"School's out for summer (cue the Alice Cooper music)!!!" Although this may be true for our students and the 190 day staff members, it is not the case for the majority of school counselors, including myself. In fact, many of us are still sitting behind our desks answering emails, speaking to parents, working on schedules, sending transcripts to colleges, and auditing student grades. In between all these tasks, many school counselors are in charge of searching for their own professional development opportunities for personal growth (at many schools, the counselor is left out of staff development opportunities😢). If you are like me, you may be still searching for specific courses to help enhance your skills. However, some of you may have suddenly realized the summer is approaching and you have not put any thought into the type of professional development you want to take over the summer. Then, of course, there are those of us who may be impacted by the economy and have to take cost and accessibility into consideration. So much to think about, right???? Well, the purpose of this post is to give you some staff development ideas for the summer. Please know that this is not an inclusive list and feel free to share any additional opportunities. So, here on to my list...
So, this is a no brainer! Because the conference is so close, I could not pass up the opportunity to attend and network with other school counselors. However, for many school counselors, the ASCA conference is price prohibitive and out of reach. However, check out the virtual option that is available for those who cannot be at ASCA!
2023 Summer Counselor Conference
Can't travel and/or don't have a lot of money. This may be the right conference for you! This inexpensive online conference features 35 influential school counselors and speakers who will share some great information.. The conference airs in August and counselors have one year access to the videos!
Trauma Informed Educator Network Conference
Trauma informed approaches seem to be really popular these days. This two day $199 online conference is June 22 - 23 and registration is closing soon. If you want to know more about trauma informed practices, this may be the place to start.
Creating Trauma- Informed Resilient Schools
This self-paced course is designed to provide targeted and convenient professional development to schools communities. Participants must complete the course in 90 days and will earn 15 CEUS. The cost of the course is $200.
This four in one conference is held four times a year. This summer you can attend one or all conferences in Las Vegas during the week of July 5th - 9th. The conferences include: At-Risk Students, Innovative Teaching, School Discipline, and Social-Emotional Learning!
College Essay Guy Mini Courses for School Counselors
The College Essay Guy has developed a series of courses for school counselors this summer. These courses range from creating a college counseling department, helping students write a personal statement, and helping students build a college list. The College Essay Guy has set it up where counselors pay for what they can afford, can you believe it!!
Restorative Practices for Educators Conference
If you are interested in restorative practices, this two day online conference held on July 18th and 19th may appeal to you. This conference introduces educators to restorative practices and how to use them in the school environment.
2023 College Board Counselor Institute
The name "College Board" may be an ugly word in your department, but they offer a free counselor institute each year. This year's institute is August 1st - 3rd and will be a series of 1.5 hour online sessions.
Wrapping up the summer is the National Association for College Admission Counseling conference during the week of September 21st - 23rd in Baltimore, MD. Honestly, I was unaware, until a couple of years ago, that this conference has a lot of sessions for high school counselors. I went to SACAC this year and learned a lot from some of my colleagues.
Butler University 2023 Educational Neuroscience Symposium
This course, led by Dr. Lori Desautles, will be held virtually on September 30th. The conference will address nervous system development and how trauma impacts behavior. Cost of the conference is $120.
Too busy over the summer? ASCA offers a variety of certifications for school counselors all year long! Check out the list of online self-paced specialist trainings available.
I hope this list gets you started on your professional development journey for the summer. Please know there are a lot of opportunities available and you can learn a lot more by joining my facebook group where I post the latest information on conferences, courses, and much more.
Thanks for stopping by!!
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