April 2026

Hurray for Spring! It is finally here. I hope you have been enjoying the warmer weather. We are just a few months away from our summer conference and I can't wait to see all of you there. Our amazing technology team has posted the registration link if you still need to register. Many presenters and exhibitors have already signed up and are ready to meet you. To see more information about our conference, click this link. If you want more specific information about the age group you work with, reach out to one of our awesome ArSCA Board Vice-Presidents at the conference:

Elementary Vice President, Marisa Snow

Middle/Jr. High Vice President, Samantha Tilley

Secondary Vice President, Michelle Williams

Post-Secondary Vice President, Dr. Pam Dixon

They will be happy to help you learn how to Be The Spark at your school!

The conference is June 29th-July1st and I'm excited to get it started. Thank you for being a School Counselor and making such a difference to the students (and staff) all around you. Let's finish winding down one of the busiest times of the year and then meet up relaxed and refreshed this June. See you in a few months!

--

Dr. Jennifer Lyle

ArSCA President

2025-2027

It's ALL HERE: Attendee, Exhibitor, Presenter Registration, along with Accommodations. Just click the link above! You can access from our website too, but both links go to the Everything Conference- Conference Tracker page.

***If you are looking for ****membership only*** Use the same link above or below.

The 2026 ArSCA/DESE Conference Committee is excited about the plans for the upcoming conference, “Be The Spark!” We are currently accepting registration for attendees, presentation proposals and vendor/sponsor registrations. With two dynamic guest and keynote speakers and many varied break out session presentations, we believe this conference will be one to renew our spark and motivate attendees to grow in knowledge and skills and to be renewed in our commitment to helping our students, their parents, and our communities.

Planned presentation topics include:

Write Your Own Story or Someone Else Will - Protecting Your Mental Health as a School Counselor

Submitted by Karon Parrish

ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors: Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

Submitted by Angela Jones

Academic Signing Day--Let's Get Started!

Submitted by Liz Porter

Trauma Resource Initiative for Schools: Trainings, Resources and Supports for Schools to Prepare and Respond to Traumatic Events

Submitted by Emily Robbins

Preparing for Your ARTRS Retirement

Submitted by Mary Hughes

Learning Readiness Unlocked: A Multi-Disciplinary Framework for Student Success

Submitted by Amanda Matthews

Human Rights: Sparking Conversation to Ensure All Students Shine

Submitted by Angela Millard

Trauma Informed Teaching Practices

Submitted by Lea Myers

Victims' Rights , Resources, and Reporting

Submitted by Laura Abbott

D3/G3: Mentorship and Behavior Intervention That Works!

Submitted by Charles German

Farm Friends Make Teaching Life Lessons Easier

Submitted by Abigail Meredith

The Unspoken Intervention: How Connection Shifts Classroom Culture

Submitted by Jane Stewart

The Enrollment E- Introducing AR OneApp

Submitted by Alisha Lewis

NTAC Research Findings Related to (Options) Plotters and Attackers -or- Threat Assessment Teams and Bystander Reporting Systems -or- a case study

Submitted by Jeff Murray

The State of the State Scholarships

Submitted by Alisha Lewis

Take the Stress out of Next Year Planning with Tools from AR Schools

Submitted by Cecil Cossey

School Based Health and Wellness programs

Submitted by Lori Arnette

Train the Trainer - Resiliency for All

Submitted by Nicole Fairchild

Courses, Codes, and Catalogs: What Counselors Need to Know

Submitted by Sarah Goodwin

Calming the Nervous System: Simple Tools for School Counselors and the Students They Serve

Submitted by Joe & Amy Lee

More Than a Course: Partnering for Student Success

Submitted by Amy Fulmer

SBIRT with Adolescents: Tools and Strategies

Submitted by Caitlyn Johnson

Career and Technical Education: Durable Skills, Pathway Revisions, Success Ready Graduates

Submitted by Ross White

Early Career Experiences: The Starting Point for Success Ready Graduates

Submitted by Ross White

From Concern to Clarity: The School Counselor’s Role in Effective Behavioral Threat Assessment

Submitted by Bekah Coursey

Skilled Conversations- Introduction to Motivational Interviewing

Submitted by Andrea Fortner

Navigating Dual Credit: Best Practices for High School Counselors

Submitted by Kati Race

We are adding to this presentation list each day. The Conference Schedule and Agenda will be available in the Conference Tracker App as we get closer to the actual dates of the conference.

Please note that a change for this year’s conference will be that Monday, June 29th, lunch will be on your own. We will be allowing an hour and a half in the schedule to accommodate those who would like to leave the convention center for lunch. The convention center will be opening their concession stand during the break time for lunch purchases and we will also make available a list of options located within walking distance of the convention center. Our awards luncheon will be held on Tuesday, June 30th.

Remember to use the Everything 2026 Conference link to find details about registration, hotel information, and more.

We look forward to seeing you and your “spark” at this year’s conference!

Congratulations to the Southside High School in Fort Smith for being recognized by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) as a 2026 Ramp Honoree!

L to R: Stephanie Legris, Isela Avila, Sarah Williams, Trisha Yepez, and Cindy Lattimore

Resource Links from Commissioner's Memos:

Accelerated Learning Guide

Accelerated Learning

2026-2027 Pathway Guide
2026-2027 CTE High-Demand and High-Wage (H2) Pathways
2026 CTE PD Catalog

FINAL_Preliminary_2026-2027_Testing_Calendar_084556.pdf

CTE Course Substitution

Mental Health Awareness Week Flyer by Gemini (attached PDF)

Have you tried making flyers in Gemini? It's such a HUGE time saver! Check out this Mental Health Awareness Week Flyer it made for me! These are the directions I gave in my chat box:

Create a flyer for Howard Elementary School for Mental Health Awareness Week, May 4-May 8 with the following theme days: Monday-Give Yourself the Green Light to Talk about your feelings - Wear Green; Tuesday-Team Up Against Stress - Wear Your Favorite Team Jersey or a Howard Shirt; Wednesday-White Out Wednesday - Wear White to White Out Negative Thoughts; Thursday-Workout Your Worries-Wear Workout Clothes; Friday - It's Okay to be Different-Wear Mismatched Clothes or Socks. Our Mascot is a Tiger and our school colors are blue and white

You do have to proofread and make a few adjustments, but I just can't believe how easy and cute this is. Try it out!

Comprehensive School Counseling Program Requirements Each public school district shall provide a developmentally appropriate comprehensive school counseling program to aid students in academics, social/emotional needs, and career exploration and planning. The district Comprehensive School Counseling Plan, which is a reflection of the program, shall be posted on the district website under “State Required Information” no later than August 1 of each year. The requirements for the comprehensive school counseling program plan can be found in the Arkansas School Counselor Toolkit and in the Arkansas Comprehensive School Counseling Program Guide which are posted on the Arkansas Department of Education – Division of Elementary and Secondary Education - Guidance and School Counseling webpage. http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/learning-services/guidance-and-school-counseling For specific accreditation requirements visit Standards for Accreditation

Per A.C.A. § 6-15-2911- Commissioner's Memo LS-24-042, the four major components of the Student Success Plan are:

• Guide the student along pathways to graduation

• Address accelerated learning opportunities

• Address academic deficits and interventions

• Include college and career planning components

Additionally, each student's Student Success Plan shall be reviewed annually and revised as necessary to identify the courses to be taken each year until all required core courses are completed. Upon completion of the review, the student's Student Success Plan shall be signed by the:

(a) Student;

(b) Student's parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the student; and

(c) School counselor.

2023 legistated changes(see pp 14-16)

Presentation on SSP from DESE Summit

Review the Success Ready Pathway Guide. This guide outlines what a success ready pathway looks like for all students in grades 9-12, however it is a useful tool for students in middle school who are initiating their Students Success Plans. The Success Ready Pathway Guide:

• Outlines each pathway course sequence.

• Identifies the merit and distinction demonstration for each pathway.

• **"Completion of a success-ready pathway leads to eligibility to earn State Distinction, by demonstrating readiness at the culmination of that pathway. Schools will have an opportunity to earn points in accountability for students graduating with merit or distinction.

• Provides additional information regarding merit and distinction opportunities for students.

This tool should be used to assist connecting Students Success Plans to student goals post graduation. Becoming a success ready graduate is a multi-year process that begins well before high school. As we continue to build career ready pathways and ensure all Arkansas graduates are success ready.

• All districts will transition to using the Launch for Students (LFS) platform to track student success plans (SSP) beginning the 2026-2027 school year. In order for a smooth transition to this platform, we ask that districts begin the following:

  • All LFS data is imported directly from eSchool.

  • For successful implementation, districts must:

• Ensure all student and staff emails are entered correctly - these control login access and communication

• Assign counselor and advisor roles accurately within eSchool so the correct users have SSP access
  Use the Counselor and Advisor Entry guidance document to complete the setup

  • Completing the above steps in advance ensures:

    • Accurate, real-time data flow

    • Reduced technical issues

    • A smooth statewide implementation

  • Additional information regarding timelines, training, and system functionality for LFS is forthcoming

Good afternoon, Secondary Counselors,

You are invited to join us for our April Secondary Counselor Connections meeting on April 23 from 1:00–2:00 p.m.

The Office of Special Education will be presenting updates and guidance related to new course code offerings for students in special education.

Please see the Zoom invitation below:

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Apr 23, 2026 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/ro3AHdwkSeirurjum2wIvg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

ArSCA Member Counselors,

In order to be part of the ArSCA Listserv your ArSCA Membership needs to be current. If you have questions about your membership you can contact office@arschoolcounselor.org

If you have questions about the listserv please email technology@arschoolcounselor.org. Please see the link below if you need to make changes in your listserv subscription.

ArSCA Listserv Guidelines

Our counselor listserve address: https://groups.google.com/a/arschoolcounselor.org/g/arsca-listserv You won't see this group listed in your list of Google Groups (if you are a Google school).

This newsletter is sent out via the ArSCA Listserv and individually emailed to all Arkansas School Counselors. If you know of a counselor that did not receive the newsletter, please have them email us at technology@arschoolcounselor.org so we can make sure we have their infomation in order to receive our future communications.

ArSCA Legislative Update (April 2026)

The Arkansas General Assembly is in the 2026 Fiscal Session, with leaders aligned on passing a budget—but growing scrutiny around education spending, particularly school choice, is becoming a central issue.

Fiscal Tone: Alignment with Caution

Legislative leaders remain “in sync” on:

• Passing a balanced state budget
• Advancing targeted tax cuts
• Keeping the session focused on fiscal priorities

Meanwhile, Sarah Huckabee Sanders continues to emphasize:

Balancing “promises vs. price tags”—ensuring Arkansas can sustain its commitments long-term.

School Choice: Big Vision, Growing Cost

Recent reporting highlights increasing concern over the rapid growth in school choice funding, particularly Education Freedom Accounts created under the LEARNS Act.

Key Issues Emerging

• The program is described as having “big dreams, but a bigger price tag”
• Costs are rising faster than some lawmakers anticipated
• Questions are being raised about:
• Long-term sustainability
• Impact on the overall education budget
• Use of state funds to support vouchers

This builds on earlier efforts by Bryan King to limit or rein in spending on these programs.

What This Means for School Counselors

1. Increased Competition for Education Dollars

• As school choice costs grow, pressure increases on the overall education budget
• This can impact:
• Staffing levels
• Counseling resources
• Student support programs

2. Shifting Student Populations

• Expansion of choice programs may lead to:
• Enrollment changes across districts
• More student transitions between schools
• Counselors play a critical role in supporting these transitions

3. Greater Demand for Accountability

• Lawmakers are increasingly focused on cost vs. outcomes
• Schools—and counseling programs—must demonstrate:
• Measurable impact
• Contribution to student success

4. Reinforced Role in Prevention & Intervention

• Broader discussions (including prison reform) highlight the importance of:
• Early intervention
• Mental health support
• Dropout prevention
• Counselors are a frontline investment in reducing long-term state costs

ArSCA Advocacy Focus

The Arkansas School Counselor Association should continue to emphasize:

• Protecting public school funding
• Maintaining appropriate student-to-counselor ratios
• Demonstrating how counselors:
• Improve academic outcomes
• Support mental health
• Reduce long-term costs (discipline, dropout, corrections)

Bottom Line

While the session is expected to move efficiently, school choice funding is emerging as a major pressure point within the state budget.

With leaders focused on fiscal discipline and sustainability, the conversation is shifting toward cost, outcomes, and long-term impact.

For school counselors, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity:

Protect resources while clearly demonstrating the essential value of counseling programs in student success and statewide outcomes.

TasselTIME is a comprehensive website designed by a former school counselor for school counselors. TasselTIME has been provided to Arkansas School Counselors for free for 23 years. TasselTIME is available to purchase for school use for the entire district. Many districts in Arkansas are using TasselTIME. Find out more by going to www.tasseltime.com

Sign-up for your free counselor membership here.

If your school is wanting to schedule professional development, please contact Dr. Robin Finley, robin@tasseltime.com, 479-461-9030.

Professional Development 2026 Catalog