Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling
Upcoming Events
We try to inform counselors of events scheduled during the school year by including them in the Guidance Digest that is transmitted approximately every two weeks to the school district designated guidance contacts. If you do not currently receive the Digest and wish to do so, please contact your district contact, who has been listed on Screen 03 on Core Data.
- National School Counseling Week
National School Counseling Week 2012, "School Counselors: Helping Students Be Brilliant," will be celebrated from Feb. 6-10, 2012, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. To help you promote the week, ASCA has developed many materials and documents, a number of which are free. Place your order online, or download an order form to fax in.
- Missouri School Counselor Association (MSCA) Spring Conference Scheduled
The Conference will be held on Friday, March 2, 2012 at the Truman Hotel & Convention Center, Jefferson City, MO. The title of the conference is Foundations of Disaster Mental Health.
To learn more about the conference or to download a registration form and, if an MSCA member, receive an “early bird discount”, go to Spring Conference.
- New Counselor Institute (NCI) to be offered again in 2012
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Center for Career Education will again offer the New Counselor Institute (NCI) in conjunction with the New Teacher Institute (NTI) and the MoACTE summer Conference. Tentative dates for NCI are July 20-26 2012 at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Mo. Note: NCI is designed for counselors with a TAC or provisional certification. Registration forms, teacher leader applications, and other materials for New Teacher Institute and New Counselor Institute will be available on the MCCE website February 1, 2012.
For additional information, contact:
- Bragg Stanley, bragg.stanley@dese.mo.gov or 573-751-0857
- Larae Watkins, lwatkins@ucmo.edu or 660-543-8768
- Lacey Fisher, lfischer@ucmo.edu or 660-543-8524
- MoACTE Summer Conference
The Missouri ACTE Summer conference will be held July 23-26 Springfield, contact MoACTE at 573-634-7366 or click on Missouri ACTE Summer Conference, to get more information as it becomes available.
Professional Development
Possible Professional Development Activities For School Counselors On Early Release Days
- Participate in the on-line training of Results Based Evaluation (Self Study). Links located on the Guidance e-Learning Center
- Middle School/High School Review the Individual Planning Rubric (IPR). Located in State Guidance Manual
- K-12: Have a planning session on implementing K-12 career development activities that lead up to the development and follow-through of the personal plan of study including:
- Curriculum activities K-12
- IPR (8-12)
- Integration of Missouri Connections
- Programs of Study and Personal Plans of Study Templates-Use Checklist in State Guidance Manual as a Guide
- Ask for time to share Missouri Connections curriculum with teaching staff
- Develop Missouri Connections implementation plan for guidance and school staff
- If an Internal Improvement Review (IIR) has been conducted—review action plan and revise as necessary using other relevant data such as school improvement plans; feedback from advisory committee; faculty/administration feedback
- If IIR has not been conducted, conduct it
- Do time/task analysis prior to early release dates; collect data and analyze: Identify issues that prevent full implementation and discuss a strategy for removing those barriers
- Review K-12 scope and sequence for guidance curriculum and activities including data from Guidance Planning Survey (GPS) ( conduct prior to early release). Use the teacher form of the GPS to determine gaps where guidance GLEs are not being addressed: develop an action plan to address those GLEs
- Discuss, develop and coordinate building and district guidance calendars
- Review MAP/EOC performance data and other performance data to identify possible intervention groups and strategies
- Develop and coordinate transition activities between buildings
- Arrange a Webinar with DESE on a topic of interest to you
- Review and discuss legal/ethical issues that have arisen during the school year.