Be a Part of the ArSCA Line-up

By Allison Spraggins, 2018 ArSCA/ADE Conference Chair | April 2018

Plans for the 2018 ArSCA/ADE Counselor Conference are well underway and we are very excited about the professional development we have to offer our team this year. The conference will be held Monday, July 9 through Wednesday, July, 11 in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center in Hot Springs, Ark.

Scarlett Lewis from the Jessie Lewis Choose Love Movement will be our Monday keynote speaker. She is the mother of Jesse Lewis who was killed in his first-grade classroom during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, along with 19 classmates and six teachers and administrators in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Lewis has made it her mission, in her son’s honor, to spread the word about the importance of social and emotional learning taking place in every classroom.

Through her charitable organization, Lewis is equipping every school with a free, evidence-based program that reaches pre-K–12 students and teaches them how to choose love in any circumstance. She is the author of “Nurturing Healing Love,” her story of how she overcame personal tragedy to make a positive impact on the world. Lewis reached out to us last year to provide breakout sessions to share her SEL program and had an overwhelming response. We are fortunate to have her join us again for a keynote platform this year.

Vera Jones, president of Vera's VoiceWorks, will be our keynote speaker for Tuesday’s luncheon. Jones applies her diversified career experiences in leadership training platforms to coach, empower, and energize individuals and organizations to overcome their fouls to achieve success. She encourages people to “look in the mirror and see if your purpose is staring back,” and to “empathically lead through service in your purpose.” Vera Jones is the author of many books, including “Play Through the Foul – Basketball Lessons for the Game of Life,” “New Best Friend – A Little Book of Faith,” and “The Only Sun,” a children's book and personally narrated audiobook that encourages us all to embrace the beauty and significance of our unique differences. Jones also co-authored “The True Champions 30-Day Challenge,” a Christian sports devotional with AJ Ali. We are excited to have this sports personality to bring our team together and empower us to overcome the fouls of life and find our purpose in our role as counselors.

Break-out sessions will be provided by state counselors and leaders from the Arkansas Department of Education sharing their expertise during the mornings and afternoons. Proposed sessions include:

Outside of the Box
The Great Kindness Challenge
Be a Kindness Certified District
Jr. High/Middle School and Elementary share sessions
Setting up Mock Interviews for Your Students
Middle School Classroom Guidance Using Google Classroom
Technology in the Counseling Office
Who Are My English Learners?
High School Counselor, the Real MVP
Creative Ways to deal with Bullying
1,2,3,4 Open up the closet door! 5,6,7,8 Don't assume your students are straight!
Cultural Competence - How do we get there?
Grandparents as Caregivers
Documenting: Ethics, TESS, and Laws
Counseling 101
Using Breakout EDU in Classroom Guidance
ACT Profile for College and Career Planning
Fictive Kin, Foster Care, & You
Using ACT Profile and Google Forms in High School