ASCA17 From My Couch...Again



Yes, I am sad to say that I missed #ASCA17 again this year (unfortunately, I can only afford one conference per year and ASCA did not fit in my budget).  So, I vicariously attended the ASCA
I wanted to ride the bus!!
Conference through the tweets, posts, and pictures of school counselors who attended from around the country.  Through social media, I could feel the excitement and the positive connections made at the conference. So being at home as a stalker, I decide that I wanted to share the highlights with other school counselors who were not able to attend the conference (aka #notatasca17).

Highlight #1: Motivational Speakers


#ASCA17 was not short on motivational speakers!!

Astronaut Mark Kelly started the ASCA Conference and lit up Twitter!



Carol Dweck presented great information on Mindsets.



Probably the most talked about speaker was Dr. Calvin Mackie and his encouragement for school counselors!




Highlight #2: Most Talked About Presentations!


Okay, there is no way I can include every great presentation, but I wanted to include those that had the most frequent posts on social media by school counselors at #ASCA17.  Some of the most mentioned topics on social media included Mindfulness, Mindsets, suicide awareness, and technology.

Katrice Grant: Keep Calm and Implement Mindfulness in Your School


What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is "maintaining a present-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, body sensations, or surrounding environment."

Benefits of Mindfulness:

Lowers stress
Improves impulse control
Improves focus and concentration
Increases self awareness
Develops empathy
Improves sleep
Improves ability to manage emotions

Want to know how mindfulness impacts the brain?  Go to this link for more information!



How to Bring Mindfulness to Your School Community?  According to Katrice there are four steps:

1.  You must become familiar with mindfulness by practicing it.
2.  Become trained in delivering mindfulness to others.
3.  Bring mindfulness into your sessions with students.
4.  Adopt a classroom and deliver as a lesson.

How to Become Skilled in Mindfulness?

The steps in becoming trained in mindfulness include taking a 12 week long training in two courses. These courses include:
  • Mindfulness Fundamentals (6 weeks)
  • Mindful Educator Essentials (6 weeks)
How to incorporate Mindfulness.  See the Mindfulness Action Plan below.
Mindfulness Action Plan

Additional Resources for Training:

Personal Practice (Free resources)
Headspace (free 10 day introduction)

Training Programs:


Videos for Introducing Mindfulness to Teens





Summer Perhay Kuba: Mindset Matters: Growing Young Minds



Summer introduces the differences between a fixed and growth mindset in her presentation.  What are these differences?

Fixed Mindset: This is the belief that intelligence, personality, and characteristics of a person are static.

Growth Mindset: This is the belief that intelligence, personality, and characteristics of a person can be continuously developed.

Kuba presented information on how students with a fixed mindset differ from students with a growth mindset.



Mindset Resources:

You Can Grow Your Intelligence


Jenny Cureton, Diane Stutey, and Janessa Henniger:  School Suicide Training


There were several presentations on self harm and suicide.  This presentation contained important federal and ASCA guidelines, school faculty training, and resources.

13 Reasons Why: How School Counselors Can Help

Model School Prevention on Suicide

Suicide Prevention Statutes Schools


Julia Taylor and Erin O'Malley: Suicide, Self-Harm, & Social Media: Helping Students Ask for Help


This presentation covered the ASCA Ethical Standards regarding suicide which includes:
  • Informing parents when there is a potential risk;
  • Consultation with other professionals;
  • Contact appropriate authorities.
In addition, the presenters covered media attention on suicide and the statistics on adolescent suicide.

Following information about statistics and the idea of contagion, the presenters covered barriers for students when asking for help.  These barriers include:

  • Feelings of hopelessness;
  • Many don't know what is wrong;
  • Fear of not being helped;
  • Stigma by others;
  • Previous negative experiences when reaching out;
  • Fear of not being believed;
  • Lack of trusted adults;
  • Lack of confidentiality;
  • Fear of consequences.
Last, Taylor and O'Malley covered what school counselors can do for suicide prevention/intervention. Some suggestions were:
  • Staff education
  • Awareness campaigns

Angela Cleveland: School  Counselor Technology Toolbox



Angela gave school counselors a tutorial on how technology can enhance a school counselor's job.

Technology Tool #1: Twitter

Angela covered the basics from using a hashtag to school counselors to follow on Twitter.  She added informed school counselors about Twitter Chats like:

#SCCHAT-1st Wednesday of each month @ 8 PM.
#PSYCHAT-Every Monday @ 9 PM.  I am going to start attending this one!!

Technology Tool #2: Pinterest

Angela introduced school counselor to other school counselors with amazing boards.

Technology Tool #3: Doodle

This is a calendar program that makes scheduling easy!

Technology Tool #4: Powtoon

Angela reviewed how to make a cartoon presentation with this tool.

Technology Tool #5: Social Media Groups

Angela introduced school counselors to the various groups on social media.

Want to see more of her presentation?  Angela has shared it on her website.

Nicohl Shelton Webb: Hype Your School Counseling Program With Tech-Savvy Tools


Technology Tool #1: Emaze

Emaze is an alternate form of presenting information that rivals power point.

Technology Tool #2: QR Codes

Go to website to present your information to your audience then download your code.

Technology Tool #3: Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle is a site that allows you to select a video and to customize it.

Technology Tool #4: Blendspace

Blendspace is a site that allows you to create digital lessons.

Technology Tool #5: Smore

Smore is a great site for creating and sharing newsletters, events, and information.

Technology Tool #6: Blogs

Here is a list of Nichol's favorite blogs (she included mine!)

http://savvyschoolcounselor.com/
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/tag/high-school-counselor/
http://forhighschoolcounselors.blogspot.com/
http://entirelyelementary.blogspot.com/
http://www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org/
http://www.schcounselor.com/
http://www.schoolcounselingbyheart.com/
http://creativeelementaryschoolcounselor.blogspot.com/
http://elemschoolcounselor.blogspot.com/
http://jyjoynercounselor.blogspot.com/

Samantha Latham, Kloe Rosso, Regan Estess, and Jennifer Curry: Using Pop Culture References to Engage Students in Career and College Readiness Development


Using Gottfredson's Theory of Circumscription and Compromise (Linda Gottfredson, 1981), the presenters discussed how this theory relates to the stages of childhood development.

For high school students, the presenters referenced the movies as Divergent, Hunger Games, and The Help.


Highlight #3: Great Quotes from #ASCA17 and #notatASCA17


#ASCA17

Amy Egizil: "Don't confuse my passion with anger. Passion contains an unspeakable hope." Calvin Mackie-one of my new heroes

Counselor Carey: What if we gave grades of "not yet" instead of F's.

Donna Clark: Instead of asking "what's wrong with you" ask "what happened to you." A better way to support students with life trauma

Elizabeth Bostick: "Your work will change lives yet unborn!" Calvin Mackie

Franciene Sabens: Counselors greeting students in the morning & when they leave makes a huge impact.

Franciene Sabens: There is never a reason to not communicate w/ those you work with. Timely & accurate communication

Jeannie Maddox: "I think following virtually gets better each year. The willingness to share is what makes our community so awesome." Dr. Mackie

Julie Baumgart: "Fail = Not Yet" Carol Dweck

Laura Ross: "It matters to students if you know their name!" -Sylinda Banks

#NotatASCA17


Connie Ward Johnson: I think following virtually gets better each year. The willingness to share is what makes our community so awesome.

Erin Mason: I love that people like feel the pain of those of us not there and work so hard to share virtually!

Erin Mason: Let's just call it what it is, a school counseling mutual admiration society!

Chris Belser: My is strong after seeing all of the posts and pics from Denver. Have fun, everyone!

Liz Vohar:  Was in the car answering questions! Home 4 some champagne to celebrate 9 years of marriage! TY for the convo tonight!


Melissa Arrigotti: Counselors are uniquely qualified to give our kids the hope they need to change the world.

Highlight #4: Big Announcements From ASCA


  • School counselors at a #RAMP school get free ASCA membership while at a school with current RAMP status.
  • Car give away!! The winner of the refurbished Mazda RX-8 was Sarah Crist of Charlotte - Mecklenburg Schools in N.C.


  • School Counseling Community Scholarship


Here is a promo for school counselors to see if you would like to contribute or apply!



Highlight #5: Missed #ASCA17?  Keep up by viewing these resources!


Social Media Highlights from #ASCA17-https://www.hashatit.com/hashtags/ASCA17

Notes from #ASCA17 shared by Jeff Ream-ASCA17 Notes

Other Resources:

After Suicide Toolkit Schools

Conversation Starters

Evidence Based School Counselor Conference

North Tahoe High School :College and Career Counseling Resources

Student/Career Profile Flipbook


Highlight #6: #NotatASCA17 Chat


I was honored to co-host the #NotatASCA Chat with Dr.  Erin Mason.  See the transcript below!


Highlight #7: #ASCA18!  



Goodbye Denver and hello Los Angeles for ASCA18!

Goodbye School Counselors!




Theme: Reach for the Stars!













Never attended an ASCA Conference?  It is never too late to start making preparations!  Check out these blog posts for attending the ASCA Conference in Los Angeles.

5 Tips for ASCA First Timer -Counselor Clique
Five More ASCA Tips for the Noob- Jeff Ream


Highlight #8: Making Connections After the Conference Through Social Media 


Just because ASCA is over doesn't mean you can't keep the conversation going!

Join #SCCROWD!


Hope (fingers crossed) to see you in Los Angeles!!

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