Nebraska School Counselor Association, NSCA

Spring 2010

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NSCA 2010 Academy | NCE Conference|NSCAVisits Capital Hill| Public Agenda Releases Report on School Counselors

NSCA School Counselor Academy- October 14 & 15

The 2010 NSCA School Counselor Academy is returning to the Union College Campus in Lincoln on October 14^th and 15^th. The theme of this year’s academy is “Empowering Students to Imagine – Believe – Achieve”. There will be four out-of-state speakers including three keynote speakers: Brian Law, Trish Hatch, and Karen Harrington. The awards luncheon will feature several new awards to recognize people who are making key contributions to school counseling. Also at this luncheon Governor Dave Heineman will be our guest speaker.At just $95 for two days the academy continues to be one of the best professional development bargains available to school counselors. See the links below for addition information.
CLICK HERE for information about out-of-state speakers and lodging.

CLICK HERE to download a registration form.

Above left is Dr. Trish Hatch who will be the keynote speaker on Thursday of the 2010 School Counselor Academy. Above Right is Mr. Brian Law who will deliver the Friday keynote address at the 2010 School Counselor Academy

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Nebraska Career Education Conference

The 2010 Nebraska Career Education Conference will take place Wednesday and Thursday, June 9^th and 10^th,, at the Holiday Inn in Kearney with preconference workshops on Tuesday, June 8^th. The Wednesday keynote speaker will be Dr. Tim Elmore, the author of the Habitudes series. He is the founder and president of Growing Leaders, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization created to develop emerging leaders. The Thursday keynote speaker will be Jeff Beals, co-host of Grow Omaha, a popular weekly talk-show on News Radio 1110 KFAB. Jeff also currently serves as Vice President of Coldwell Banker Commercial Group, a commercial real estate company. His diverse career makes him the ideal person to reveal and explain the secrets of effective self-marketing. Of particular interest to school counselors is a one day preconference workshop on the ASCA National Model/Nebraska Model for school counseling presented by Dr. Paul Barnes from the UNO Counseling Department. For a complete schedule of events, more information on the keynote speakers, and to register; for the conference click here. Register by May 3rd and save money.

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NSCA Representatives Visit Nebraska's Congressional Offices

Above Left Sen. Mike Johanns (left) meets with NSCA Government Relations Chair, Doug Hauserman. Above Right Rep. Lee Terry (Center) mets with Doug Hauserman and NSCA Presdient Elect, Rynette Friesen.

NSCA President Elect, Rynette Friesen, and NSCA Government Relations Chair, Doug Hauserman attended ASCA's Advocacy and Public Policy Institue in Washington, DC in early March. In addition to learning about current happenings in the profession and legislative issues at the national level, Doug and Rynette made visits to all five of Nebraska’s Congressional Offices. NSCA is thrilled that both Sen. Johanns and Rep. Terry took time out of their busy schedules to meet personally with Doug and/or Rynette. In the other three offices, NSCA representatives met the legislative assistants, a common practice in congressional offices. During the visits Doug and Rynette provided information about the profession and data from Nebraska schools showing how school counselors impact students in a positive way.

In the offices of our three house members Doug and Rynette also asked each congressman to sign on as a co-sponsor to three bills, Pathways to College Act, Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act, and Student Non-Discrimination Act. They also asked each House of Representative Member to sign onto a letter that was circulating on the House side in support of continued funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) Grant. This grant remains the only federal grant specific only to school counseling.

During their visits to the Senate Offices, they asked for support of the Pathways to College Act and the Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act. Additionally during his visit with Sen. Johanns, Doug asked Sen. Johanns to take the Republican lead and join Sen. Franken, D-MN, as an original sponsor of the upcoming Senate version of the Student Non-Discrimination Act. School counselors are encouraged to contact their Representative and our Senators to ask for their support of these bills. For more information on how to make that contact and to view a sample letter, please visit the advocacy section on this website.

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Public Agenda Releases Report on High School Counselors

The Public Agenda with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has released a report called “Can I Get a Little Advise Here?” The report is generally critical of school counselors as the subtitle, “How an Overstretched High School Guidance System Is Undermining Students’ College Aspirations”, suggests.The four key findings in the report were:

Most students, even those who successfully complete college, give their high school guidance counselors fair or poor ratings.

Students who get perfunctory counseling are more likely to delay college and make more questionable higher education choices.

High school counselors are viewed as less helpful than teachers.

Advisers at higher education institutions get better ratings, but there's room for improvement.
Click Here to view the entire report. School counselor needs to be prepared to respond to this report that is creating quite a buzz in the education community. See the Advocacy section of this website for talking points and links to key responses to the report.
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