President's Letter: ISCA's With You in the Year Ahead

I am excited to serve as the President of ISCA’s Board of Directors for the 2022–23 year! I hope this message finds you well! I am anticipating all that ISCA has in store this year, and I want to highlight what we’re doing, where we’re headed and how YOU (yes, you!) can be a part of the journey.

First, a little about me – I’m going into my ninth year as a high school counselor at Jones College Prep High School in Chicago Public Schools (Region 7) where I’ve been the department chair for a team of six counselors since 2018. Over the years, I’ve been able to highlight and support the work of school counselors in various capacities including teaching in the College of Education at DePaul University, contributing to publications like Forbes and Teen Vogue, speaking at state counseling associations across the country, and serving as the 2019 National School Counselor of the Year for ASCA. I’m a proud Black, gay, cisgender man and first-generation student, so I value intersectionality, equity and supporting our most marginalized students as a means of supporting all of our students. For fun, I’m currently enjoying a fair amount of pro wrestling, “Abbott Elementary” (on ABC) and Peloton cycling (when the motivation strikes). I also have a small love for all things unicorn, but that’s a whole different conversation.

Back to ISCA and why I’m driven to support our association: In short, it has changed my life. From the time I was a graduate student to starting my career and later representing school counselors at the national level, ISCA has been there for me. I have met great friends and trusted mentors through networking events offered by ISCA. I have sharpened my awareness of state-level laws and policies that impact the work of school counselors through ISCA’s advocacy efforts. I have learned how to do quality work as a school counselor through attending various ISCA professional development opportunities. And, I have found my voice as a state leader through ISCA’s disaffiliation and movement into policy governance. It has been an incredible journey and I know first-hand how much ISCA has to give to our members and the communities that we support.

As I close, I hope to leave you with a bit of excitement and a sense of direction. Our board (shown above) has been hard at work in recent weeks crafting our plan for the year and liaising with our wonderful Executive Director, Vince Walsh-Rock. We’ll be sharing more on that front soon. For now, please know that we are looking to grow our membership, provide a structured series of professional development opportunities throughout the year, streamline our advocacy efforts, bolster regional supports across the state, expand our equity efforts and share so many more ways for you to get involved in this amazing work – because we really can’t do it without you. Gosh, I’m excited! I hope you are, too. Talk soooooooon!

Contact Brian Coleman, ISCA president, at bcoleman12@cps.edu.