College Application Campaign

Secondary Counselors - Are you participating in the College Application Campaign?????

You should be able to find out more information about the Three Step Process here.

Keyli Keifer, Keyli.Keifer@iowa.gov, is the project lead. Please let her know how Iowa College Student Aid Commission can help!!

ISCA Scholarship

ISCA is proud to announce the Iowa School Counselor Association High School Senior Scholarship:

Please consider donating your pocket change to help fund this important project while at the conference!

•       For 12th grade students attending high school in Iowa

•       Applicants will be required to submit a 500 word (maximum) essay about a school counselor who made a difference during their K-12 career.

•       Applications are due January 11, 2016

•       Winner will be notified by January 29, 2016 and announced the first week of February

•       Link to the application can be found at  Link to the application can be found at   http://goo.gl/forms/JMcItVA7Uwand will be available on the ISCA website and will be available on the ISCA website.

Sincerely,
Laura Gallo, ABD, NCC
ISCA Scholarship Chair

Doctoral Candidate, Counselor Education & Supervision

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

ISCA Board Positions Open

Fellow School Counselors:

This is an invitation to become a member of the Iowa School Counselor Association Board!  Three of our current positions will be open: 

Vice President Secondary Level (2016-2019)
Vice President Counseling Director/Coordinator (2016-2019)

President Elect-Elect (President Elect-Elect, President-Elect, President, Immediate Past-President) (2016-2020)

If you are a school counselor serving in one of these grade ranges and are interested in serving on the ISCA Board, please complete the appropriate application found on the ISCA Website at www.iowaschoolcounselors.org under About Us, Board Elections and Appointments 2016, Open Board Positions (http://www.iowaschoolcounselors.org/Open-Board-Positions).

Please send your completed application to AmyJDeGroot@aol.com.  Applications are due by January 4, 2016.  Each of these positions will start on July 1, 2016.   

VP’s serve as a resource for school counselors who work within their position and represents their interests in ISCA board decisions.  They also work to advance professional development opportunities for Iowa school counselors by identifying areas of interest, planning, making contacts, and /or presenting topics for webinars and the annual ISCA conference. Each grade level VP also provides/updates resources and/or links related to his/her of school counseling for the ISCA website and social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

While there are some meetings and responsibilities, many of the duties of board members are accomplished via telephone, e-mail, and webinars. All Governing Board members are expected to participate in three ISCA Board meetings held on Saturdays usually in January, April, and September, the annual conference in November in Des Moines, and the Summer Leadership Development Institute (LDI) usually held for two days in July (location to be determined). The Presidents also represent ISCA at the national ASCA conference, Delegate Assembly, and LDI which are held in the summer and financially supported by the ISCA Board.

Board members may also be asked to represent ISCA at state or regional meetings, professional development, and other professional activities. Members of the Governing Board do not receive any financial compensation for their service. However they are reimbursed for travel expenses and other costs. All Governing Board members are expected to pay for their ISCA conference registration, travel, and hotel. Those who have been Board members have recognized the additional benefits of this leadership experience that include networking, learning about school counseling issues and strategies to advocate for the profession and for school counseling issues, collegiality, and professional and personal development. We encourage you to become involved with ISCA at the board level. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Amy J. DeGroot-Hammer
ISCA Immediate Past President
(712) 251-0476

Iowa School Counselor Association 
W: http://www.iowaschoolcounselors.org/
E:  isca@assocserv.com

2015 Conference: http://www.iowaschoolcounselors.org/Conference-Be-Bold

CCR Workshop in Council Bluffs

The Key to High School & College Completion:
How to Launch a Freshman Transition Course that Helps Students Build the Intrinsic Motivation to Succeed

We're bringing this timely workshop to Omaha on:
NOVEMBER 12, 2015
Hilton Garden Inn Omaha East/Council Bluffs
2702 Mid America Drive
Council Bluffs, IA 51501

This one-day workshop provides the vision and resources for a transition course that will change the culture of your school!

When freshmen *get focused* by developing a vision of a productive future and a CAREER AND EDUCATION PLAN that helps them *stay focused*, they build the intrinsic motivation needed to stay the course, graduate, and acquire appropriate post-secondary training/education.

You'll leave this workshop with:
* Proven strategies for developing student-centered 10-year Career and Education Plans
* Information on how this process supports student mastery of Common Core State Standards
* Curriculum materials that help students understand the role post-secondary certifications and/or degrees will play in achieving the lifestyle they want
* The Standards for a Freshman Transition Course from The George Washington University
* An introduction to the Get Focused…Stay Focused!™  Initiative developed through Santa Barbara City College
You'll also leave understanding how this curriculum has helped the Benson High School Mighty Bunnies become even mightier, garnering national recognition for their program for the last four years.

For only $99 each participant receives:
* A set of books in the Career Choices series  (valued at $108)
* A resource booklet to help expedite planning
* Video resources to inform and inspire colleagues
* Lunch and mid-morning coffee break

And teams of three or more can register for only $79 per person!  If you are already familiar with this workshop, please forward this announcement to anyone you know who might be interested.

To register online, please visit: http://www.aiworkshops.com/moreinfo.html?state=29&id=1131&wt=50
And, you can always contact me directly with questions or to get additional information.

Have a great day!

Deb Teeken
Educational Consultant
Academic Innovations
(800) 967-8016, ext. 350
(541) 526-5155 direct
deb@academicinnovations.com

AEA Customer Survey

Counselors - Your voice is needed!!!
As you reflect back on the 2014-15 school year, and specifically on the AEA services you used last year, you and your staff are invited to participate in the annual statewide AEA/DE Customer Survey. This survey offers an opportunity to provide valuable feedback regarding AEA services. It is web-based and should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. To access the survey, go to this link and follow the instructions provided.

The survey is open until Nov. 25, 2015. Please share with your staff.

If you have any issues accessing the survey, contact Dr. Gary Dannenbring.

Thank you in advance for your participation! The information from this survey provides valuable data that assists AEAs and the statewide AEA system in evaluating its services and working to meet current and future district/school needs.

Harvard College Midwest Club

Luke Heine, President of the Harvard College Midwest Club, here.

Over the past two months, the Harvard College Midwest Club has been working with 200 midwestern high school counselors to write a free and comprehensive college application guide that we hope will help set students up for success wherever they apply.

Listening to our initial counselors’ experiences, our guide responds to many of the questions they and their students have had with the application process, covering financial aid in depth, tips on how to succeed in all parts of the application, organizational advice, along with actual essay examples.

That said, currently your students don’t know about it.

We would very much appreciate your help in sharing this information, and would like to see it put to work in the hands of your students and counselors.

http://harvardcollegemidwestclub.com/

Hope you find our work helpful, and thanks for your time,

Luke

/*I'm also legally obligated to say that this advice is that of the Harvard College Midwest Club and not the Harvard College Admissions Office*/

IHAPI - Student Success Plan Tool - Free Webinar!!

There is still time to register for a webinar to learn more about I Have A Plan Iowa's new Student Success Plan (SSP) tool. Or for those that have already attended an SSP webinar, join us for a more in-depth look at customizing and reporting!

Meet the SSP: Your Flexible Guideway Alternative - Register Now
Tuesday, October 20; 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Join us and learn about the Student Success Plan (SSP) tool. The SSP is a new, flexible alternative to the Guideways. With an SSP, students can complete activities in any order. And similar to the Guideways, there is also an SSP Tracking Report.

Customizing and Reporting with the SSP - Register Now
Thursday, October 22; 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM 
With the SSP, schools can add activities to the state standards. In this webinar, we will look at how easy it is to customize an SSP. We will also see how to run the SSP Tracking Report, drill into it for a detailed report and export to a spreadsheet.

Mental Health Resources

BUZZ from the Hub Center for Parent Information and Resources   October 2015 | Mental Health In This Issue New Resources in the Hub Spotlight on...Mental Health Resources Resources You Can Share with Families on Mental Health Addressing Mental Health Concerns in Your SSIP Work   You can share this information with the families you serve, use it in your own professional development activities, and apply it in your SSIP work in both Part B and Part C. Mental health is a matter of great concern in our society and certainly has a significant role to play in student behavior, peer relationships, academic achievement, and personal well-being.  New Resources in the Hub What's new in the resource library? Here are 2 on our theme! Children's mental health report. The Child Mind Institute has synthesized the most reliable data available on the prevalence of mental illness in children and adolescents, the gap between the need and care, and the efficacy of treatment. Of the 74.5 million children in the United States, an estimated 17.1 million have or have had a psychiatric disorder.Connect with the report, Speak Up For Kids, in the Hub. Video | Promoting successful transitions for youth with serious mental health conditions. This 1-hour webinar from SRI International is now available on YouTube. Learn about new findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) on factors that improve educational and employment outcomes of youth with emotional disturbance. Spotlight on ... Mental Health Resources "Mental health" is a broad term, just as "mental illness" is. Here are several resources that let you to zero in on information and resources about specific mental disorders.  Mental health resources at the Hub. There are many, many organizations and groups that deal with mental health.This resource page will help you find the one or ones that offer the type of assistance, intervention, or information you're seeking. You can also connect with information about mental health services in schools and where to find mental health services in the community. Mentalhealth.gov in English and Spanish. This federal website is an excellent source of information and connection on mental health issues and concerns. The webpages and resources are available inEnglish and Spanish, and are organized into sections such as eating disorders, mental health experts and resources, help for young people, and an ongoing conversation about mental health that you can join. Resources You Can Share with Families on Mental Health This section of the Buzz identifies useful resources you might share with families or mention in your own news bulletins.  What parents need to know about mental health and education | Video webinar from the Michigan PTI. This 59-minute webinar of the Michigan Alliance for Families  features Terri Henrizi from the Association for Children's Mental Health. The video is available on YouTube; there's also a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation and an audio (WMV) file of the webinar available. Modules on behavior | Videos from Utah's PTI. (Available in English and Spanish) | The Utah Parent Center offers this terrific 5-module video training series about positive behavioral supports and interventions that's also available in Spanish. Talking to children about violence: Tips for parents and teachers. (Available in multiple languages) As part of its suite of School Safety and Crisis Resources, the National Association of School Psychologists makes this 2-pager of practical suggestions available in English and Spanish, as well as in Amharic,Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, Kurdish, Portuguese, Somali, and Vietnamese. Wow. 11 simple signs that a child may have a psychiatric disorder. This article from the Child Mind Institute is just one in its extensive online guide to information about kids and mental health in general, including myths, controversies, fighting stigma, mental illness in popular culture, and advances in neuroscience and brain research. There's also a Spanish sister site, full of information about different mental disorders written expressly for families. Teaching young children self-control skills: Information for parents and educators.  This 3-page article from the National Association of School Psychologists describes concrete ways and steps that parents (and educators) can use to teach young children the skills of self-control. Addressing Mental Health Concerns in Your SSIP Work Is your state addressing student behavior, school climate, or student mental health as part of its SSIP? You no doubt want to be part of that discussion---or perhaps START that discussion. Hopefully, the resources below will put facts at your fingertips!! Changing the way we think about mental health. "Get informed. Get screened. Get help." That's the bottom-line message in this easy-to-read, fact-filled article from Mental Health America that examines our national need to refocus how we approach mental health concerns---from a "clean up the wreckage afterwards" model to an approach that emphasizes knowing the signs of mental illness and taking action so that mental illnesses can be caught early and treated.   Transforming the school climate. In October 2014, the Office of Safe and Healthy Students at the U.S. Department of Education funded 12 states and 71 districts to implement a Multi-tiered Behavior Support Framework. The stated purpose of this page at the PBIS Center is to organize materials of particular value to awardees of these School Climate Transformation grants. Not surprisingly the materials are also relevant and valuable to many, many others! Need stats? Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014. This annual report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources. The report covers topics such as victimization, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, the presence of security staff at school, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, student perceptions of personal safety at school, and criminal incidents at postsecondary institutions.  What is "school-based mental health" and what do we know? Have a look at this 22-slide presentation in PDF, and you'll find answers in a nutshell about much more than school-based mental health.  The National Wraparound Initiative. Wraparound is an intensive, holistic method of engaging with individuals with complex needs (most typically children, youth, and their families) so that they can live in their homes and communities and realize their hopes and dreams. You can find out all the latest research and implementation efforts in wraparound at the Initiative's website, which includes the Resource Guide to Wraparound and the detailed poster depicting the nuts-and-bolts of Parent Engagement and Family Peer Support Services in Wraparound (you'll need to use your Zoom to read this, but it's worth it). We hope that you've found resources you can use in this issue of Buzz from the Hub. Please feel free to write to the editor, Lisa Küpper, at lkupper@fhi360.org to suggest the types of resources you'd like to see in the future. CPIR's listening! Your input is extremely valuable to helping us to craft newsletters that support your work with families. Debra Jennings, Myriam Alizo, Indira Medina, & Lisa Küpper The CPIR Team Center for Parent Information and Resources | http://www.parentcenterhub.org c/o SPAN, Inc. 35 Halsey St., Fourth Floor Newark, NJ 07102

Free School Safety Webinar

Sorry for the short notice---

Learn From School Safety Expert Dr. Scott Poland
Free Professional Development Webinar 

America's Safe Schools Week is Oct. 18-24, and SchoolMessenger helps you get the most out of this annual event by bringing in internationally recognized school psychologist and crisis expert Dr. Scott Poland for a free professional development webinar.

Critical Issues in School Safety: Lessons From the Front Lines
Tuesday, October 20 (11:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM ET)
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/327399747939032066

BONUS: Everyone who attends this webinar will receive a free white paper on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) about how schools can improve efforts to protect children from online dangers.

Dr. Poland will help attendees better understand school safety issues such as school violence, bullying, and suicide; as well as provide up-to-date information on the best threat prevention practices and the most effective strategies for increasing school safety.

After viewing this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key factors that increase school safety
2. Improve schools’ ability to assess threats
3. Review lessons learned from school violence incidents
4. Learn best practices in bullying prevention and understand the complex relationship between bullying and suicide

About the presenter:
Dr. Scott Poland has assisted schools and communities after school shootings, suicides, and acts of terrorism in Oklahoma and New York. He previously directed psychological services for a large Texas school system for 24 years and is a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists. He was a founding member of the National Emergency Assistance Team, has authored five books and numerous chapters on the subject of school safety, and has testified about the needs of children before the U.S. Congress on four occasions.

Register for this free professional development webinar today. You won't want to miss this valuable information.

Counselor Evaluations

Greetings Friends ~
As you may or may not be aware, the Council on Educator Development have come up with their recommendations regarding teacher and administrator feedback. They are seeking input from certified staff. I am personally concerned about the counselor voice being heard. As I spoke with Matt Ludwig, he encouraged us to seek feedback from counselors. So I would encourage you to share this message with your fellow counselors.

Iowans who make up the Council on Educator Development have spent the past two years studying teacher and administrator evaluation practices and professional development. This document represents their preliminary recommendations. The council now needs feedback via an online survey on these recommendations from Iowa’s education community. The survey will be open through Nov. 30, 2015.All survey feedback will remain anonymous. The term “teacher” in the recommendations and the survey refers to certified staff and includes school counselors. 

Gathering input is critical not only to this process, it is required by law. The council was formed in the fall of 2013 in response to an education reform package adopted by Iowa lawmakers that year. The legislation, House File 215, calls for a period of feedback beginning Oct. 1, 2015. Once the feedback is collected and analyzed, the council will use it to develop a final report in November 2016.

Please read the recommendations and complete your feedback prior to November 30.

Thank you!!!
Sue

Stop Bullying Resources

October is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month

This month, groups across the country committed to stop bullying will release new resources, campaigns, and efforts aimed at bringing awareness to this important issue facing our youth.  Bullying prevention must be addressed, and one way to accomplish this is through educating ourselves, our communities and the youth in our lives.

What started as an awareness week initiated by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in October 2006, the event has evolved into a month’s worth of events and activities to raise awareness and provide the latest resources to those who need it.

Follow along with us this month as we share tips and resources each week throughout October.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. October is a great time to help raise awareness for this important issue, but we know you're working hard all year to do what you can to prevent bullying. Use the hashtag #StopBullying365 to share your story and tell us what you're doing to prevent bullying in your community.

For More Information

• Learn more about bullying prevention at school.
• Tips on how to stop bullying on the spot.
• How to talk about bullying.

Post High Planning -- Special Needs

Hitting the Road after High School Many high school students have no idea what they want to do after they graduate. A new booklet, cowritten by teens for teens, helps young people with disabilities: Explore their post-high school options Make choices that are right for them Find activities they can do now to get ready Access support services to help them succeed Get the career guide for high schoolers. It’s a downloadable PDF (get Adobe Reader). And for parents: Find tips and resources to help your child pursue a satisfying career.

Homeless Webinars

NCHE invites you to participate in one of our upcoming webinars. NCHE webinar registration is open and available for our October, November, and December sessions, including:

McKinney-Vento 101: School Access and Stability under the McKinney-Vento Act

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5027616242492989953

NCHE Coffee Break: Understanding Doubled-Up

Wednesday, October 21, 2015 | 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2560835517298518273

McKinney-Vento 102: Support for School Success and Special Populations

Thursday, October 29, 2015 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2646961362613883905

McKinney-Vento 101: School Access and Stability under the McKinney-Vento Act

Wednesday, November 4, 2015 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6119053057675506434

Determining Eligibility for McKinney-Vento Rights and Services

Friday, November 20, 2015 | 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3816565757949828866

Paving the Way to College for Students Experiencing Homelessness
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM EST (please adjust for your time zone)
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1247362226593186817

Supporting the Education of Unaccompanied Homeless Students
Friday, December 11, 2015 | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM ET (please adjust for your time zone)
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8821632848039898881

Visit http://center.serve.org/nche/web/group.php to view webinar descriptions or to register for any of the above sessions.