Counseling Services Newsletter

Counseling Services would like to recognize and celebrate Sherri Vault and Yvette Kiesha Mazin as they begin new journeys.

We congratulate Sherri on her retirement and thank her for her years of dedicated service. We also wish Yvette continued success and all the best in her future endeavors.

Their contributions, hard work, and positive influence will be greatly missed.

Suicide Prevention Month (see Guidance section)

Monthly Maps:
ES | MS | HS - check for a full list of events

• Sept. 14-18 -- Education: Go-Get-It Week
• Sept. 16 -- Districtwide College Fair & College Day
• Sept. 21- 25 -- Start with Hello (Sandy Hook Promise)

Bullying Prevention Month

Nickki Armstard & Michael Bentley

Canva is a great place for free newsletter templates, flyers, presentations, and more.

See link below for more information. Add to your Outlook Calendar.

September 23 -- New ES Counselor PD

Click the image for more information.

Links

Restorative Practices in Texas

Mental Health Webinars

Trauma Informed Training Series

LSSSCA provides three days of professional development specifically for school counselors. The conference includes breakout sessions, keynote sessions, general sessions and networking events that allows you to enhance your school counseling knowledge, improve your school counseling program, and network with other school counselors to discover best practices in the field.

Link: LSSSCA Conference

Click links below for more information or to submit items

Remember to use the new format for writing your goal statements

when submitting your goals in Cornerstone.

Links:

Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4, Region 5, Region 6

Update Emergency Support Plans and share with administrative and office staff in the event you are absent during an emergency. Train on how to use the plan. Also print and share the plan electronically.

Senate Bill 12 Link: SB 12

See section in newsletter for the district's response

SB 179 Link: SB 179

Requires school boards to adopt a policy requiring school counselors spend at least 80 percent of the counselor’s total work time on duties that are components of a school counseling program, including: Individual Planning, Guidance Curriculum, Responsive Services, and System Support.

Dallas ISD Policy and Exhibit Links: Policy, Exhibit

• Requires school boards to adopt a policy requiring school counselors spend at least 80 percent of the counselor’s total work time on duties that are components of a school counseling program.

• Outlines the duties of school counselors

• Counselors shall not be testing coordinators or committee chairpersons. Rather, school counselors are participating members of committees.

Texas Education Code (TEC) - Counselor Time Tracker Link: TEC, Time Tracker Guidebook

Includes a mandate for school counselors to document their time for the components of a school counseling program as well as time spent on non-counseling duties.

It is important for counselors and campuses adhere to state mandates and district policy.

Couselors are sometimes contacted by outside entities for information or interviews. It is important to follow district protocol, which begins with notifying your principal of the request. See below for additional information and documents from the Dallas ISD Legal Services department.

Helpful Links from Legal Services:

• Legal Services FAQs
• Staff Completing Non-School Related Forms
• Request for Completion of Input Form (English)
• Request for Completion of Input Form (Spanish)

SRAs and RVQs must be completed IMMEDIATELY upon receipt of information on a student. This is NOT optional. You must follow protocol. See the link below for required forms. If you need assistance, please contact your mental health clinician or coordinator.

Staff Reminders

Remind your staff of the expectations for following protocols and taking immediate action on student concerns.

Links:

MHS website

MHS Continuum of Support Services

• Dallas ISD Child Abuse Office
• Dallas ISD Child Abuse Reporting Procedures
• Texas Educator's Guide to Reporting Suspected Abuse and Neglect (printable)

Counselors may be asked to complete forms about students from outside agencies. Please see the WAIP for guidance on what is permissable and related forms for parents to complete when making a request.

NOTE (per the WAIP):

Care providers and/or parents may also make requests for employees to provide letters of support/recommendation, written statements pertaining to child custody or other legal matters, and various other letters of opinion. Employees are advised to deny these requests. Under no circumstances should employees use District letterhead for such requests.

Click image to access the dashboard

Homeschool Policy

Over-Age Students

Promotion & Retention Guidelines

Credit by Examination for Acceleration (CEFA) is a means by which high-achieving elementary students with above average grades and test scores may advance one grade level by taking and passing required tests.

Credit by Examination (CBE) with no prior instruction is a means by which high-achieving middle and high school students with above average grades and test scores may be awarded course credit(s) for a particular course by taking and passing required test(s).

Link: CEFA/CBE

Images are linked

Also see the Community Resources section

Dallas ISD has partnered with Carson's Village to give counselors tools to help students and families on their grief journey. See the links below to learn more about these supports.

Links:

General Resources

Educator Specific Resources

Website

If you or someone you know is experiencing a housing issue, such as an eviction, and needs to speak with a free lawyer, please contact the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center by texting 469-436-2704 or emailing info@dallaseac.org. If you or someone you know is worried about, or currently experiencing, homelessness, call the Housing Forward Homeless Crisis Helpline at 1-888-411-6802.

Links: English Flyer | Spanish Flyer

See the links below for tools to help you plan for guidance and schoolwide events.

Also use our K-12 Guidance site for resources and lessons.

Remember to include your staff and parents in your awareness events.

Share on social media and with your coordinator!

Link: College Week Toolkit | Canva Flyer Template

Announcements, flyers, theme days, door decorating contest and more! Check out the link for resources to plan your week. There's even a bingo game and bingo questions. Make a copy and edit for your campus.

Additional Ideas:

• Make a display of the staff and where they went to college
• Make a word wall display of college vocabulary
• Daily trivia about famous people that attended college
• College Tailgate - speak with admin team about sponsoring a college tailgate lunch (hotdogs, chips, drinks). Have staff write a funny or embarrassing story on a pennant, post in staff space (with approval).
• Make a college slide show of your staff

It's never too soon to start preparing for the future. There are so many different options out there, and the more you learn about them, the easier it will be to make informed decisions about your future. Don't be afraid to start exploring EARLY.

Link: K-5 CCMR with Ms. Thrash

September is Suicide Prevention month. Help save a life by educating yourself and

others on suicide prevention. See the guidance lesson and other helpful links below.

National Start with Hello Week 2026 takes place from September 21 to September 25, 2026. Created by the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, this annual event helps students build social connections, stop loneliness, and stop social isolation in schools and youth groups.

Core Steps

• See Someone Alone: Notice peers who sit by themselves or look left out.
• Reach Out and Help: Walk over, smile, or invite them to join an activity.
• Start With Hello: Say a simple hello to spark a new connection.

Program Goals

• Teach kids how to show empathy.
• Build a safe and kind school culture.
• Stop bullying before it starts.

The SAVE (Students Against Violence Everyone) Promise Club are the group that is responsible for making Start with Hello activities happen at our Dallas ISD schools. These clubs take place on every PK-8, middle and high school campus in the Dallas Independent School District.

The Start With Hello program empowers students to reduce social isolation and strengthen school communities by teaching practical strategies for building peer relationships.

Guidance Lessons (see pages 98-114)

Family Youth Institute

Talking About Suicide

Protective Factors Against Suicide

How to Ask - Mayo Clinic Video (4 minutes)

Youth Suicide Prevention Program

Depression in Young Children

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Grant Haliburton Foundation

Imagine the power and potential of millions of people around the world connecting, collaborating, creating and celebrating all that creativity inspires and invites..

Sign up now and celebrate Dot Day on or around September 15-ish!

Link: Dot Day

Bilingual Feelings Chart

Whole Hearted School Counseling

Click the links below for more information.

English Flyer

Spanish Flyer

The City of Dallas has emergency funding rent relief to Dallas residents. Funding is limited and parents must meet requirements to qualify. Link: www.dallasrentrelief.com

Homeless Education Program (HEP)

Parents can contact the Homeless hotline at 888-411-6802 to get connected to appropriate resources. Please note that the department does not have direct access to housing for families.

Link: Food Bank Resources

Links:

Flyers

Website: https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/78689

HEP has approximately 25 copies of their Resource Guide for each campus. Counselors can come to pick them up at 4600 Spring Avenue near Fair Park. Please contact the office to make an appointment for pickup as the staff is often out support campuses. Also, if parents are seeking resources at the school, please print out the emergency resource guide from our website or direct the parent to our webpage.

Link:

Referral Follow up Form

Link: PowerSchool Manual for Counselors

American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

Lone Star State School Counselor Association (LSSSCA)

Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA)

Email: counselingservices@dallasisd.org
Website: https://www.dallasisd.org/Domain/3068
Location: 9400 N. Central Expressway Dallas, TX 75231 Suite 601
Phone: 972.925.8989
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DallasISDCounselingServices
Twitter: @CounselingDISD