Your To-Do List as School Starts

PSCA leaders, including Governing Board members, committee chairs and local association leaders came from all over the state to meet for three days in Harrisburg for the annual PSCA Leadership Development Academy. A review of PSCA Policies and Practices provided the foundation for the event. Bernie Hoffman reviewed the latest issues, presenting to educators in general and school counselors in particular. Presentations on resources and information to be shared with the PSCA membership and local and regional association members included: Counselors for Computing (C4C), College Board and the Kahn Academy updates, 339 Sustainability plans, and the Pennsylvania ESSA Plan draft rollout.
 
The group worked tirelessly to gather updates and to develop plans for the coming year. Out of the discussion emerged five school counselor to-do activities for before the school year gets rolling:

1. Visit the PDE/Pennsylvania Department of Education website and download, read and provide feedback to the Draft Pennsylvania ESSA Plan. School counselors and school counseling programs are referenced at least two dozen times in Section 6. http://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/ESSA/Pages/Review-the-Proposed-Plan.aspx#tab-1
2. Visit the PSCA website (www.psca-web.org) and nominate a colleague for School Counselor of the Year, an advocate of school counseling, an administrator who demonstrates exemplary support of school counselors and school counseling programs. 
3. Visit the PSCA website (www.psca-web.org) to gather details and costs of the 62nd Annual Conference; use the “Justification Toolkit” to prepare your request to attend the November 30-December 1 professional development event.
4. Make sure your contact information is up to date in the PSCA Membership database so you don’t miss the newsletters and PSCA eXTRA’s this year. 
5. Consider running for a PSCA Region Representative position or office this year. All seven Regions will have one opening for the elections. Past President Dan Eskesen (deskesen@austinsd.net) is chairing nominations and elections and is available to provide information and answer questions. 

PSCA officers: Back row: Dan Eskesen, past president (left) ; Lisa Maloney, president (right). Front row: Teresa Atkinson, secretary (left); Christine Harmon, treasurer (right.) Not pictured is Mike Perrott, acting president-elect.