September 2024

Blessings ArSCA!!!

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!! I hope you have had a wonderful, fun, restful break and are ready to get in gear

Now it’s time to buckle down and refresh our brains and be the supermen and superwomen that we are, as we welcome our students back to the world of schedules, counseling lessons, high fives, fist bumps and big smiles! Always remember, school counseling is not just a job–it’s a calling. There are many people that rely on you to be the “light” in their world (family, students, friends,) and I want you to know that I appreciate your dedication to the counseling profession!

I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated in our interactive summer conference! It was all the way live!!! My goal was to create a memorable experience for everyone. I was very pleased with the breakout sessions, exhibitors and especially our wonderful keynote speakers, as well as the collaboration among counselors! As we dive into this school year, let’s all remember to “Tell our story, and help students tell their story” and “You are the Glue!” Let’s implement the strategies, creative ideas and resources that we gained to BIG use this school year!

This summer, Allison Spraggins, Jennifer Lyle and I attended ASCA’s Leadership Development Institute in Kansas City. We learned valuable information about position statements, advocacy strategies, counselor concerns and legislative items. We will be sure to share information that we learned in the upcoming monthly newsletters As your leaders, we take pride in being able to serve and deliver necessary information from the national level.

It was also great to see Arkansas counselors representing at the ASCA conference! We were so proud of Pam Parkman as she walked across the stage as Arkansas as Counselor of Year, Fort Smith's Cherri Byford for achieving RAMP status, and Kandace Weisenfels as she received her ACSA Certification. Bravo Arkansas!!!

Counselor Spotlight!!

It’s time to start nominating exceptional counselors again for Counselor Spotlight. I know you all know of a counselor that is exceptional at their job and goes the extra mile for those around them. Let’s celebrate them! I will send the nomination form in a couple of weeks. I will then choose 2 counselors each month to celebrate! The chosen counselor will receive a gift in the mail and spotlight section in the newsletter for their dedicated work!

I pray that you have the most blessed beginning of the school year ever! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me, ArSCA board members or your region presidents.

Kelli Dockery

ArSCA President 2023-2025

Hurricane Creek Elementary/Bryant School District

Contact Kelli Dockery, ArSCA president, at president@arschoolcounselor.org

The 2024 ArSCA/DESE Conference was a success due to the work of the conference committee, the many hours of work from the technology team, the many informative presentations shared with our participants, and the great counselors of our state. We had 458 counselors gain professional development through attendance in person and virtually. Thank you to all who made our conference a success. Plans are already underway for the 2025 ArSCA/DESE Conference. The 2025 conference will be held in Hot Springs, AR, June 23rd - 25th. More information will be coming soon! We hope you will begin to make plans now to attend.

Conference Chair Terri Calloway

Cherri Byford is the 2024 ArSCA Counselor of the Year. Cherri, along with Fort Smith Counselors provided an in-person training on the ASCA Delivery Model and also provided a virtual session you can view here: Maximizing Counselor Impact: Defining the ASCA Delivery Model

ASCA Article: Cherri Byford Fort Smith Ramp

This year is the 20th Anniversary of ASCA Recognized ASCA Model (RAMP). Congratulations to the Fort Smith School District school counseling programs which have achieved RAMP Status. ASCA recognizes RAMP schools and school counselors at a special RAMP reception each year.

Schools and their social media/ websites often are the most viewed in a local community . Learn how you can help empower victims of crime via legitimate websites and vetted organizations. Plus, learn about laws impacting victims’ rights and resources. Great resources provided to help fulfill human trafficking training /healthy relationship education for Arkansas schools educators and students.

Laura's group presents for free on the neuroscience of trauma, resiliency, victims' rights, law basics, healthy relationships education , the vagus nerve, generational trauma, ACES, PACES etc. and much more. From building CFA Cares , I can also help the school build a type of "injury prevention" partnership with their community service providers.

*** This virtual session was on from our ArSCA Conference this year. ***

Laura's Card Journey Victim: Survivor: Thriver

Victims' Rights Arkansas Website

Laura Abbott contact # 501-992-7171

Please see the job posting here: Public School Program Coordinator

The Division of Elementary & Secondary Education has a host of resources and information for school counselors located on their School Counseling page.

2024 Summer/FallMessages to Counselors

For more information, please contact:

Lupe Peña de Martínez [understanding my name]

Director of Student Support Services
Office: 501.682.0652
Cell: 501.646.6401
lupe.pena@ade.arkansas.gov
to share Google documents: lupe.pena@pdarkansas.net

Meet the Student Support Services (S^3) Team

Book time to meet with me

Today is a great day to work together to make a meaningful impact towards ensuring comparable educational outcomes for EACH of the 475,207 K-12 learners in Arkansas.

Email: Lupe.Pena@ade.arkansas.gov

*** Lupe is the Director of Student Support and is the contact during this time of searching for a Counseling Program Director***

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 2024 and each following year thereafter. 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

Please see jog posting here: Public School Program Coordinator- School Counseling

The 2024 ArSCA & DESE School Conference Certificates have been emailed out. If you have not received yours, please check your spam folder. The email containing the certificate would be coming from Conference Tracker. Thank you.

If you need further assistance please email technology@arschoolcounselor.org

Arkansas School Counselor Association (ArSCA) supports school counselors’ efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. Membership in the state and national associations is highly recommended. ArSCA adheres to the Code of Ethics and policy statements of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA). Who We Are

We have six regions across our state. Here is a list of our ArSCA Board of Directors.

2024-25 ArSCA Membership

As a member of ArSCA you have the opportunity to subscribe to the ArSCA Listserv. This resource is a perk of membership. If you are a current ArSCA Member and have not subscribed, you can subscribe here: http://lists.state.ar.us/mailman/listinfo/arsca

ArSCA Listserve Guidelines

ArSCA Connects: Learn and Share Webinar Registration

Arkansas School Counselor Association is hosting a series of informative virtual meetings for school counselors. Each meeting will provide information to assist school counselors working with students, parents and staff, followed by a question and discussion session. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other school counselors across the state. A zoom meeting link will be provided to those registered. Registration cost is free to members and non-members.

Watch the ArSCA Listserv for dates and times.

ArSCA Connects this month is on 9/17/24. Register Here

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 21 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.

*Lots of schools have asked about my Keeping Kids Safe presentation for parents. I do come to schools to present that session. **

Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX) is the nation's only nonprofit organization that supports the complex needs of girls by conducting large scale research and offering an evidence based SEL curriculum for girls in grades 5-12.

Scholarships are available to start a new ROX program at your school.

Learn more about the school-based ROX Program for Girls

Interested in ROX? Get in touch here?

As school begins, your legislators continue to have interim committee meetings on various

topics. Looking ahead towards the 2025 Regular Legislative Session here are some dates to

remember:

November 5, 2024 – General Election

November 15, 2024 – pre-filing bills and resolutions, this is the first day legislators can

file bills and/or resolutions for introduction.

October 8, 2024 – November 21, 2024 – pre session budget hearings. The budget

hearings of the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) will also include Joint Budget

Committee (JBC) in participating in the hearings.

January 13, 2025 – General Legislative Session will convene.

We will continue to monitor committee hearings and keep you updated on educational issues

that may be brought before a committee. If you hear of any legislative issues, please contact

me at jefferythall@gmail.com.

As a reminder, never miss an opportunity to get to know your State Representative and/or State

Senator.

Counseling Graduate Student Awarded School Counseling Association Scholarship