Leadership Letter: Your Voice Empowers MSCA

Welcome to a new academic year! It's remarkable how swiftly time seems to pass. Is it truly 2024–2025? I invite you to seize the opportunity to make this year meaningful, not only within the confines of your school but also for our esteemed state. To achieve this, your voice is of paramount importance. I urge you to actively participate in conversations and to “call someone in” for dialogue. Furthermore, I implore you to use your own voice in MSCA. This entails engaging in data collection through our surveys, thereby ensuring that the voice of MSCA reflects that of the broader state community.

During the 2024 ASCA Leadership Institute conference, we had the honor of listening to Loretta J. Ross, a renowned human rights advocate and academic. Her talk focused on how to handle disagreements and the strategies and tools that can help us use our voices effectively.

Ross introduced the idea of “integrity intelligence,” describing it as the act of doing what's necessary to ensure you can look at yourself in the mirror the next day. She underlined the significance of concentrating on “calling someone in” (rather than calling them out), urging us to value the other person, encourage them to share their views and strive to comprehend where they're coming from. It's vital to be mindful of our role in these discussions. Are we receptive to the other person's perspective? Are we ready to acknowledge and change habits that are hidden from us?

As we start a new academic year, MSCA will keep working with various state and federal organizations with this mindset in mind. We will keep in mind our mission, which is to promote professionalism and ethical practices while empowering and advocating for all school counselors. I will work to continue to draw a variety of people into conversation to support our mission. Especially difficult conversations. We cannot impact change without these discussions.

In these dialogues, it's crucial to access member data. This data is used to inform others and ensure that MSCA stays aligned with the needs and desires of its members. Without this data, we cannot represent all of you effectively. Thus, we invite everyone to take part in our information gathering activities. We plan to distribute surveys and collect feedback to gain a deeper understanding of your needs and to better serve you.

I love the excitement and hope a new school year always brings. May 2024–2025 bless us all.

Contact Tina Boone, MSCA executive director, at executivedirector@mtschoolcounselor.org.