September 2026

Welcome back! I hope you had a relaxing summer and are full of energy for the 2026-2027 school year. This summer I turned the Big 5-0 and I wanted to attach this picture with my 5-0 earrings. I am excited to reach this milestone, but I am even more excited to celebrate 85 years of ArSCA with you in 2027! That will be our theme at our summer conference in June. The colors will be purple and silver. Look for the Save the Date icon further down in this newsletter.

Just a little background history...

The Arkansas School Counselor Association was established in 1942, ten years before the American School Counselor Association. Our very first documented President was Frances Thrasher from my hometown of Prescott, Arkansas. (Go, Curley Wolves!!!) Our Past-Presidents since 2010 include: Michele Gerhardt, Sheri Neil, Susan Whatley, Deborah Drake-Gordan, Cathy Edmonds, Tahnee Bowen, Angie Gill, Terri Callaway, Laquietta Stewart, Allison Spraggins and Kelli Dockery. You see many of these faces at ArSCA Conferences each summer and many remain involved in making this organization great. This speaks to the character of these individuals, as the process of being President is a six-year volunteer commitment. Next summer Jane Stewart from Fort Smith will take over as President and I will join the list of Past-Presidents. In the meantime, I am proud to serve you and this organization and hope to see you at different school related functions throughout the year.

Dr. Jennifer Lyle
ArSCA President

Congratulations to Jessica Ashcraft for being awarded the 2026 Arkansas School Counselor of the Year.

Conference certificates were emailed on August 31st. If you have questions you need to email technology@arschoolcounselor.org.

If you have not already done so, please fill out this survey about professional development. Professional Development Records

This is information we are gathering for decisions for our 2027 Conference.

Both of these calendars are templates for calendars in Canva.

Southside High School of Fort Smith is the first high school in the state to RAMP! Pictured is Sarah Williams, Lead Counselor for Southside accepting the RAMP Award on Southside’s behalf.

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

Angela Millard was our 2025 Counselor of the Year and represented Arkansas well at ASCA this summer.

We asked first year counselor Brad Molder from Cedarville to provide a Virtual PD Session for our ArSCA Conference on helpful information for counselors. We have a lot of new counselors this year, so we wanted to make this available beyond our Conference Tracker App.

Where Can I Find It? (Video)

Where Can I Find It (Document)

When you signed up for ArSCA Membership for the upcoming year, we added all the new email addresses for members. If you need to change your email or have one removed please submit those changes here: ArSCA Listserv Subscription Changes

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).

In September we will be removing Non-ArSCA members from the ArSCA Listserv. The ArSCA Listserv is a membership benefit. If you have not renewed your membership, you can do so here: 2026-27 ArSCA Membership

Congratulations to the Rogers High School counselors on being recognized with the Arkansas National Guard’s 2025-26 7A Minuteman Champion Award.

Congratulations to Rogers Public Schools Lead Counselor, Tina McClure, for being honored as the Arkansas ACTE Counseling and Career Development Professional of the Year.

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.

Legislative Update: My Outlook

September 2026

With school back in session and the November election approaching, attention is beginning to turn toward the 2027 Arkansas General Assembly. I believe education funding will again be one of the major issues facing lawmakers when they return to Little Rock in January.

At the center of that discussion will likely be the continued growth and cost of Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), commonly referred to as the state's voucher program. I expect the debate over how much the program costs, how quickly it continues to grow, and its impact on the overall education budget to be the number one education issue of the 2027 session.

At the same time, the Legislature's 2026 Educational Adequacy Study gives ArSCA an opportunity to focus the conversation on something especially important to our members: student mental health and the resources schools need to support students.

Arkansas law requires school districts to provide a licensed school counselor at an average ratio of 1 counselor for every 450 students. However, the adequacy study shows Arkansas districts are actually employing approximately 1 counselor for every 311 students. For comparison, the American School Counselor Association recommends 1 counselor for every 250 students.

That gap tells an important story. Local school districts are already investing beyond what the state funding model provides because they recognize the need for additional counseling and student-support services.

As candidates for the Arkansas House and Senate campaign this fall, I encourage ArSCA members to get to know those who may represent your community. Ask them about public education, student mental health, and whether Arkansas is adequately funding school counselors. Most importantly, help them understand what a school counselor actually does and the difference you make for students every day.

As we move toward January, I will continue monitoring the voucher debate, education funding, the adequacy study, and legislation affecting school counselors. This is an important time for ArSCA to make sure the voice of Arkansas school counselors is part of the conversation at the Capitol.

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