President’s Letter: Together, We Build Better Humans

Welcome back, fellow school counselors, to a new year! Each school year brings new beginnings for us and for our students.  Although I had the honor of meeting and working with many WSCA members over the course of my 29 years as a school counselor, I would like to begin by introducing myself to those that I have not yet had the good fortune to meet. My name is Jenny Morgan, and I am your 2019–2020 WSCA president. Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to have the experience in being an elementary teacher, middle school counselor, high school counselor, and adjunct professor at St. Martin’s University. Currently, I am a school counselor at Capital High School in the Olympia School District.

I was humbled and honored to serve as your WSCA president in 2006. During that time, the WSCA board worked to establish an organization with the sole purpose of promoting best practices in and advocate for school counseling. We were able to pass state legislation for the first time that recognized the importance of school counselors, and to define the role of the school counselor in our schools. Now, I am very excited to have the opportunity to work for you, our students and our amazing profession again! As a member of WSCA, feel confident that you have an organization that advocates for you and our students. School counselors are dedicated professionals who work above and beyond the call of duty each day to care for the academic, social/emotional and career development needs of all of our students. I pledge to you that our WSCA board will work just as diligently to help provide our state’s school counselors with professional advocacy, professional development support and leadership.

In my experience, change seems to be a constant companion at the start of every school year. This year is no exception. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has recently released the ASCA National Model, 4th Edition. The WSCA will work to provide professional development opportunities this year regarding our national model. Make sure you frequently visit the WSCA website for updates and the ASCA website for more information on fourth edition changes.

Please take a moment to watch this video from ASCA.

As we begin this year, please pause to reflect on what you have done to make a positive difference in the lives of students.  I am proud to be part of the Washington School Counselor Association.  The video reminds us that school counselors work to build better humans every day. Best wishes for an exceptional school year – I look forward to our journey together.

Contact Jenny Morgan, WSCA president, at jennymorganwsca@gmail.com.