President's Letter: How to Start Strong

Greetings, LSSSCA family. I hope that everyone is doing well in these first few weeks of school. The beginning of each new school year is an exhilarating, busy and, yes, exhausting combination of new routines and responsibilities, along with new students and staff members to get to know. Although it can all be overwhelming at times, it’s still important to make sure that you start strong. How can you do this? With so many demands on your time, it’s helpful to stay focused on what matters most: the things that we can do to build our students’ strengths and help them achieve their goals. It’s also important for us to stay focused on the things that we can do to make sure that our motivation and desire to serve remain strong.

When we are dealing with students, it might seem as though we are constantly having to focus on their problems. To the contrary! By helping them navigate their challenges, we’re helping them to recognize and develop their individual strengths. This process takes creativity and good communication, but it all adds up to some very important work – both for them and for us as counselors – that will bring long-term benefits to everyone.

Some of the students you’ll work with this year will just need a little extra encouragement to move forward and do their best. Others will need intensive, frequent intervention for serious issues such as bullying and trauma, social isolation or academic difficulties. Although students’ situations vary greatly, many of their needs remain constant and ongoing, and we are uniquely privileged to be able to help them learn to be resilient, responsible problem solvers who are not intimidated by challenging circumstances.

As you go through the 2023–2024 school year, I urge you to stop occasionally and take stock. Ask yourself if you have all the tools that you need to make the best use of your time. If you are needing more tools, come join us October 22-24 at the LSSSCA Conference in Frisco, Texas. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others, and intentionally cultivate the habit of being helpful to all. Make sure that you are continually fostering the kind of relationships with students and colleagues that will contribute to strong teams that can get things done.

It's a privilege to serve our LSSSCA family, and I send my best wishes for a wonderful school year!

Dana Jackson, Ed.D., is the president of the Lone Star State School Counselor Association for 2023–2024. She is the associate superintendent of Student Support Services in Grand Prairie ISD.