President's Message: Gather Your Advocates

Our fall conference showcased the awe and wonder of our profession. Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott spoke at our pre-conference on MTSS, and keynote speaker Dr. John W. Hodge inspired and re-energized us as school counselors. Our wonderful breakout sessions featured many of our school counselors and school counselor educators. I thank everyone who joined us at the conference. I hope that participation inspired you with great new ideas for the betterment of your students and school community. And I really hope that you found an a-ha moment, in which you saw the gifts and talents you continuously bring to your students, school and the New Jersey School Counselor Association. The call for programs for the spring conference is now open – it is never too early to submit a proposal. Submit a proposal for the 2023 NJSCA Spring Conference.

NJSCA has been working hard with legislators, especially Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight, to codify the work of school counselors so that all students in New Jersey are afforded a school counselor and school counselors’ work is truly in the scope of responsibilities that best serve our students. Please use the Voter Voice link that was recently sent to you to support this legislation. And please invite family, friends and colleagues who are New Jersey residents to advocate for our profession. Simply share the Voter Voice link with your friends, family and colleagues and ask them to email their local assembly people and state senators, asking them to support A1516 and S2323. Each student in New Jersey deserves the best school counselors in the nation!

With NJSCA, I encourage you to become the school leader that you have always aspired to be. This is your invitation to join an NJSCA executive board meeting, become a chair or committee member in an area that is important to you, create a presentation to share with school counselors throughout the state, and submit that presentation for either the spring or fall conference. You could even write a short piece for the NJSCA newsletter – this year’s topics include “Celebrating School Counselors,” “Serving the Spectrum of Special Needs” and “Risky Behavior.” Please contact me at cindypovall@gmail.com if you want to write one of these short pieces.

I thank the following members who have stepped up to join committees this year. Our new voices include:
Gabrielle Chinnici-Heyel, Andrea Stone, Adrienne Davis, Trista Henry, Skyler Makuch, Christine Cutinello, Tracy Blauvelt, Darlene Kuzloski, Lori Antista, Jordan Harris, Destiny Cherry, Amanda Parisi, Dayna Ferreira, Dayana Gil, Mario Pedro, Lisa Wiater, Gabrielle Magwood, Natasha Murphy, Nermeen Hanna-Avegno, Jamie Truncellito, Florentina Crawford, Aimee Saluccio, Carrie Rapaport, Guy Crawley, Khadijah Barnes and Kareem Spence.

You will hear from me or a committee chair soon! All new committee folks, please keep open December 15, 2022, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. for an executive board dinner meeting. A follow-up invitation will be sent directly to you in mid-November.

NJSCA membership offers so much more than our conference opportunities. You will find many resources on our website, professional development opportunities sprinkled throughout the year, scholarships for your high school students, recognition for elementary and middle school students, and recognition of school counselor of the county and school counselor of the year for NJSCA. School counselor of the county nomination information will be released soon. We want every county represented, so please consider nominating a colleague.

Thank you for your membership and for all the work you do to provide the best school counseling services to the students throughout New Jersey.

Contact Cindy Povall, NJSCA president, at cindypovall@gmail.com or 908-705-5526.