President’s Letter: ISCA’s Accomplishments and Status

Greetings, Illinois school counselors!
 
I hope all of you are doing well. It is hard to believe that spring break has passed and many of us are already preparing for the end of the school year. I hope the school year was a positive one and you are already reflecting on how you can make the 2019-20 school year even better. If I did not see you at our annual conference this month, I hope you continue your investment in learning by pursuing one our professional development opportunities via webinar or plan to carve out some time this fall when we announce our professional development line-up.
 
This has been an incredibly busy year for the Illinois School Counselor Association. Lots of changes and opportunities for growth kept the ISCA Board of Directors busy advocating for the amazing school counselors of Illinois. I recently participated in Counselor Day on the Hill and met with many other counselors in Springfield to advocate for counseling services in our state. I had many meaningful conversations with representatives in both the House and Senate. I left Springfield that day feeling very proud to be part of the field of counseling and thankful that we have leaders at the state level who recognize the impact counselors have in our students’ lives.
 
In addition to state-level advocacy, your board of directors also advocated for membership and spent much of the year reflecting on ISCA’s relationship with the Illinois Counseling Association (ICA). The formal process began in June 2018. After many months of reflection and discussion, ISCA pursued the process of disaffiliation from the Illinois Counseling Association. This process was lengthy and at times the contentious debate between the two sides made it difficult to pursue what was in the best interest of our membership. After engaging Kirha Law Firm to assist with the process, we were able to jointly create a referendum that allowed membership the opportunity to vote and voice their opinion on the matter. The vote took place the last two weeks of February and concluded March 6, 2019. A formal notification was sent out to members on Monday, March 11. Among the voters, 177 voted yes to withdraw, and 95 voted no. The referendum did not pass, by 5 votes. Despite the majority vote to withdraw (177 to 95), ICA by-laws require two thirds (2/3) vote and we were short of this by 5 votes.
 
As president of the Illinois School Counselor Association, I was indeed disappointed by this voting result. When we met to validate the official vote, I asked ICA leadership to reflect on the 177 voters that voted to “YES - to withdraw,” and specifically asked that they reflect on their organization’s value to these members. I look forward to continuing this conversation in April at the ICA Governing Council Meeting. I strongly believe that ISCA’s relationship with ICA has been meaningful but is no longer reflective of the national-level relationship. ISCA and ICA both have tremendous value, but both can continue to offer that value without being jointly connected. I still believe that this vote to disaffiliate from ICA offers ISCA membership a choice to join, not a requirement to join. At this time, ISCA will remain a division of ICA.
 
As you conclude your school term, please take some time to read this valuable issue of the newsletter from ASCA. Congratulations on all of your victories this school year. We are a team and together we have great impact on the lives and futures of our students. At the end of the season, that is what is most important. I am honored to be part of such a wonderful team and appreciate each of you so much!
 
May the months of April and May treat you well.
 
Contact Leslie Goines, ISCA president, at president@ilschoolcounselor.org.