R10 Counselor Conversations

🔘 52nd Edition: September 2024 🔘

As we dive into a new school year, the flurry of responsibilities can often overshadow our personal and professional goals. It's easy to get caught up in the daily demands, leaving little time for growth and collaboration. That's why we're dedicated to providing opportunities that foster connection and development within our counseling community.

In this spirit, we're excited to kick off the year with our "Illuminate the Path: Better Together" Mental Health and Education Conference, hosted in collaboration with Fusion Academy and Region 11. Additionally, we have the R10 Quarterly Counselor Connections, along with several other professional development opportunities, all designed to bring us together, share insights, and support one another in our vital roles.

Let's make this year not just about managing our workloads, but about growing together and achieving our goals as a community.

We truly are better together,

Amanda and Nickisha

2024-2025 School Counselor Fall Training Calendar

To address the growing demand for highly skilled employees and to provide students with valuable insights into career opportunities within an expanding economy, Region 10 ESC's CTE Career, Pathways, and Preparation team has launched a series of monthly webinars. These sessions offer school counselors the chance to engage directly with industry professionals, bridging the gap between career industry needs and students’ career exploration.

To learn more and join the monthly conversation. Please register!

Session Link: https://txr10.escworks.net/catalog/session.aspx?session_id=2663289

Contact:

Rachell Lucas, M.ED

Region 10 Consultant

Teaching & Learning Services

rachell.lucas@region10.org

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

United Way of Grayson County

713 East Brockett Street

Sherman, TX, 75090

Texas Suicide Prevention Symposium

September 18 -19, 2024
Hampton Inn Mesquite
1700 Rodeo Drive
Mesquite, Texas 75149

FREE Hatching Results Webinar

September 20, 2024 11:00 AM
Proactive Strategies for Creating a Welcoming and Inclusive School for All Students

Illuminate the Path: Better Together Mental Health and Education Conference

October 9, 2024
400 East Spring Valley Richardson, TX 75081

Christa Goodell, Counselor at Dobbs Elementary in Rockwall ISD

Christa Goodell, a counselor at Dobbs Elementary in Rockwall ISD, has created a calming space for students in the front office. She also presented to the staff on how to utilize this space and provided each classroom with a basket of calming and self-regulation tools.

The calming space, located in the office area, is easily visible to multiple staff members. It serves as a safe place for students to take a break or manage strong emotions. This space is designed to help students regulate their emotions and moods, preventing or de-escalating anxiety and intense feelings before they become overwhelming. Additionally, the space offers an opportunity for students to reset and develop skills such as self-awareness, resiliency, and self-care, which they can apply outside of school.

Calling all counselors in Region 10! 🌟 We're on a mission to spotlight the incredible initiatives happening across our region. Whether you've orchestrated a stellar program, organized a memorable event, or teamed up with colleagues for a triumph, we want to hear about it! Share your success stories and let's celebrate the fantastic work happening in our schools. Your creativity and dedication deserve the spotlight – spill the details and inspire others in the process. Together, let's showcase the greatness within Region 10!

SCHOLAR 📩 School Counselor Handbook Online Resources

The site supports each aspect of implementing the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling, 5th edition. Bookmark and visit the site often for resources, templates, lessons, and more.

Texas Model Alignment Checklist

Plan your work and work your plan for the 24-25 school year.

School Counselor Requirement & Resource Document

Election Conversations: The School Counselor’s Role

ASCA resource on how school counselors address election conversations through a school counseling program.

TEA Sample Calendar

This resource was developed by Stephanie Lerner. Counselors may use it to help them with their monthly planning and goals. This document provides monthly guidance topics and major projects/events by month.

Topic of the Month by Counselor Chelsey

Counselor Chelsey provides this resource as a planning tool for counselors.

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL & HEALTH AWARENESS DATES 2024-2025 CALENDAR

This resource was shared by the American School Counselor Association. It is a 2024-2025 Calendar of National Recognized awareness dates. Counselors may choose to use this to help plan guidance lessons.

Tips and Tricks for a New School Year

As the new school year comes upon us, there are many new faces and many new names to remember. Remembering names can be a challenge for many of us. However, it’s an essential skill that fosters connection and builds relationships. If you are trying to remember the names of your students or staff, having effective strategies can make all the difference. Here are some practical techniques to help you remember names with ease.

Internet Safety Presentation Request

The Effective Advising Framework emphasizes the critical role of building effective external partnerships to provide specific content expertise. We are excited to offer a valuable resource to schools, parents, and administrators through our collaboration with Detective Tony Newsom and Detective Raungi Jones from the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of the Dallas Police Department.

This partnership offers your LEA the valuable opportunity to hear directly from experts in the field on how to keep students safe while using the internet. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it's more important than ever to equip our students, educators, and families with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate it safely.

To learn more about these presentations and to sign up, please access the form here.

We look forward to collaborating with you to protect our students and foster a safe online environment.

🎓Graduation Toolkit🎓

The foundation high school program and endorsements help students focus their interest, select their coursework, and better plan for their postsecondary training and education.

As you might recall, ApplyTexas underwent a significant update over the summer. Consequently, school districts need to submit new MOUs with ApplyTexas. ApplyTexas will contact districts individually regarding this. Meanwhile, ESC contacts for ApplyTexas accounts have been instructed not to renew counselor logins at this time. However, you should still be able to access the old counselor suite until your account expires.

For Apply Texas access or technical support, please contact Elaine Fackler at elaine.fackler@region10.org

View our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document over the Texas Records Exchange (TREx) to learn more!
Educators can create a test account in the ApplyTexas student portal to walk through the application process. View these steps!

Need additional support? View our resource document for helpful links and a copy of the presentation.

TxCAN Financial Aid Resource Hub

Online TASFA

Financial Aid Graduation Requirement - FAQs

Texas OnCourse Professional Learning Series

Effective Advising Framework

In a K-12 setting, effective advising is delivered through the individual student planning system of a comprehensive school counseling program.

ACT or SAT - September 2024

The SAT and the ACT college admission tests have been used for decades as factors considered for college admissions, scholarships and college readiness. During the Covid pandemic, many schools became test optional and did not require SAT or ACT scores for admission. The high school curriculum, grades, essays and letters of recommendations were used instead. For the 2024-25 school year, some colleges have changed their test optional policies and are requiring an admission test.

The ACT is based on your high school curriculum and sections have included English, Reading, Math and Science. The scores from these four sections are averaged for a composite score which ranges from 1-36. There is an optional Writing Test. During the registration process for certain test dates, students can request a copy of their questions and answers to use as study for future tests. Changes to the ACT include an option to take an online test or a paper test. Information on the ACT can be found at www.act.org .

The College Board initiated the digital SAT last year. The digital SAT has two sections: Reading and Writing (two 32 minute modules) and Math (two 35 minute modules). The College Board has several programs: SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, Pre AP and AP, CLEP, ACCUPLACER and the CSS Profile. Big Future is a planning tool for college and career information. Visit www.collegeboard.org for details on their programs.

As counselors and advisers, we want to remind our students to research policies on testing, admission, housing etc. by visiting the websites of the institutions and reaching out to their admission offices with any questions.

Veronica Adams, M.S. LPC Ella Professional Advising Counseling, Consulting, PLLC.

R10 Mental and Behavioral Health Newsletter

Mental Health Resource Toolkit

Mental Health Resources in Spanish

Free Online Courses Related to School Mental Health

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

PAX Good Behavior Game

FREE RESOURCES AVAILABLE

PAXIS and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have partnered to offer free training to those working with children or families in both in-school and out-of-school settings throughout Texas.

The PAX Good Behavior Game® (PAX GBG) is a school-based, classroom preventative intervention used by educators to teach self-regulation. PAX GBG is not a set of lessons or a curriculum but strategies teachers use throughout their day to build students’ behavioral skills and stamina for focused attention and on-task behavior. Training opportunities include live-virtual and online options. All Region 10 LEAs have free access to this resource.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Fabian Hypolite - Fabian.hypolite@region10.org

YAM Youth Aware of Mental Health

North Texas Behavioral Health Authority (NTBHA)

Region 10 Community Resources Database

TEA School Safety Resources

School Behavioral Threat Assessment: 88th Legislative Session Update

How to Recognize and Report Child Abuse or Neglect

The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC)

Texas Legislature Bills About School Counseling

As you know, the 88th Legislation recently ended and there were items passed that will effect all school counseling programs. Check out this resource to help you follow along with all the changes.

Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth

Resources and services to ensure that all Texas children living in homeless situations have the opportunity to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

Updated TEA Help Desk

The TEA Help Desk has a few new or updated buttons, such as curriculum, CTE, and certification. Find them all here: https://helpdesk.tea.texas.gov/

Texas Virtual School Network

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides online courses to eligible students through the Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN).

Updated LOTE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

An updated FAQ document for LOTE curriculum and graduation requirements has been published on the TEA LOTE webpage.

Texas SPED Support Website

Discover resources and learning opportunities from experts in the field.

Career and Technical Education

Programs of Study Update

Refreshed Career and Technical Education programs of study will be implemented beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. The current programs of study went into effect in the 2020-2021 school year, allowing Texas to meet the federal program approval requirements within the Strengthening CTE for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). The Texas Perkins State Plan included a commitment to reviewing programs of study every four years to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the Texas workforce. As the culmination of that four-year review cycle, the refreshed programs of study are now final.

Resources that support implementation of refreshed programs of study beginning in the 2024-2025 school year are available on the TEA website.

Individual Graduation Committees

Updated guidance and frequently asked questions on IGCs are now available to provide districts and charter schools with additional support for implementation and documentation of IGCs.