MASCA
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION
VOL. 50, NO. 4
DECEMBER 2013
Happy Holidays from MASCA! CISCA: A Legacy Preserved By MARIE ANDERSON
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ASCA’s affiliate, Cape and Islands School Counseling Association, was fortunate to have a founder, Al Lawson, who was an ongoing mentor and active member until his death in August at the age of 88. Al instituted the first guidance program at the new Barnstable High School when it opened in 1957, when the profession of guidance counseling was in its infancy. Once he started his program, more counselors were hired under his leadership, and he was appointed guidance director. He founded the Big Brothers and Big Sisters BHS chapter along with the tradition of the first College Fair on the Cape. Al also saw the need to start professional collaboration by founding Cape and Islands Guidance Association in 1960. For thirty years, Al was also an alumnus interviewer for the Harvard Admissions Office. Most importantly, Al represented the qualities of a counselor that we all aspire to: genuine enthusiasm for his students and confidence in their ability to succeed. He was a beloved and sought-after counselor. He exemplified kindness, empathy, and warm-heartedness not only as an educator but also as a family man and a friend. As a CIGA retired member, Al was an engaged presence at hundreds of meetings, and he was an essential consultant as CISCA evolved with the profession. He embraced changes with enthusiasm. Since the association was founded by Al Lawson in 1960, many innovations have been made. Dale Fornoff and Lyndsay Kett, guidance directors at Dennis-Yarmouth and Mashpee High Schools, were catalysts for important changes last year that resulted in a 20% increase in meeting attendance. The changes included: • Development of a dynamic and in-
formative website for CISCA: www. thecisca.org. • Sponsorship of bi-annual professional development for school counselors at All-Cape Professional Days, featuring topics such as the Evaluation System, Integrating Career and College Readiness, Legal Issues for Counselors, and ACT Testing. Katie Gray of MASCA has been an important resource for these days. • Creation of annual stipend and revised job descriptions for four officers to encourage participation, commitment, and innovation. • Increase of historically low participation fees for colleges for All-Cape College Day to maintain a healthy CISCA budget. This fee is waived if the college sponsors a CISCA meeting. • Institution of summer professional development grants of $1000 for school counseling departments for those schools who submit approved proposals. • Use of Google DOCS response system for meeting attendance. • Rotation of meeting nights to avoid problems with scheduling for school districts. • Revision of important end-of-year meeting to include recognition of all school counseling administrative assistants as well as retirees and Counselor of the Year. • Encouragement of innovative presentations at meetings such as Counseling the “C” Student by Dean College. In addition to biannual professional development days, CISCA meets eight evenings throughout the year and sponsors a College Fair, with 200 colleges in attendance. Membership fees are $25.00. Retired members are not charged. Meetings are held at the Hyannis Golf Club, sponsored by colleges who host a dinner. I
Challenging the Twice-Exceptional Student By DONNA BROWN MASCA Executive Director
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ecently, I was looking for some information about gifted and talented elementary students when I came across a reference to “2e.” It rang a very vague bell, so I decided to find out more. The term 2e is educational shorthand for “twice-exceptional.” The Twice-Exceptional Newsletter (www.2enewsletter. com) describes it as follows: This term refers to the fact that this group of gifted children are exceptional both because of their strengths and because of their limitations. Coupled with high intelligence, these children also may have one or more learning disabilities, attention deficit, autism spectrum disorder, emotional or behavior problems, or other types of learning challenges. All of us have had the experience of working with a student who seems to be able to learn some material easily but struggles in other areas. We’ve also seen students perform musically, athletically, or artistically while being unable to read or compute. According to experts, these behaviors are typical of some students who are simultaneously gifted and learn(continued on page 6)
Accountability Report Card By DAVID ELSNER, MARC Chair
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hrough research and analysis, counselors gain a deeper understanding of how their efforts impact student achievement and career readiness. Accountability requires measuring and communicating the results of a school counseling program. The MARC and MARC Jr. provide a template for presenting that information in simple terms so students, families, and the school community can see clearly how a comprehensive, developmental program benefits all students. Using student result data, these documents share a powerful story about how students are positively affected by school counseling programs. This is the eighth year of the MARC and MARC Jr. awards, and we are pleased that over 80 schools have completed this important process. More information can be found in the Accountability section of the MA Model and on the MASCA website under the “MA Model” tab.
MARC Jr. Awards Fall 2013 2012 MA Model Institutes Participants Everett High School Maureen Kacvinsky, Michael Engel Fairhaven High School Ashley Garth Cameron Middle School, Framingham Eileen Stark-Glassman, Carol Brennan Marsh Grammar School, Methuen Kelly Shaffer Brayton Elementary School, North Adams Nancy Gallagher, Anne French Drury High School, North Adams Kathy Morgan, Jamie Hamilton Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School Sue Abaray, Anne Spirlet Westport High School Marie Fallows, Leslie Ruel, Cheryl Tutalo
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
Free Learning Disabilities Workshop 2012 – 2013 OFFICERS PRESIDENT THERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D. Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA 02325 Tel. 508-531-2640 E-mail: theresa.coogan@bridgew.edu PAST PRESIDENT JENNIFER LISK Medway High School, Medway, MA 02053 Tel. 508-533-3228 x 5107 • Fax 508-533-3246 E-mail: jlisk@medway.k12.ma.us PRESIDENT-ELECT TINA KARIDOYANES Mansfield High School 250 East Street, Mansfield, MA 02048 Tel. 508-261-7540 x3122 • Fax 508-339-0259 E-mail: presidentelect@masca.org
Curry College will offer a free workshop for guidance counselors and educational consultants on January 31 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. on the Curry College Milton Campus. The workshop — “Helping Students with Learning Disabilities Navigate the College Search”— will be presented by professionals in Curry’s internationally renowned Program for Advancement of Learning. Topics include a review of learning disabilities and potential “right fits” for postsecondary education options, documentation and legal requirements, and the range of college admission requirements facing students with learning disabilities. A complimentary lunch and optional campus tour follow the workshop. Space is limited, so register today at www.curry.edu/navigate or call 617-333-2250.
VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARY VERONICA KNIGHT Lowell Elementary School 175 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA 02472 Tel. 617-926-2666 E-mail: veronica.knight@watertown.k12.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGH MARISA CASTELLO E-mail: castelloma@sps.springfield.ma.us KATHLEEN SCOTT E-mail: scottk@amesburyma.gov VICE PRESIDENT SECONDARY JOHN S. STEERE Wellesley High School 50 Rice Street, Wellesley, MA 02481 Tel. 781-446-6290 x4653 • Fax 781-446-6308 E-mail: john_steere@wellesley.k12.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATORS CHRISTINE LUZI Framingham High School 115 A Street, Framingham, MA 01701 Tel. 508-620-4963 x27500 E-mail: Cluzi@framingham.k12.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT POSTSECONDARY JOHN MARCUS Dean College 99 Main Street, Franklin, MA 02038 Tel. 508-541-1509 • Fax 508-541-8726 E-mail: jmarcus@dean.edu VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORS MEGAN KRELL, Ph.D. E-mail: mkrell@fitchburgstate.edu VICE PRESIDENT RETIREES Joseph D. FitzGerald, Ed.D. 5 Progress Street, Weymouth, MA 02188 Tel. 781-264-3426 E-mail: jdfitz1831@gmail.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: executivedirector@masca.org TREASURER ASHLEY CARON 25 Belmont Ave., Stoughton, MA 02072 Tel. 508-212-0676 E-mail: ashcicero@hotmail.com SECRETARY ASHLEY J. GUBA 30 Brezner Lane, Centerville, MA 02632 Tel. 508-367-7774 E-mail: secretary@masca.org MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR TBA 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
DECEMBER 2013
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MASCA Conferences: A Decade of Growth and Change By HELEN O’DONNELL, Ed.D., MASCA 2013 Fall Conference Chair
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uided by talented, visionary conference advisory and planning teams, professional development action plans, and supportive event sponsors and partners, MASCA conferences have evolved into highly regarded fall and spring events that are planned to meet the professional development of school counselors and their mental health colleagues. As I step down as MASCA’s Conferences Chair, I want to share highlights of significant growth and change in MASCA’s Conference protocols and reflect on ten years of conference planning. Action Plan goals met: • Developed a statewide conference planning network and advisory team. • Strove to achieve Fiscal Oversight Committee and Governing Board request to be fiscally responsible by diminishing meeting-planning, travel expenses, reducing postal expenses, and moving the conference sites around the state. • Honored member request to maintain the purchase order invoicing system (since this is how school departments do vendor business) but offer credit card payment option for registration.
Art Athletic Training Biology Business Management Chemistry Communication Computer Information Systems Compute Science Criminal Justice Economics Education English Environmental Science Ethnic and Gender Studies General Science History Liberal Studies Mathematics Movement Science Music Nursing Political Science Psychology Regional Planning Social Work Sociology Spanish Theatre Arts
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• Developed online, timely website promotion of conference details for advance planning. • Continued the availability of paper conference registration, but contracted/moved to CVENT for efficient online event registration. • Promoted fundraising efforts at conferences to continue MASCA Scholarships and Awards via PR/Raffles table, with outreach to affiliates and participating exhibitors and sponsors for raffle donations. • Promoted MASCA (formerly MSCA) as a PDP provider by DESE (formerly DOE). • Guided by MASCA’s PDP protocol, provided Certificates of Attendance / Evidence of Learning at all conferences to qualify attendees for MASCA PDPs. • Designed paperless online Call for Programs via the MASCA website. • Developed graduate student programming that included Graduate Student Poster Sessions and special conference workshop programming. • Included MA Model Poster Sessions in the MASCA Exhibit Hall. • Provided immediate feedback with program evaluations by use of NCR Session Evaluations collected at each workshop (one copy immediately shared with presenters).
• Identified Moderators for sessions to welcome and assist presenters and take responsibility for workshop evaluations. • Developed an exhibitor/sponsor package to encourage levels of participation. • Maintained a potential exhibitor database for outreach and marketing. • Provided programming focused to meet the evolving needs of school counselors. • Moved the profession of school counseling forward with themes and conference.
Feedback about MASCA conferences consistently reported that our events are recognized nationally and locally by participants, exhibitors, and sponsors as quality professional development events. We have measured up and achieved our mission to provide affordable, quality fall and spring conferences around the state. My compliments to everyone on the hardworking conference planning teams that made this recognition possible! Thank you all for your dedication to MASCA conferences. I
Discover more by visiting us online at westfield.ma.edu.
(413) 572-5218 · COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
Professional Development Opportunities Abound By THERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D., MASCA President
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alling all School Counselors! There are several exciting opportunities to participate in Professional Development on the horizon, and we would love to see you there. Graduate students, professionals, retirees, and counselor educators all have exciting opportunities to consider. Join MASCA or renew your membership today. Here are highlights of what’s to come: Graduate Students. There are many options for you to get involved in MASCA while you are completing your training. As a student, you are eligible for a discounted membership rate and all of the perks that come along with that. Additionally, there are opportunities for networking and professional development available to this important sub-group of our MASCA membership. For example, students can prepare a piece for publication in the Counselor’s Notebook by following the steps outlined in the “Author’s Guidelines,” which can be downloaded from the MASCA website. This is a great way to share your knowledge and contribute to the field, and it looks great on a resume to have published work. The 2014 Spring Conference will also have several opportunities for grad students, including a networking mixer with other students as well as professionals in the field, joining the learning breakouts, and participating in the Graduate Student Poster Presentation Sessions. Check the MASCA website for important details on the poster session, such as the guidelines to be considered, the call for proposals deadlines, and other helpful tips. Professional Members, Retirees and Counselor Educators. In addition to various professional development opportunities being offered across the Commonwealth, the MASCA Spring Conference will be an event designed to provide practical and purposeful material and information to participants. The oneday conference will be jam-packed with learning, break-out sessions for all grade levels. We will also have the final Race To The Top (RTTT) Summit as a one-day event the day before the conference. This Summit is open to anyone to attend. Schools are encouraged to send a small DECEMBER 2013
team of counselors and related personnel to participate, so that they can make the most of this interactive workshop to best meet the needs of their school. Once there for RTTT, stay for the conference the next day. Details for the RTTT and conference can be found on the MASCA website. We hope to see you at a professional
development event in the spring. If you have ideas for professional development or other areas of feedback for MASCA leadership, or if you have questions pertaining to the MASCA Spring Conference, please contact me at president@ masca.org. Thank you for your continued involvement and support of MASCA. I
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BROWN (continued from page 1) ing disabled. However, the terms learning disabilities and giftedness are at opposite ends of the spectrum. In the early ’70s, a symposium held at Johns Hopkins University began exploring the possibility that a person could be both gifted and learning disabled. According to researcher Susan Baum, “Children who are both gifted and learning disabled exhibit remarkable talents or strengths in some areas and disabling weaknesses in others.” She further categorizes such children into three groups.
Group 1. The first are identified gifted students who have subtle learning disabilities. These students have very high IQ and achievement scores. In early elementary school, they breeze through the work with little or no effort. As the course work becomes more difficult, problems begin to appear. Teachers and parents become more and more frustrated, usually believing that if the student exerted a little more effort, all would be well. More effort might possibly help, but one of the real problems is that many of these students don’t have any idea how to study.
Additionally, because they have been identified as gifted and are usually scoring on grade level, no one screens them for subtle learning disabilities. As a result, no one suggests compensatory strategies to enhance their learning. Group 2. The second group includes unidentified students whose gifts and disabilities may be masked by average achievement. These students often have to struggle to stay at grade level. It is thought that they use their superior intellectual ability to compensate for and hide a learning disability. Baum says, “Their gift masks the disability and the disability masks the gift.” A creative teacher or particular course may spark incredible interest and let the student’s gift surface. Similarly, during college or adulthood, a student may read or hear about someone with a learning disability and realize that he has had the same difficulties. Group 3. The third group consists of identified learning disabled students who are also gifted. These students have the most difficulties in school. They are often failing some or all their subjects. Their teachers and parents tend to focus on the disability while ignoring any interests or strengths. Susan Baum cites Joseph Renzulli, an early pioneer in giftedness, who has said, “Interestingly, these children often have high-level interests at home. They may build fantastic structures with plastic bricks or start a local campaign to save the whales. The creative abilities, intellectual strength and passion they bring to their hobbies are clear indicators of their potential for giftedness.” Although each of these groups has different problems, experts in the field believe there are some practices that can be useful in enhancing the giftedness of every individual student. Baum suggests that educators focus on establishing environments that address the intellectual, emotional, and physical needs of 2e learners. Emphasizing students’ gifts and talents, developing physical spaces like reading corners, and nurturing respect for individual differences of all kinds will help not only 2e students but also every student reach his / her maximum potential. -------------------Baum, S. (2005), “The Promise of Talent Development for Twice-exceptional Youngsters.” Baum, S. et al. (2005), Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom: A Teacher’s Toolkit. Braeamonte, M. (2010), “Twice-exceptional Students: Who Are They and What Do They Need?”
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
DECEMBER 2013
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Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK Sally Ann Connolly, Editor
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NEWBURYPORT, MA PERMIT NO. 96
IN CASE OF NON-DELIVERY, RETURN TO: Donna M. Brown P.O. Box 366 Bryantville, MA 02327
Your membership renewal date is indicated by year and month on your address label above. To renew your membership, go to MASCA’s website, www.masca.org.
MASCA thanks Fall Conference Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSORS Clark University College Board Dean College New England Institute of Technology
BRONZE SPONSORS Becker College Educators for Social Responsibility Kaplan Test Prep and Admission MEFA Monte Nido at Laurel Hill Profile Learning Wentworth Institute of Technology Westfield State University
SPONSORS Auntie Nellie’s Magical Pockets Beacon College Bay Path College Cambridge Eating Disorders Center Career Communications, Inc. Children’s Health Market Fashion Institute of America Elms College FAFSA Day Massachusetts Fitchburg State University Greater Boston PFLAG Koplik Certificate of Mastery, DESE Leslie University Massachusetts Society of CPAs MA Department of Higher Education Opticians Association of Massachusetts Rivier University Universal Technical Institute