhibitors, and registration form at www.masca.org. Inquiries: Helen O’Donnell, Conference Chair, pdchair@masca.org