Action in Alaska
By Nicole Lyke and Elizabeth Congdon-McGee | October 2018
Workforce Wednesdays
By Nicole Lyke
A line of students begins in the library and trails down the hall. Students excitedly chat amongst themselves, tickets in hand. When we give them the go-ahead, they drop their ticket in the bowl and eagerly reach for their grade-level folder on the library desk counter. Inside these folders, students find their timesheets. If they’ve forgotten a pencil, they grab one from the cup on the counter. They stop and sign a thank you card for the presenter, or catch it on the way out, and then rush to find a seat in the audience where they will check the time and “clock in.” Once students have settled, we briefly review the behavior expectations and then introduce our guest presenter.
Welcome to Workforce Wednesday.
This week, our students have the privilege of meeting a 2008 graduate from our school who now works as an instrument technician on the platforms, a very popular career choice in the area given the heavy influence of the oil and gas industry. Our guest speaks about everything from where he went for post-secondary education to the tools of the trade, and passes around a couple of instruments. We ask all presenters to reflect and share what they learned or did in high school that has allowed them to succeed as grown, working adults (relevance). “Pay attention to math and science.” “Ask for help if you need it.” “Apply for scholarships!” “Yearbook taught me how to edit and proofread.” “Be your own person, find your own voice.” These are all things we have said to our students, but it means so much more coming from a guest presenter wearing an invisible “career exploration hero” cape. They are our career exploration heroes. Students get to ask questions to their heart's content – and they do come up with the most thoughtful questions. They want to know so much more than just “how much money do you make?” although that question inevitably comes up, at least with our middle school students bold enough to ask it. The students love it. The presenters love it.
As the presentation wraps up, students know the drill. They “clock out” and rate with 1-5 stars how interested they are in the career they just learned about. This is a quick way to gather data that we can use in future conversations regarding post-secondary planning. In fact, we select presenters based on previously collected data about students’ career interests. We snap a group photo – the presenter and students – to share on our school’s Facebook page (positive marketing for our school and our school counseling program). The design and flow of Workforce Wednesday is intentionally crafted. We then do a quick raffle with the students’ tickets, which also help us track participation, and the students go on to their next class, already buzzing about who will present the following week. Everyone leaves feeling energized and excited.
This is Workforce Wednesday. This is powerful career exploration.
If you would like information about establishing a Workforce Wednesday program at your school, please feel free to contact Nicole Lyke, school counselor at Nikiski Middle/High School, at nlyke@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
AkSCA Advocacy Update
By Elizabeth Congdon-McGee
Advocacy is an important role in our profession of school counselors. We should be out there educating stakeholders and other educators on how our role has changed over the years and the services that we now provide for students when we are able to do the work of a school counselor. If we do not advocate for our profession as a collective group of school counselors statewide, we will continue to be on the chopping block. It takes all of us to work together to bring that one voice, one vision.
The Alaska School Counselor Association Advocacy and Public Policy Committee is hard at work for you as school counselor. We are being asked to the table and making sure that someone is present to share the importance of our job for schools and students, how we collaborate with teachers to enhance learning in the classrooms, and how we work with stakeholders to promote education and the role of the school counselor. Our recent actions include:
Meeting with the governor at our Day on the Hill.
Advocacy committee members gather at a town hall meeting.
By Nicole Lyke
A line of students begins in the library and trails down the hall. Students excitedly chat amongst themselves, tickets in hand. When we give them the go-ahead, they drop their ticket in the bowl and eagerly reach for their grade-level folder on the library desk counter. Inside these folders, students find their timesheets. If they’ve forgotten a pencil, they grab one from the cup on the counter. They stop and sign a thank you card for the presenter, or catch it on the way out, and then rush to find a seat in the audience where they will check the time and “clock in.” Once students have settled, we briefly review the behavior expectations and then introduce our guest presenter.
Welcome to Workforce Wednesday.
This week, our students have the privilege of meeting a 2008 graduate from our school who now works as an instrument technician on the platforms, a very popular career choice in the area given the heavy influence of the oil and gas industry. Our guest speaks about everything from where he went for post-secondary education to the tools of the trade, and passes around a couple of instruments. We ask all presenters to reflect and share what they learned or did in high school that has allowed them to succeed as grown, working adults (relevance). “Pay attention to math and science.” “Ask for help if you need it.” “Apply for scholarships!” “Yearbook taught me how to edit and proofread.” “Be your own person, find your own voice.” These are all things we have said to our students, but it means so much more coming from a guest presenter wearing an invisible “career exploration hero” cape. They are our career exploration heroes. Students get to ask questions to their heart's content – and they do come up with the most thoughtful questions. They want to know so much more than just “how much money do you make?” although that question inevitably comes up, at least with our middle school students bold enough to ask it. The students love it. The presenters love it.
This is Workforce Wednesday. This is powerful career exploration.
If you would like information about establishing a Workforce Wednesday program at your school, please feel free to contact Nicole Lyke, school counselor at Nikiski Middle/High School, at nlyke@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
AkSCA Advocacy Update
By Elizabeth Congdon-McGee
Advocacy is an important role in our profession of school counselors. We should be out there educating stakeholders and other educators on how our role has changed over the years and the services that we now provide for students when we are able to do the work of a school counselor. If we do not advocate for our profession as a collective group of school counselors statewide, we will continue to be on the chopping block. It takes all of us to work together to bring that one voice, one vision.
The Alaska School Counselor Association Advocacy and Public Policy Committee is hard at work for you as school counselor. We are being asked to the table and making sure that someone is present to share the importance of our job for schools and students, how we collaborate with teachers to enhance learning in the classrooms, and how we work with stakeholders to promote education and the role of the school counselor. Our recent actions include:
- Speaking at the School Safety and Wellness Conference
- Speaking at the School Board Conference giving a 10-minute snapshot of the role of the school counselor as people move from one table to the next for a total of 60 minutes.
- Proposal put in to present at the Principals Conference.
- Representatives at NEA-AK Delegate Assembly, with a representative sitting on the Legislative Action Team.
- Day on the Hill talking to legislators and sharing our story and the importance of our jobs in our state.
- Attending school board meetings and town hall meetings.
Meeting with the governor at our Day on the Hill.
Advocacy committee members gather at a town hall meeting.