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Back to School

6 Tips for Making Recess Inclusive

October 17, 2017

6 tips to make recess inclusive so that it is a positive experience that helps foster social skills and friendships.

Recess can be the best part of a kid’s day or it can be a major source of stress and anxiety. For some kids, this is when they are finally able to run free and let off some steam. They love the carefree wiggle time where they can focus on being a kid and enjoy playing with their friends.

Other students aren’t as lucky and do not love recess. There is a multitude of reasons why a child may not enjoy this unstructured free time. For many, their dislike stems from their lack of friendships or the necessary social skills needed to join in with others. With a little bit of help to be comfortable and one person willing to be a friend, they would love this time as well.

Here are six tips for making recess inclusive for all students as they learn the social skills to develop and maintain friendships. Read More »

5 School Counseling Office Must Haves

September 7, 2017

Environment matters. From the office walls to your desktop, what you put in your school counseling office sets the tone for your relationship with your students. How do you make your students feel welcome? What do you want your students to be doing and thinking when they come into your office? For me, it’s all about feeling calm, trusted, and invited. There are five must-have items in my office. These are the items that I rely on the most when a student walks in my door.

School Counseling Office Must-Haves

How to Present Your Counseling Program and Role to Staff

August 30, 2017

During back to school season, my co-counselors and I put together a presentation for staff about our counseling program. It is crucial to present your counseling program and what your job entails. Even if you spend most of your work week on one campus with the same colleagues and administrators, many staff probably do not know all that you do. This can be tricky because when colleagues and administrators don’t know what we do, they might think we need things to do. Or worse, they might feel resentful if they think our job has fewer responsibilities than their job. To help you start off right, I have lots of tips and resources to create a presentation that lets you explain your dynamic program to your staff. But first, let’s talk a bit about how to present yourself as their go-to resource on all things counseling! Read More »

8 Steps to Build Student-Led School-Community Engagement

August 23, 2017

Career education is an integral aspect of the school counseling program, but educating students on community helpers and their own career interests is just the beginning. Students have the capacity to be contributing community members right now, no matter their grade level. School counselors can walk alongside them as they discover ways they can engage in and contribute to the community. Building school-community engagement not only gives students a window to career options available to them but also leads to positive school outcomes. Schools that link classroom activities to community projects also see dividends in improved school behaviors, reduced suspension rates, improved academic achievement, higher graduation rates, and improved ability to work effectively in a team.

Community engagement can be a school-wide or grade level initiative integrated into the classroom guidance program or tackled on a smaller scale through a service club. This type of project affords counselors the opportunity to create an environment where students have a sense of belonging in the school environment, help students understand the importance of short- and long-term goal setting, take ownership of the project through self-motivation and self-direction, practice working cooperatively in a group, form relationships with adults who support success, and explore character traits such as conservationism, loyalty, leadership, and more. Read More »

These 5 Tips Make It So Easy to Welcome New Students

August 18, 2017

Whether it is the beginning of the school year or the middle of April, one important role of a school counselor is to make sure that new students feel welcome at your school. Depending on the dynamics of your school, you may receive varying amounts of new students throughout the school year. At my suburban Title 1 school in Ohio, we receive about 40 new students at the beginning of the year. We also receive an additional 10-15 new students throughout the school year. Here are 5 tips to welcome new students that have helped prepare students for success at my school. Read More »

How to Have an Organized First Week as a School Counselor

August 9, 2017

Happy Hot Summer, Everyone! I hope you are managing to stay cooler than I am here in Texas. I can’t guarantee working air conditioning, but I can give you a post full of tips for having an organized first week as a school counselor. We are going to get your counseling office and program set up for the beginning of the school year.

If you are like me, the sight of a disorganized office is overwhelming. This, combined with the thought of setting up my entire counseling program, can sap all my inspiration and motivation for the rest of the day! To keep us all calm and forward-moving, here are 10 tips for how to have an organized first week as a school counselor. Your program will be in order by the time everyone returns, guaranteed! Read More »

3 Organization Tips for a Great Year

July 26, 2017

Organization is my jam. I may or may not get ridiculously excited about school supplies and organizing systems. I recently starting a grad school program at night and I had more fun than a toddler in a candy store setting up my notebook. But I know not everyone is so geeky inclined. Sometimes others think organized people are so together but, the secret is, I’m lazy. I want to do it once so I don’t have to think about it later. In that spirit, I want to share with you 3 school counselor organization tips that will make your school counselor life easier. Read More »

10 Ways to Prepare During the Summer

July 17, 2017

School Counselor Summer Prep. 10 ways to prepare this summer to ensure their year is off to a great, confident start. #schoolcounselorprep

Summer is finally here and we all have time to breathe and decompress from another whirlwind year of advocating and empowering! If you’re like us, after a week or so of sipping lemonade by the pool, you might be getting the itch to start planning for another successful year. CounselorChelsey and Counselor Keri are here to share 10 things school counselors can do during the summer to prepare for the school year!

Review your data from the year

What programs and initiatives were successful? Where is there room for improvement? Begin looking for new data-driven interventions to address those areas that were not as successful (and celebrate the areas that were!). Use your data to determine which topics you will cover in classroom guidance lessons and small group programs. Read More »

Ultimate School Counselor Supply List

August 16, 2016

Time to stock your counseling office (or classroom or closet) with some tried and true school counseling supplies. Most of these suggestions are typical supplies that we’ve repurposed to use in counseling activities. What games, books, crafts, or prizes do you use?

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.