MASCA
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION
Planning Student Transitions
VOL. 50, NO. 9
MAY 2014
NECA counselors get STEM update
By VERONICA KNIGHT MASCA VP Elementary
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eturning to school from April vacation marks the beginning of that last stretch of our school year. If March is Heartbreak Hill, then May is the long run down Beacon Street. Many of us are planning for the incoming kindergarteners, the exiting third, fifth or eighth graders, and the placement and transition of all the grades in between. Here are a few practices and ideas we have gleaned from others (maybe from you) through the years. I hope something may prove useful. The world is my oyster. Sometimes it is difficult to answer the same incoming kindergarten question over and over again. Yes, they will need to be able to go to the bathroom independently. No, we will not be able to sit with them and ensure they eat all the food you packed (but they can finish it as a snack right after school). In those moments, remember that an assured parent will be more likely to drop off a calm child in September. So yes, I will answer every question as if it were the first time because what we are being handed in the fall are little ones who are precious to the giver. Playground politics. By October, we start recommending Stanley Greenspan’s Playground Politics. In the book, Greenspan explains the shift from parents being their children’s oyster to school and peers being their oyster. It’s a great read and helpful for parents to conceptualize that developmental milestone. Work buddies. Parents and students alike may be concerned about having friends in their classes the following year. Beyond having their basic needs met and having a sense of safety, students need a sense of belonging. Instead of waiting for letters requesting placement with friends, we have students engage in an activity
In March, members of Northeast Counselors Association were updated on STEM developments by Jerry Ellner (second from right), national director of high school development for UTI and a member of President Obama’s STEM Education Coalition Leadership Council. Also shown (from left) are: Bob Quist, NECA president; David Larson, UTI admission representative; and Dr. Erik Champy, Triton Regional High School counselor.
in which they identify three “work buddies,” peers with whom they learn best. Often these are not the friends they play with at recess. The goal is to place them with at least one of these buddies. This is an empowering activity for students and a great way to begin learning the life-long skill of building positive working relationships. Three in a row. The University of Tennessee’s Value-Added Research and Assessment Center presented findings regarding the significant impact on student achievement when students are placed with low-performing teachers three years in a row. While the term “low-performing teacher” makes many uncomfortable, we know that students can end up in classrooms that are not good matches, and those difficulties can impede learning. Therefore, when placing students, it is important to consider their placement history and avoid poor matches twice in a row. Hit the ground running. Sometimes, schools lose four-six weeks of impacting
instruction after school opens while teachers get to know their students. Don’t wait until opening time to figure out reading groups and tier 2, skill-based groups. If possible, use mid-year and end-of-year benchmark data to construct manageable classes (ideally with no more than four reading levels) and use other assessment data to configure groups before leaving for the summer. Start the year with meaningful instruction and tweak the groups as more information becomes available. Preserve precious time on learning in the fall by planning ahead. Preventative wheel oiling. Speaking of data, most of us have limited slots for groups throughout the year. Often the wheels that squeak the loudest via staff referral or parent request get the slots. At the end of the year, conduct a roster review. Which students had the most disciplinary incidents? Who had frequent, non-health-related visits to the nurse? Who required the highest level of (continued on page 3)
Child Endangerment: Pulling No Punches By SALLY ANN CONNOLLY MASCA Counselor’s Notebook Editor
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he website of The Boston Globe ran a series of photos depicting the Annual Evacuation Day/St. Patrick’s Day boxing show (Barry Chin, Globe Staff, March 8). In one photo, a youngster in the 45-pound weight class smashes his fist into the opponent’s left cheek. In another, a child delivers a bruising blow to his opponent’s nose. Meanwhile, family and friends stand by, taking their own photos to preserve the spectacle for posterity. Who wants to forget the sight of a child grimacing in pain on the canvas? The federal government, however, declares that viewing brutality deserves regulation. In all states, cockfighting is illegal; and in most, it is a felony. The newly enacted 2014 Farm Bill goes further. It includes sanctions against those who view such fights. According to the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, to knowingly attend a dogfight or cockfight as a spectator is a federal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a $100,000 fine. To knowingly bring a minor under the age of 16 is a federal felony, punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Because we all lose when violence is glorified, protecting minors from such gruesome “games” is commendable. However, encouraging children to personally inflict pain and injury—the very goal of boxing—is beyond comprehension. Evidence shows that repeated, direct blows to the head—the kind sustained in boxing—can cause Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which can lead to death. The ASPCA advocated successfully for the health and safety of dogs and roosters. Our children deserve even greater protection. ■
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
2013– 2014 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
KNIGHT (continued from page 1) reactive intervention? Use this data to plan for four-six weeks of preventative skills groups in September. This is also a great way to start the year off co-leading groups with interns. Leaving the nest. One of my favorite blogs, “School Counseling by Heart,” has some wonderful ideas about supporting elementary to middle school transition. Please take a look and enter your email to follow the blog: http://school counselingbyheart.wordpress.com/2012 /06/11/moving-up-to-middle-school/
Handing off attachment. For students with a history of attachment difficulties the transition to middle school can be challenging, especially if they have formed strong bonds at their elementary schools (kudos to you). It is important to anticipate regression and behaviors that will test the close relationships. Thoughtfully validating the wish they might have to bring you along with them to their new school and carefully bridging that attachment with a trusted point person in the new building is paramount to their success. ■
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 TBA 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
MAY 2014
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
Career Counseling in the Classroom By DONNA BROWN MASCA Executive Director
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t the beginning of April, my seventh and eighth grade students completed their I-Search Career Portfolios. This was the culminating activity of a team-taught unit combining research, writing, and self-analysis. Maggie Clark, the writing teacher at St. Paul School, and I worked with all seventh and eighth grade students for a little over a month to help them learn how to research careers and write about their experiences. Using MassCIS (www.masscis.into careers.org), students were guided through an interest inventory and learned about career clusters. After examining their results, students were asked to choose three possible careers to further explore and write a rationale for each. This became a graded writing assignment. Next, based on their research, each student chose one career to research in depth. Among the requirements was an interview that students were to conduct in person, if possible. This provided the writing teacher with another assignment as students wrote about their experience interviewing someone in their chosen field. All of the various writing assignments became part of the portfolio as did newspaper and magazine articles, additional research, pictures, and information from professional associations. The last entry in the portfolio was an essay evaluating whether or not this career was for them. The eighth grade students will take the portfolios with them; the seventh graders will revisit them next year to see if the career still seems like a good fit. I had not used MassCIS in a few years, and I had never used the middle school section. I was pleasantly surprised to find even more features than I had remembered. Students were able to create accounts to store information they had located. The results of the inventory were colorful and attractive, and they provided a great launch for the project. There were also suggestions for additional research and exploration. If you haven’t looked at MassCIS in a long time, I urge you to do so. It’s a free resource that can be used for simple class presentation on the college/career search. It lends itself easily to team teaching, making accessing students possible and productive.
MAY 2014
I happened to team up with the writing teacher, but a counselor could work with a subject area teacher and have the career research oriented towards that subject. Math students, for example, could research careers that have a strong math component; science students could explore health careers. The possibilities are endless.
Counselors often complain that they lack access to students for classroom presentations. However, by showing subject area teachers that you will help them meet some of their standards while teaching students about career /college exploration, you will get your foot in the door. Take a minute and see what MassCIS has to offer. ■
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FOCUS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY Bullying has serious health consequences A study recently published in Pediatrics shows that bullying has consequences for the physical and mental health of adolescents. “A survey of more than 4000 children when they were in 5th, 7th, and 10th grades showed that those who were bullied both in the past and in the present had significantly worse self-worth and
greater depressive symptoms with time than those who had present-only, pastonly, or no experiences with bullying. In addition, more than 44% of the current and past bullying victims ‘were at the lowest decile of psychosocial health,’ report the investigators. ‘The findings didn’t really surprise us, but some of the results were very striking,’ lead author Laura M. Bogart, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at Har-
vard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and a social psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital, told Medscape Medical News. ‘We know from previous research that bullying is related to poor mental and physical health. But we found really large effects,’ she added. Dr. Bogart noted that clinicians should talk with their patients about bullying even before they are affected. ‘The sooner we stop a child from being bullied, the less likely bullying is to have a lasting, damaging effect on his or her health down the road,’ she said in a release.” — Deborah Brauser, News Author, and Charles P. Vega, MD, FAAFP, CME Author, “Bullying Linked With Worse Psychological, Physical Health,” Medscape, http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/ 821425, March 24, 2014.
School hearing tests do not detect noise exposure hearing loss “School hearing tests cannot effectively detect adolescent high-frequency hearing loss, which is typically caused by loud noise exposure, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The Pennsylvania Department of Health mandates school-administered hearing screens for children in kindergarten to third, seventh and 11th grades. The school screenings primarily focus on low-frequency hearing loss. This is logical for young children, who are more likely to develop low-frequency hearing loss due to fluid in the ear after a bad cold or an ear infection. Adolescents, however, are more susceptible to highfrequency hearing loss, usually brought on by exposure to loud noises, but the same tests are used on adolescents and young children.” — Pennsylvania State University, http://medical xpress.com/news/2014-03-school-noise-exposureloss.html, March 20, 2014.
Cognitive rest promotes recovery from concussion A study by Boston Children’s Hospital found that student athletes “who took the most time off from tasks that required a lot of thinking” had the fastest recovery from concussions incurred on the playing field. — Deborah Kotz, “Children’s concussions and brain rest,” The Boston Globe, http://www.boston globe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness, January 6, 2014.
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK
Technology for the Future By JOE FITZGERALD, Ed.D. MASCA VP Retirees
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or the past several years I have been attending Governing Board meetings as Chair of the Technology Committee and as Vice President for Retirees. I went to the quarterly March meeting knowing it would be one of my last as Technology Chair. Although I am reluctant to do so, I realize it is time for an active member of MASCA to take over this position. During my retirement, I have had many discussions with other retirees who stayed very active in MASCA. Some held leadership positions or volunteered to be on various committees. We always discussed how we would like to see more active members become involved in MASCA. Although we have always had wonderful active MASCA members, we still felt that we could have more. We realized that participation can be difficult because counselors have busy work and personal lives. As I looked around at the Governing Board meeting, however, I realized that most of the attendees were active counselors. Many working counselors had stepped up to assume roles on the Board. As the meeting progressed, I realized that even more had occurred over the past year. The direction of technology had changed. A small group of 2013 MASCA Fall Conference attendees had became interested in using social media to communicate with one another on a professional level. The impetus was a technology session on social media run by MASCA’s Technology Coordinator, Ron Miller. The session attracted counselors who were interested in using programs like Twitter, and the workshop developed into the technology Professional Learning Network (PLN) that has been actualized on the MASCA website. The PLN was presented at the Governing Board meeting by Ron and Ross Wolfson, counselor at Dedham High School. Their presentations and sense of excitement for this use of social media made me realize that some real-time professional development is happening. I was pleasantly surprised when I visited our website and clicked on the Twitter link. Many substantive and practical comments from counselors in the field could be found. Also, there were links to events and more than 150 counselors commuMAY 2014
nicating about what they were doing. The @MASCA_PLN account is also impressive. By going to the website http://goo.gl/NBbj4E and by using the Twitter hashtag #masca2014 counselors
are now able to access conference information and to follow counselors at the conference. This capability, I learned, will continue for future conferences and professional development activities. ■
For updated professional development activities, visit MASCA’s website, www.masca.org/
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Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK Sally Ann Connolly, Editor
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MASCA’s Vision Investing in the Potential of all Massachusetts Students An overview of the school counselor’s role and what can be done to improve student success in the Commonwealth
To view a copy or download, go to http://masca.org/images/PDFs/ VisionBooklet.pdf