Counselor's Notebook, April 2010

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION APRIL 2010VOL. 46, NO. 8

MASCA

MASCA 2010Spring Conference

Connecting Counselorsin the 21st Century

April 11-13, 2010

Crowne Plaza BostonNorth Shore

GREAT PROGRAMSGREAT PRICES

GREAT SPEAKERS

Keeping a Positive OutlookBy CHRISTINE EVANS

MASCA President

CHRISTINE EVANS

(continued on page 14)

T he school year is nearly three-fourthscompleted, and there is still so much

to do. In my school we are busy with a wide

variety of tasks, from chasing the last ofprocrastinating seniors to send out theircollege applications to working on courseselections with the eighth-grade studentsand their parents. All of this—withdozens of other tasks in between.

Early spring finds students restless, fac -ulty tired and working hard to fit in morecontent before spring break, and admin-istrators knee-deep in the budget process.The pressures make the month of Marchseem longer than it really is, and every-one is left looking forward to vacation.

With budget cuts being announced,tension and discouragement in my schoolare on the rise, and morale throughoutthe system is at its worst. Conversationswith colleagues reveal that my observa-tions are not unique. School personneleverywhere are feeling the same way.

With the current economy, rising abovenegative vibes can be a challenge. But inorder to be successful in helping our stu-dents, we need to find ways to overcomegetting bogged down in the doom andgloom.

This is easier said than done. As school counselors, we have the skills,

resources, and knowledge to en cour agestudents when they are down. We helpthem by listening, responding with careand compassion, and pointing out pos-sibilities. Our students respond positive -ly to these acts of kindness and concern.

When our colleagues feel unappreci-ated and disillusioned, we can use thesame skills and extend the same kind-ness to help lift their spirits.

Although we may not have the powerto make the financial worries go away,we can do our part to take care of our-selves, our students, and our colleagues.We can rise above negative talk and keepa healthy perspective on our worth. Indoing so, we can avoid falling into thetrap of becoming part of the problem.

As we head into the busy spring sea-son, I urge everyone to take up the chargeto make things better in our schools.Each time we overcome the tendency tofall into negative thoughts and words,we do much to raise the morale in ourbuildings, and we help everyone in thebuilding do a better job. Ultimately, ourstudents will benefit.

Stay positive. Put focus and energyinto the things you can impact for thebetter. It is easy to be at our best and en -thusiastic when the going is good. Thereal test of what we bring to our schoolsis how we lead others to do what is bestfor students when times are tough.

A smile and sincere words of encour-agement can go a long way in showingthat we care. It costs little to make theef fort to brighten someone’s day. In thesedifficult times, I wish you brighter daysahead. ■

Public Agenda Report:ASCA’s Perspective

A recently released study by PublicAgenda illustrates what can go

wrong when there are not enough schoolcounselors to support students and whenschool counselors are placed in positionspreventing them from performing the func -tions they were trained and hired to do.

Although the American School Coun-selor Association, the American Counsel-ing Association, the American Psycholo -gi cal Association, the American MedicalAssociation and other organizationsrec om mend a pupil-to-school-counselorratio of 250-to-1, the national averageis 460 stu dents to one school counselor,with some school districts as high as1,000-to-1.

The result, as this study confirms, is asignificantly decreased ability of schoolcounselors to work individually with stu-

2 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

2009 – 2010MASCA OFFICERS

PRESIDENTCHRISTINE A. EVANSEast Bridgewater High School11 Plymouth Street, East Bridgewater, MA 02333Tel. 508-378-5851 • Fax 508-378-8236E-mail: [email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECTCAROLYN RICHARDSSomerville High School81 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143Tel. 617-625-6600 x6120 • Fax 617-628-8413E-mail: [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENTKAREN M. D’AMOURManchester Essex Regional High School36 Lincoln Street, Manchester, MA 01944Tel. 978-526-7641 • Fax 978-526-2044E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARYTBA

VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGHRICHARD WHITEGateway Regional Middle School12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA 01050E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT SECONDARYJENNIFER LISKMedway High School, Medway, MA 02053E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT POSTSECONDARYJAY LEIENDECKERVice President Enrollment Services, Dean CollegeTel. 508-541-1509 • Fax 508-541-8726E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATORSRUTH CARRIGANWhitman-Hanson Regional High School600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA 02382Tel. 781-618-7434 • Fax 781-618-7098E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORSTHERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D.Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325Tel. 508-531-2640E-mail: [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT RETIREESRALPH SENNOTTP.O. Box 1391, Westford, MA 01886Tel. 978-692-8244E-mail: [email protected]

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORDONNA M. BROWNAdjunct Professor, UMass BostonP.O. Box 366, 779 Center StreetBryantville, MA 02327Tel. 781-293-2835E-mail: [email protected]

TREASURERTINA KARIDOYANESP.O. Box 1007, Monument Beach, MA 02553Tel. 508-759-3986E-mail: [email protected]

SECRETARYCARRIE KULICK-CLARKBraintree High School, Braintree, MA 02184Tel. 781-848-4000 x2273E-mail: [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATORDEBORAH CLEMENCEP.O. Box 805, East Dennis, MA 02641E-mail: [email protected]

COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK EDITORSALLY ANN CONNOLLY19 Bayberry Road, Danvers, MA 01923Tel. 978-774-8158 • Fax 978-750-8154E-mail: [email protected]

APRIL 2010 3

April 2010

www.masca.org

inside

Published by:Massachusetts School Counselors Association10 issues per year, September through June. The yearlysubscription rate is $30.00. Individual copies are $3.00.

Opinions expressed in the articles published herein representthe ideas and/or beliefs of those who write them and do notnecessarily reflect the views or policies of the MassachusettsSchool Counselors Association, Inc.

The acceptance of an advertisement for publication does notimply MASCA endorsement of the advertiser’s programs,services, or views expressed.

Questions concerning submission of articles, publi cationdeadlines, advertising rates, etc., should be addressed toSally Ann Connolly, Editor.

©2010 by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association.All rights reserved.

4 MASCA Government Relations UpdateBy Bob Bardwell

6 Middle School Counselors: Building the Foundation ofCareer EducationBy Ruth Carrigan

8 Come Tweet With UsBy Donna Brown

10 Lifelong LearningBy Joe Fitzgerald

12 MASCA Official Ballot 2010-2011

13 People, Places, and Programs

14 Quotes of Note

MASCA


MASCA GovernmentRelations Update

By BOB BARDWELLMASCA Government Relations

Committee Chair

S chool counseling is finally the hottopic on Beacon Hill. In mid-Febru-

ary, the Joint Committee on Educationvoted to move HB 471 out of Committeeto a vote by the full House and Senate.

HB 471 would establish a 13-membercommittee to review and make recom-mendations on the development and im -plementation of six-year career planningstandards. These would be coordinated bylicensed school guidance counselors forgrades 6-12 and would be in place for stu-dents scheduled for graduation in 2017.

Some school counselors, however, haveconcerns that this would be an un fund edmandate and that since we are already sobusy, how could we possibly add moreto our plates.

While this may be an add-on to ourduties, mandatory Career Plans are al -ready being implemented in many schools;and if they are not already in place, theyshould be. Career Plans make sense. Theyhelp students to focus on career goals andto think about specific academic, personal/social, and workplace readiness strategiesto achieve their goals.

School counselors have found creativeways in which to implement career plans.

Templates have been provided by thestate, so all you would have to do is justchange the school name. Having studentscomplete them can be easily done in aclassroom setting as part of your devel-opmental guidance lessons. Yearly updatescan be done when counselors meet with

Hearing on the Hill supporters

MASCA members and other supporters are shown attending the October hearingon House Bills 470 and 471.

BOB BARDWELL

APRIL 2010 5

students (either individually or in smallgroups) in the spring to discuss schedul-ing for the following academic year. Someplans are printed on folders, which canbe used to hold all of the student’s career-related assessments and materials.

Besides making sense for students, thisbill is huge for our profession. If passedit would be the first law in the Common-wealth to our knowledge that wouldspecifically mention a certified schoolcounselor. It gives us legitimacy for schoolcommittees and administrators and a rea-son why a school counselor is needed inour middle and secondary schools.

Furthermore, this bill is important toschool counselors because we finally havethe attention of lawmakers. Bill sponsorsand Education Committee staff membersare consulting with us as opposed toschool counselors having to go to themfor attention.

This committee, in addition, would fi -nally put us at the table with thirteenother major associations in the state—theSecondary School Administrators Asso -cia tion, Massachusetts SuperintendentsAssociation, and the Massachusetts ParentTeacher Association, just to name a few.

For years we have been trying to es tab -lish ourselves as an organization with ex -tensive expertise in student well-being andachievement, yet to this point very fewhave given us the time of day. This ini-tial committee experience should lead toa permanent commission that regularlymeets to discuss issues around successand achievement.

The Government Relations Commit-tee is aware of the concerns surroundingCareer Plans and encourages you to dis-cuss them with us in more detail. Thecommittee meets monthly via conferencecall. If you have any questions or wantto become more involved with MASCA’sadvocacy efforts, contact me at [email protected]. ■

School counselors finally havethe attention of lawmakers andsupport for their work.

Volunteers sought for ASCA ConferenceJuly 3-6, 2010 • Boston

The ASCA National Conference is looking for volunteers to helpwith registration, monitoring sessions, and manning the local in -formation table. You do not need to register for the conferencein order to volunteer, but registering gives you access to all of theprofessional development benefits.

For more information, contact Jenn Lisk:[email protected]


Middle School Counselors:Building the Foundation of Career Education

By RUTH CARRIGANMASCA VP Administrators

A s you read this April edition of theCounselor’s Notebook, I imagine

that in your district, like mine, the bud-get is in bad shape and job cuts are loom-ing. As professional school counselors,we need to continue to look ahead to dowhat is best for kids in spite of the chal-lenging fiscal times that we face.

One MASCA initiative, the six-yearcareer plan for all students in Massachu -setts, is a great opportunity for schoolcounselors on the middle school and highschool levels to work together. The workthat starts under the guidance of the mid-dle school counselors can help build thefoundation of a comprehensive career edu-cation program that can continue through -out a student’s high school years.

In my school district, the work of theschool counselors in our two middleschools is an essential part of our schoolcounseling curriculum. Despite the many

demands on their time, including com-plete responsibility for MCAS administra-tion, Kate Salas from Whitman MiddleSchool and Jan Sweeny from HansonMid dle School have made a commitmentto career education for our students.

In an effort to share best practices withcounselors around the state, I am happyto highlight “Soarin’ Into Your Future,”an excellent middle school career lesson

that was created by Kate Salas and fea-tured in the November 2008 ASCA SchoolCounselor magazine.

Soarin’ Into Your Future“Welcome to the Whitman Middle SchoolTravel Agency,” I tell the eighth-gradersin the career planning unit I created tohelp them select classes for high school.“Soarin’ Into Your Future” is the unit’sname, and, as you can surmise, it’s themedafter a travel agency. Over the course ofthe unit, students select their airline (thehigh school they want to attend) and theirtrip destination (their desired career).

In Whitman, high school choices con -sist of the regional high school, a voca-tional technical school, an agriculturalschool and various private schools. I talkabout what each school has to offer, thecriteria for acceptance, the timeline oftransition activities and where to acquireadditional information. This class is besttaught in the fall as most private schoolapplications are due in December. It’s alsoa gentle reminder to the students whowant to go to the vocational technicalschool that now would be a good timeto start working on their grades, atten-dance and behavior.

After students have selected their sec-ondary school options, we then have themcomplete an interest inventory online.There are numerous free resources on theWeb, although you’ll want to ensure theinterest inventory you select is based onsome solid research. You’ll need to en cour-age some students to have more than afew interests. If students respond nega-tively to all of the questions on the inter-est inventory then the results won’t yieldany useful information.

Upon completion of the interest in ven -tory, students will receive a list of careersto explore. Middle school students aretypically interested in the salary aspectof the career. One student was excitedto discover that the average salary for amodel was $15,000 a year. That’s a lotof money to a 13-year-old. After she com-pleted the budget activity, however, sherealized just how little money this wasand proceeded to explore other careers.

Place a copy of the interest inventory

RUTH CARRIGAN

APRIL 2010 7

in students’ files to provide backgroundinformation to their high school coun-selors. Students enjoy the interest inven-tories and frequently request the Web siteaddress so that they can complete anotherone at home.

Filing a Flight PlanThe next step in our unit involves a“Flight Path.” The Flight Path homeworkinvolves interviewing someone to discoverhow they got to be where they are todayand what positions they held along theway.

The technology applications teacher,who I co-present the unit with, and I talka little about how we ended up at Whit-man Middle School. Ironically, we bothworked in the airline industry at one time.It’s strange how few educators go into theeducation field wanting middle school;most of us just ended up here.

The students laugh as we recall all ofthe entry-level positions we endured, ofwhich chambermaid, flight attendant andcowgirl waitress were just a few. But itis through these entry-level jobs that onestarts to figure out what career to pursue.Sometimes we find a job wasn’t what it

appeared to be and by working in theposition for awhile we confirm the jobisn’t meant for us. Other times we enjoysomething so much we want to do more.Rarely do people end up doing what theylove without at least a few changes indirection along the way. Through the in -terviews, students can learn what it takesto land their dream job.

I also created a staff job match inwhich I asked staff to recall a previousoccupation that may have been strangeor unusual. The task is then to matchthe staff person with the occupation. Stu-dents are required to talk to staff mem-bers about jobs to complete this activity.I also distribute it to staff so they can giveit a try. This creates a buzz around thebuilding as both staff members and stu-dents talk to each other about jobs. Wehad some unusual careers, such as thefac ulty member who performed whalenecropsy, a dune buggy driver and a rockclimbing instructor for Disney. The stu-dents get the answer key in class, and thestaff receives the answer key at the nextstaff meeting.

We conclude this unit with a job fair.Students research their career choice and

create a tri-fold brochure or PowerPointpresentation. This project requires thestudents to know what training and/oreducation is required for the job, whatgeneral skills are required, which schoolsubjects may be helpful and what salaryis expected. This assessment also mea-sures the student’s ability to use compu -ter applications such as PowerPoint, MSPublisher and Web searches.

This career unit addresses ASCA Na -tional Standards for Student Competen-cies number four and six, which relate toexploring student interests and how theyrelate to the world of work and under-standing the relationship between per-sonal qualities, education, training andthe world of work. The unit is flexible andworks well with differentiated instruction.All students can complete the interest in -ventory and learn about a career. Studentswho can handle more of a challenge canresearch the salary, educational require-ments and search for colleges that offerthat major.

They can then explore what coursesthey need to take in high school to in -crease their chances of getting into thatcollege—and have fun doing it. ■


Come Tweet With UsBy DONNA BROWN

MASCA Executive Director

Do you tweet? Have you started ablog? Are you on Facebook?

Most of your students and almost allof the younger counselors and teacherswill answer “yes” to at least two out ofthree of those questions. Many do allthree—and more. Plaxo. Ping. Crack-berry. Kindle. Droid. Skype. Every daythere seems to be a new communicationspossibility or device. How does all thisimpact us as counselors?

Let’s take a look backwards for just a

minute. For those of you in the profes-sion for twenty-five years or more, thismay be a walk down memory lane. Forthe younger counselors it may seem morelike theater of the absurd!

Some time during the 70’s, computersthe size of Smart Cars rolled into schoolsand took up residence in rooms usuallycalled Data Processing. Initially, atten-dance and grades were the only comput-erized items, and the input for these wasvia IBM cards.

Eventually, scheduling became part ofDP. Gone were the gigantic charts in theGuidance Office where seats in variousclasses were filled by hand and recordedin pencil. In spite of this, life was good.There was a guidance secretary who han-dled applications, scheduled appointmentsand, best of all, typed letters of recom-mendation.

This all came to a screeching halt theyear the Apple IIe’s appeared.

For a while we had a former aide asour secretary, and we began typing andtyping and typing. Technology then tookthe fast track.

Every summer brought workshops andnew scheduling options. Huge Barron’sCollege Guides were replaced by onlineservices, while college catalogues arrivedas CDs and DVDs.

All-school and, then, specific guidancewebsites were designed and mounted.More online services were needed. Nicheservices like College Impressions—whichcollects and disseminates informationfrom colleges and universities about pro-grams, open houses, and scholarships—were needed to free up counselors. Nav -iance then replaced almost everything.We have arrived in the 21st century. Orhave we?

Recently, the Pew Research Center re -leased the most up-to-date report fromtheir Internet and American Life Project.This report compared Internet and socialmedia use among three groups: adoles-cents, young adults (18-29), and adultsover 30. The findings were fascinating,and while some were expected, otherswere not.

Cell phoneIt comes as no surprise that 75% of allteens and 93% of adults (18-29) own cell

DONNA BROWN

APRIL 2010 9

phones. In fact, 58% of 12-year-olds nowhave a cell phone.

Internet useInternet use was also pretty much as ex -pected. Ninety-three percent of teens andyoung adults go online virtually everyday, while only 74% of adults over 18go online.

One very interesting finding dealt withhow teens and young adults use the Inter -net. Thirty-one percent go online to gethealth, dieting, and fitness information.Of those interviewed, 17% said they usedthe Internet to gather information about“health topics that are hard to discusswith others such as drug use and sexualhealth.” Additionally, 62% of teens getnews about current events and politicsonline.

BloggingAmong the somewhat unexpected find-ings were those dealing with blogging.Only 14% of online teens blog. Only fouryears ago, 28% blogged. ASCD, however,reported recently that a number of teach -ers are experimenting with blogging as ademonstration of understanding and mas-tery. Teens also reported responding lessto friends’ blogs on social networks.

TweetingTwitter holds little attraction for teens;only 8% tweet. About a third of youngadults (18-29) and 19% of all adultseither tweet or use status updating.

Social networkingSocial networking, on the other hand, isextremely popular with both teens (73%)and young adults (72%). Online adultshave increased usage to 47%. Facebookis by far the most popular social network,although the study also found that overhalf of users have two or more profiles.With younger teens, MySpace is morepopular.

What does all this have to do with usas school counselors? Well, it offers bothchallenge and opportunity.

The challenge is how to harness themyriad of communications possibilities tomake us more effective. Does the schoolcounseling department need its own Face -book page as well as a traditional website?Should students submit college essayson Google Docs? Could College Informa-

tion Night be videoed with highlightsposted on You Tube? Would using click-ers during classroom presentations makethem more interactive? The opportunitiesare endless!

Let’s begin to explore these possibili-ties. MASCA is on Twitter, so why nottweet your thoughts: http://twitter.com/MASCAExDr.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Editor’s Note: To see the full ASCD re -port, go to www.pewinternet.org. ■

MASCA’s Executive Director

Donna Brown is on Twitter.

Follow her at

www.twitter.com/

MASCAExDr


Lifelong LearningBy JOE FITZGERALD

MASCA Technology Committee Chair

While thinking about a technology-related topic to write about, I began

to think about what I have been doing tostay current with the cyber-revolution.Here is my story.

About seven or eight years ago, I dis-covered the best-kept secret in the stateof Massachusetts: the community collegesystem.

I was looking for courses to take in thetechnology area, and I began looking atthose offered at Massasoit CommunityCollege (MCC) in Brockton and Canton.I took courses in Microsoft Office, Pho-toshop, film editing, Web creation, andsimilar courses. These courses were great,and they really helped me stay current.They forced me to learn things that I

could not or would not do on my own,and after I retired, they kept me busydoing something that I love.

I also discovered that MCC has asenior waiver program that covers fullcost of courses when a course goes overfifteen students. I have taken a quite a fewfor audit credit (no grades, no pressure!)and have really enjoyed them. A few timesI have paid full tuition but it is still worthit. They also have non-credit communityeducation courses, which are less expen-sive and do not meet for a full semester.

While going to the MCC Brocktoncampus, I discovered a great programcalled SeniorNet. Massasoit is one of thelearning centers of this national organi-zation. You can Google the national site,www.SeniorNet.org to find out about theorganization and where the centers are.Their purpose is to “bring technologyaccess and education to adults 50+ to en -rich their lives and enable them to sharetheir wisdom.”

This winter and spring I have takenseveral of their workshops/classes in theSeniorNet Learning Center at MassasoitCommunity College. And I plan to takemore. These workshops cost from $10.00to $35.00 and cover a wide range of tech-nology programs. You can find them list-ed at http://seniornet.massasoit.mass.edu/

Most community colleges, colleges, anduniversities have some type of lifelonglearning program. Although I realize thatwhat I am writing may appeal to retiredcounselors and educators, all counselorscould benefit from looking into the pro-grams that include technology and otherinterest areas.

Because this is a technology column,I am emphasizing technology, but thereare other programs that have a wide rangeof courses, workshops, etc. My best adviceis to Google schools near you: commu-nity colleges, state colleges, and state uni-versities. Look into private colleges aswell. Community outreach is on all oftheir agendas and, if it is not, it should be.

Some sources of Lifelong Learning Pro-grams that I have looked into include:

• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute atthe University of Massachusetts-Boston

• Academy for Lifelong Learning atCape Cod Community College

For more information, e-mail me [email protected]. ■

APRIL 2010 11

Snow, rain, 80 mph winds, wires down,lights out, no computers, etc. Things

could be worse, though. Look at theworld situation.

My hands-on study of hospital careerscontinues. My wife, Mary Lou, and son,Kurt, took me to the orthopedic surgeonat Lahey Clinic for terrific pain in myshoulders. In brief: shots on both armsand weeks of physical therapy. Hospitaljobs are available.

As founder of the Northeast Coun-selors Association in 1979, I share withyou some thoughts regarding the growthof MASCA and its affiliates.

• Recruitment is our life blood. If wedo not recruit, we will probably closeour doors.

• Why not adopt a strong expansionprogram?

• Does MASCA have standards forits affiliates?

• Do we need to start new affiliates?• Does our procedure for helping these

groups need updating?• Should we offer a leadership session

at the MASCA conference for counselorsinterested in starting a new affiliate?Members of the Governing Board wouldbe willing to help.

Have you heard of OLPC or of Nicho -las Negroponte? He is proposing OneLap top Per Child. He believes “that chil-dren become involved in the learningprocess with interactive digital technol-ogy.” And he predicts: “networks overpaper.” He is expanding OLPC to poorchildren all over the world. Is this anothergood topic for a conference?

On a different note. Have faith. Springwill soon be sprung. From St. Patrick’sDay, here are some Irish thoughts to liveby: “May your neighbors respect you,troubles neglect you, the angels protectyou, and heaven accept you.” ■

ED BRYANT

ED’S VIEWSBy ED BRYANT

MASCA Life Trustee

Connecting Counselors inthe 21st Century

Renew your membership. Check the expiration date onthe mailing label of the Notebook. Then go to MASCA’swebsite to complete the process: www.masca.org.

MASCA members are eligible to vote for officers. Youcan vote online, at the spring conference, or by using theballot on the following page. For more information, goto the MASCA website.

PRESIDENT-ELECT (one-year term)

____ Michelle Burke, School Counselor, Beverly High School

____ Linda Dagradi, Instructor, UCLA Extension

____ _____________________________________________________________________________ (write-in candidate)

VICE PRESIDENTS (two-year terms)

VP JR. HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELORS

____ Richard White, School Guidance Counselor, Gateway Middle-Jr. High School


VP ADMINISTRATORS

____ Ruth Carrigan, Director of Guidance, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School


VP COUNSELOR EDUCATORS

____ Theresa Coogan, Assistant Professor of Counselor Education, Bridgewater State College


VP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS

____ Jacqueline Brown, Counselor, East Somerville Community School


VP RETIREES

____ Ralph Sennott


Only Professional Members (who are current) or Retired Members who previouslyheld Professional Membership are eligible to vote.

Vote in one of four ways:

1. Vote at the MASCA Spring Conference, April 11-13.

2. Mail this ballot to Karen M. D’Amour, MASCA Past President, Manchester Essex Regional High School,36 Lincoln Street, Manchester, MA 01944, received by April 9.

3. E-mail this ballot to Karen at [email protected], received by April 9.

4. Fax this ballot to Karen at 978-526-2044, received by April 8.

For voting using methods 2-4, you will need to give your nameor MASCA membership number in order to verify your vote.

MASCA Official Ballot for 2010-2011


APRIL 2010 13

Career exploration for highschool girls offeredS.E.T. in the City, a day of career explo-ration for high school girls, will be heldon April 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.This is the second year that Boston areacolleges, non-profits, and industry havecollaborated to encourage the explora -tion of careers in science, engineering,and technology.

The program begins the day at BostonUniversity and extends to venues in clud -ing Harvard, Emmanuel, Simmons, Went -worth, and Biogen Idec Community Lab.The day ends with an Omni show at theMuseum of Science.

A $5 registration fee covers breakfast,lunch, and bus transportation betweenvenues, and pre-registration is required.To register, go to http://www.bu.edu/lernet/setinthecity.

Firesetting Conference plannedThe fourth annual Northeast JuvenileFire setting Conference will be held onMay 13-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Wor -ces ter. Co-sponsors are the BrandonSchool, De partment of Fire Services, MAProperty In surance Underwriting Asso-ciation, and MA Association of Safety& Fire Educators.

Keynoter for the conference is Meri-KAppy, president of the Home Safety Coun-cil. Topics will include: cyberbullying,social media, and the Internet; angermanagement; CBT skills for firesetting;working with parents; middle school firesafety; and community interventions.

Up to 9 CEUS are available. For in for -mation or to register, go to www.brandonschool.org.

Vermont leads the wayOf the forty states participating in theNational Farm to School Network, Ver-mont leads the way in “getting healthiermeals into school cafeterias, teachingkids about agriculture and nutrition andsupporting local farmers.”

— Lisa Rathke, Associated Press, http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9774614, Ac -cessed on 2/15/10. ■

PEOPLE, PLACES, ANDPROGRAMS

Emerging Leaders Programseeks candidates

A re you a professional school coun-selor who has not been an elected or

appointed member of the MASCA Gov-erning Board and who wants to be in -volved in our profession in some way,but you’re not sure exactly how? Thenthe Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) isfor you.

The ELP was approved in early 2007by the MASCA Governing Board. Itsmain goal is to identify potential leadersin the school counseling profession inMassachusetts and to get them involvedwith MASCA. Emerging leaders have tobe a professional school counselor andMASCA member who wants to give backto our profession but has not been an elect -ed or appointed Governing Board member.

Emerging Leaders must present at aMASCA-sponsored conference, attend aGoverning Board meeting and one of theaffiliate meetings, write articles for theCounselor’s Notebook, and participatein EL trainings. ELs are also expected toattend the annual MASCA Leadership

Development Institute (LDI) in earlyAugust as well as the ASCA North At -lantic Region fall workshop usually heldthe weekend before Thanksgiving.

In return, Emerging Leaders receive afree one-year MASCA membership, re -duced conference registration, and freeleadership training.

The major project that ELs worked onthis year was to assist MASCA’s Govern -ment Relations Committee by supportingthe hearings on Beacon Hill in Octoberand planning for the March 10 Leader-ship Forum at the Statehouse.

Interested candidates must submit aletter of interest, resume, and letter of rec -ommendation from his/her supervisor byApril 1 to Bob Bardwell, MASCA PastPresident, Monson High School, 55 Mar -garet Street, Monson, MA 01057. Or youcan fax the information to 413-267-4157or e-mail [email protected].

Don’t miss out on this unique and ex -citing program. It will forever impact youas a professional school counselor. ■


PUBLIC AGENDA (continued frompage 1)dents in navigating the complex financialaid and college admission process.

In addition, as the study notes, schoolcounselors are increasingly called on to dowork outside of their mission, including:“discipline issues and sorting out sched-uling and other administrative mix-upswith the high school.”

ASCA agrees with many of the conclu-sions of the Public Agenda study: moreschool counselors are needed, and exist-ing school counselors should not be over -loaded with non-counseling duties pre-venting them from spending time suc cess-fully guiding students to academic suc-cess and postsecondary education. ASCAworks closely with school administrators,professional school counselors and thecolleges that train school counselors toensure the highest level of professional-ism, but the burden on even the bestschool counselors has obvious implica-tions for their ability to help students.

ASCA believes the findings of thisstudy can serve as a wake-up call thatcould bring about substantial and neededchanges. The study points out that“young people who characterized theirinteractions with counselors as anony-mous and unhelpful were less likely togo directly from high school into a post-secondary program.” Therefore, strongrelationships between school counselorsand students can lead to more studentsseeking postsecondary education. Thisis a good opportunity to provide a pos-itive perspective on the problems and tohighlight the need for supporting schoolcounselors so they can be effective, ratherthan eliminating their positions becausesome consider them to be ineffective.

ASCA hopes to work with policymak-ers, education leaders and the Gates Foun -dation, which underwrote this survey, toplace more certified professional schoolcounselors in our schools and to allowthem to help students improve academicachievement, career planning includingpostsecondary education, and personaland social development.

If you would like to comment toMASCA, please e-mail Karen D’Amour [email protected] to have your com-ments included in the next Counselor’sNotebook. ■

Quotes of Note

BullyingThe most recent and compelling re search[on bullying] indicates we need to inter-vene on many levels simultaneously. Inother words, bullies, victims, peer by stand -ers, school personnel and parents all havea role to play in preventing and reduc-ing bullying.— John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan, co-authorsof Tough Kids, Cool Counseling, ASCA, Articles

for Parents, http://schoolcounselor.org/

Teaching Civics:www.ourcourts.org

We know from statistics that young peo-ple spend about 40 hours a week in frontof some kind of screen, whether it’s acomputer or a television. That’s more timethan they spend at school, more time thanthey spend with their parents—and Iwanted to use some of that time. I wantedto provide some games on the Web sitethat have the effect of being fun to playbut also teaching along the way.

— Retired U.S. Supreme Court JusticeSandra Day O’Connor, NEA Today,

March/April 2010, p. 25

Student TestingIn her new book, The Death and Life ofthe Great American School System: HowTesting and Choice Are UnderminingEducation, Diane Ravitch “laments whatshe sees as an Orwellian shift from stan-dards-based assessment to testing for test-ing’s sake. This trend reached its apoth-eosis in the Bush plan, whose relentlessemphasis on testing robs classroom timefor subjects not on the test—that is, sci-ence, social studies, and the arts—anddistorts the way math and reading aretaught.”

— Kate Tuttle, reviewer, Boston SundayGlobe, February 28, 2010

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

This year, as Congress prepared to reau-thorize the federal education law, NEAasks that it recognize the individual needsof students, including non-fluent Englishspeakers and those with disabilities. Morethan test scores should be used to measurestudent learning and school progress.

— NEA Today, March/April 2010, p. 13

APRIL 2010 15

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

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NEWBURYPORT, MAPERMIT NO. 96

Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc.COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Sally Ann Connolly, Editor

CHANGE OF ADDRESS:

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Send this form to:Deborah ClemenceP.O. Box 805East Dennis, MA 02641

YOUR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL DATE IS INDICATED BY YEAR AND MONTH ON YOUR ADDRESS LABEL ABOVE.To renew your membership, go to MASCA’s website, www.masca.org.

MASCA 2010 Spring ConferenceConnecting Counselors in the 21st Century

April 11 – April 13, 2010

Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore, Danvers

GREAT PROGRAMS • GREAT PRICES • GREAT SPEAKERS

Sunday, April 11Welcome Reception • Keynoter

Workshops • Graduate Student Events

Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13Exciting Exhibits • MA Model Showcases

Workshops • MASCA Awards • Hospitality Events

Details, keynote speakers, agenda, exhibitors, andregistration form at www.masca.org.

Inquiries: Helen O’Donnell, Conference Chair, [email protected]

Documents

Counselor's Notebook, April 2010