Counselor's Notebook, May 2013 by Sally Ann Connolly

MASCA

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION

VOL. 49, NO. 9

MAY 2013

Future Ready Summit planned for May A Future Ready student has the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to complete further education and training and access a chosen career.

n Monday, May 20, the Future Ready Summit will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The workshop is sponsored by Executive Office of Education, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Higher Education, Jobs for the Future, and Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. Attendees will include state, regional, and local leaders as well as practitioners from education, workforce development, economic development, health and human services and the business community, among others. The Summit seeks to: • bring multiple stakeholders together to discuss what it will take to build a

Saving Our Boys By TED ZEFF, Ph.D.

ncreased violence by young males is spinning out of control. Since the 1999 Columbine shooting, there have been thirty-one school shootings in the United States. Violence and violent images permeate our society. Boys are constantly bombarded with the false information that real boys must always be strong, aggressive, tough, and in control and repress their feelings. Boys are continually saturated with this distorted version of manhood from television and movies, video games, the Internet, peers, coaches, and other adults. In the last fifteen years, the violent video games and movies children have been exposed to have become more graphic than ever. And now the ubiquitous Internet allows our boys to be brain(continued on page 3)

statewide system of structured, aligned, and strategic partnerships to support students’ transition from the K–12 system through postsecondary education and into successful careers and provide clear on and off ramps for adult learners re-entering the labor market; • provide influential adults and career coaches with the tools and resources that will support all students as they prepare for a 21st century economy; and • showcase replicable practices that are moving the “college and career” ready agenda forward. Future Ready Massachusetts is a public communication campaign designed to promote awareness and understanding of what it takes for all students (youth and adult learners) to be “college and career ready.” To be Future Ready means

a student has the knowledge, skills and experiences needed to complete further education and training that will provide access to the career of their choice. Three key messages frame the Future Ready campaign: 1. START NOW: It’s never too early or too late to start planning for your future; 2. AIM HIGH: Students who challenge themselves through a rigorous course of study are usually the ones who go the farthest; and 3. LOOK BEYOND (Outside the Classroom) for learning opportunities that support career pathway development. To register, go to www.surveymonkey .com/s/TH8MRBV. ■

MASCA AWARD WINNERS Leadership Award Peter Andersen Wahconah Regional High School

Special Award Joseph Fitzgerald and Ron Miller MASCA Technology Team

Counselor of the Year Jessica Goldberg Masconomet Regional Middle School

Torch Award: Rising Star Dawn Winiarski Roberta G. Doering School, Agawam

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2012 – 2013 OFFICERS PRESIDENT JENNIFER LISK Medway High School, Medway, MA 02053 Tel. 508-533-3228 x 5107 • Fax 508-533-3246 E-mail: president@masca.org PAST PRESIDENT MICHELLE BURKE Beverly High School 100 Sohier Road Beverly, MA 01915-2654 Tel. 978-921-6132 x 11107 E-mail: mburke@beverlyschools.org PRESIDENT-ELECT THERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D. Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA 02325 Tel. 508-531-2640 E-mail: theresa.coogan@bridgew.edu VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARY JACQUELINE BROWN East Somerville Community School 42 Prescott Street, Somerville, MA 02143 Tel. 617-625-6600 x 6517 • Fax 617-591-7906 E-mail: jbrown@k12.somerville.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 CARRIE KULICK-CLARK Braintree High School 128 Town Street, Braintree, MA 02184 Tel. 781-848-4000 ext 2273 • Fax 781-848-7799 E-mail: jd02375@aol.com 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 ADMINISTRATORS TBA 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 JENNIFER McGUIRE Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School 220 Sandwich Road, Bourne, MA 02532 Tel. 508-759-7711 x 247 • Fax 508-759-5455 E-mail: jmcguire@uppercapetech.org MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR DEBORAH CLEMENCE P.O. Box 805, East Dennis, MA 02641 E-mail: membership@masca.org 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

MAY 2013

SAVING OUR BOYS (continued) washed constantly with horrific, savage images of what a man is supposed to be like. One study showed that children in America between the ages of 5 and 18 have watched 20,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television. And violent media does spur real-life aggression. Research has consistently shown that after watching violent movies, children interact in an aggressive manner, while after watching movies about kindness, children treat one another with gentleness and compassion. With the following eight steps, school counselors can help combat the culture of violence in school and encourage parents to raise a nonviolent son: 1. Advise parents to discuss empathy with their son. Never tolerate anyone shaming a boy when he expresses gentle, compassionate behavior. Help boys understand the causes for society’s negativity toward gentleness in males and talk with him about all of the positive aspects of being a compassionate boy. 2. Advise parents to encourage nonviolent games and safety. Parents should monitor a boy’s exposure to violence as much as possible and provide nonviolent games and activities. Encourage boys to hang out with friends who enjoy less violent games. Frequently discuss the harmful effects that exposure to violence can have on him. Create safety when he engages in potentially dangerous activities at home or at school, i.e., establish rules for fair fighting such as when play wrestling and sword fighting with friends. 3. Have students meet new people and embrace beauty. Create programs for students to interact with people of different faiths, nationalities, and races, to learn the commonality of humanity. Expose boys to the arts and increase their respect for Mother Nature by creating a school garden and developing backpacking and hiking programs. 4. Talk about what “being a man” means. Parents and school counselors should talk often with boys about what it really means to be a man. Reassure him that he doesn’t need the approval of aggressive boys, star athletes, or the alpha male to feel good about himself. Let the boy know that it’s okay to express fear and sadness and ask for help. Discuss the detrimental consequences of violent males being so frequently extolled in the

media. Encourage boys to read books or watch movies about the lives of great spiritual men such as Jesus, St. Francis, Moses, and Buddha, and discuss how they have created peace on Earth through righteous behavior. 5. Show boys how to deal with aggression and violence. Parents and counselors should teach boys how to respond to aggressive children by roleplaying with them. Parents can model setting limits with others, so that their boy will learn how to set boundaries with violent peers. Let boys know that it’s okay to set personal boundaries with others, rather than going along with peer pressure. 6. Increase his compassionate nature. To increase boys’ compassionate nature, involve them in activities that help people, animals, and the environment, such as planting trees or cleaning up trash in your community. Arrange for them to volunteer in a hospital, nursing home, or animal shelter. Most boys like completing carpentry projects; encourage them to learn carpentry skills. Then with a parent or school supervisor, boys could help fix up an elderly neighbor’s or disadvantaged person’s house. 7. Try to make school more boyfriendly. Because boys learn differently from girls, encourage teachers to incorporate more movement during instruction and to take physical breaks between subjects, incorporating active-learning games and more outdoor learning. Creating goals and using games will create motivation. Discuss with the school administration ways to make classes more boy-friendly. 8. Create a class constitution. Encourage teachers to create a class constitution with the help of the students, detailing how they should treat one another; and ask the teacher and students to sign it. Suggest that teachers reward students for kindness and good sportsmanship. Encourage teachers to read and discuss exciting tales that promote noble and brave qualities of heroes who help others. Teachers and counselors should frequently let students know that everyone has different abilities and interests and that those differences need to be respected. By listening, giving frequent support, and giving permission to express all their feelings, school counselors can help boys grow into happy, confident, and thoughtful men. I

MASCA AWARDS Leadership Award PETER ANDERSEN Wahconah Regional High School

eter Andersen has been a driving force for student success in his community. Peter is a natural leader, who has excellent relationships with all of the stakeholders in the educational process: colleagues, parents, community members, administrators and students. His gentle nature, unassuming manner, and extensive knowledge base make him a magnetic personality that is difficult to say “no” to. He leads Berkshire County School Counselors Association with great effectiveness, and each year this MASCA affiliate organizes a countywide professional development sharing workshop. This workshop provides opportunities for professional growth in topics ranging from suicide prevention to self-care for counselors. Last year he organized a Data Workshop to help school counselors in western Massachusetts have access to assistance with data collection and analysis. Peter also organizes and leads monthly county-wide guidance directors’ meetings. These meetings have resulted in a meaningful collaboration of educators, and they have been especially helpful in the implementation of the Massachusetts Model for School Counseling across Berkshire County. As a counselor at Wahconah Regional, Peter has brought not only extensive counseling experience but total commitment. He truly cares about his students, their families, the community, and the future of school counseling. Peter readily assumes every task, from PSAT administration to eighth-grade transitioning coordination and more. He also recognizes when it is necessary to step in and take over when someone else is feeling overwhelmed. And always with a smile on his face. Peter is an active member of the Dalton Benefit Association, a local fundraising organization that supports communitybased youth programs. Described as “one of the most dedicated, positive people,” Peter is most deserving of the MASCA Leadership Award. ■

COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Counselor of the Year JESSICA GOLDBERG Masconomet Regional Middle School Goldberg is a middle school J essica counselor at the Masconomet Regional Middle School, which serves Boxford, Middleton, and Topsfield. For eighteen years, Jessica has served the fields of education and counseling with patience, innovation, and professionalism. She is a well-respected, dedicated, and experienced school counselor who grasps the true meaning of teamwork, partnership, and leadership. Jessica’s compassion for students who struggle both socially and academically has propelled her to create programs to help them achieve. Jessica’s greatest strength is that she is an advocate for her students. She works tirelessly to get them the services they require and provides them with the encouragement that they need to be successful. Jessica has been instrumental in advocating for change in order to meet the needs of current and incoming middle school students. In collaboration with her colleagues in the counseling department, she has identified a need for incoming seventh-grade students to grow as a group through team building exercises. The result was a new and improved program for seventh-grade orientation. She also partnered with a colleague from the high school counseling department to streamline the transition of middle school students into high school by introducing them to the Naviance program in a manner that will be more useful and relevant to them once they enter high school. Jessica has focused on increasing student and faculty awareness and knowledge of suicide and depression in adolescents. By working closely with her colleagues in the counseling, health education, and health services departments, she has brought the “Signs of Suicide” Program to the middle school health classes. For a second consecutive year, Jessica helped implement a new initiative, a classroom-based guidance curriculum on study skills to eighth grade students. She was instrumental in developing the areas of focus as well as curriculum content. Jessica is open to new ideas and approaches. She encompasses the qualities of a successful counselor: active listening, compassion, follow-through, effective communication, and collaboration. ■ MAY 2013

Torch Award, Rising Star: Dawn Winiarski

awn Winiarski is a leader in her school, school district, and community. In her fifth year as a middle school counselor, Dawn is an active member of WMCA, MASCA, and ASCA. With the knowledge acquired from her professional associations, Dawn strives to keep her school counseling program up to date with state and national standards, while seeking new approaches to improve services for students. Dawn is a member of the District-Wide Support Team, which pools community

resources to meet school district needs and the academic and social needs of students. She also serves on the School Counsel Advisory Committee that provides oversight of the Agawam School District. In addition, she is a member of the School Counseling Advisory Committee, which provides direction and oversight of the school counseling program K-12. At the school level, Dawn participates in the Data Support Team, helping to (continued on page 6)

TORCH AWARD (continued) guide the school in making data-driven decisions based on student achievement, attendance, and discipline referrals. She also maintains the school data wall. Through the data wall the school community is kept informed about its progress toward closing the achievement gap. When Dawn conducts classroom guidance lessons, she collects pre- and postdata to evaluate the effectiveness of various lessons. Recently, she compiled this data and completed the Massachusetts Accountability Report Card /MARC.

This outline of the achievements of the school counseling department was presented to the school committee. For this accomplishment, Dawn received an award at the MASCA Fall Conference. Dawn helps to keep the guidance program on track, meeting deadlines, coordinating schedules, and almost singlehandedly coordinating the MCAS testing for over 700 students. She has an optimistic approach to problem-solving and continually seeks to improve and expand the availability and accessibility of the counseling program. ■

Special Award JOSEPH FITZGERALD, Ed.D. RON MILLER MASCA Technology Team retired school counselor J oeandFitzgerald, guidance director from Randolph, has been chair of MASCA’s Technology Standing Committee, and he is a skillful technology partner and resource for MASCA. For more than two decades, he has served on various MASCA committees and assumed leadership roles, most recently, as MASCA VP Retirees. For several years, Joe has been the registrar for MASCA conferences, using the CVENT online registration technology. Joe is very responsible in all his responsibilities, and seeking to share his knowledge with colleagues, Joe writes frequently for the MASCA Counselor’s Notebook. Ron Miller, retired school counselor from Natick, is the MASCA webmaster and coordinator of Technology. He has assisted the development of the enhanced MASCA website, patiently mentored MASCA leadership in the use of expanded technology services, promoted opportunities for continued growth of technology that could assist MASCA, and provided technology support to MASCA committees. Ron is always willing to assist, partner, and guide CVENT event development and to troubleshoot registration. Both Joe and Ron are responsible, helpful, knowledgeable, technologically savvy, respectful, and patient and willing to mentor. They have made significant technological contributions to MASCA, and they devote considerable time in making sure the technology department operates smoothly. Included among their accomplishments are: quickly servicing conference exhibitors and registrants; prompt invoicing; efficient and effective management by using CVENT software; developing and updating the MASCA website; keeping databases current; and developing E-communication. Joe and Ron are special advocates for advancing technology in MASCA and the school counseling profession. They are most worthy recipients of the MASCA 2013 Special Award. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

MAY 2013

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

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The Joint Committee on Education Bill Hearing for H.460 & H.461 June 20, 2013 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Hearing Room TBA State House, Boston Join school counselors from across the state to support this legislation, our field, and the future college and career readiness of students in Massachusetts.

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