MSCA is dedicated to our school counselors, the students and families they serve, and our state of MInnesota. Considering the current events, it is important that we come together as a group to support all our students and families across the state. We need to be prepared to have these difficult, yet necessary conversations. We are trained, have both unique skills and an important voice to lend when it comes to supporting our school communities during crises. We know how to help traumatized children. Perhaps that in the absence of having answers or resolute solutions in this moment, we start as we always do, relying on the safety and power of relationship, conversation and advocacy for those most at-risk during uncertain times.
As a result, the MSCA board collaborated to prepare a list of resources for starting points for school counselors. This list is just the beginning and is not meant to be comprehensive. Please share any resources that you may have through our listserv and on our Facebook page.
“Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct” by P.M. Forni (Cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project)
“Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World” By Vivek H. Murthy, MD (19th Surgeon General of the United States)
“Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism” by Christian Picciolini (onetime white-supremacist leader working to disengage people from extremist movements)
“All The Real Indians Died Off and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker
“White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America” by Joan C. Williams
“The Myth of Human Supremacy” by Derrick Jensen (human treatment of non-human life)
As schools work to safeguard student health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, school counselors are challenged to meet student needs both at school and outside school in the event of closures. Here is a back-to-school resource from ASCA.
School Closures
The rapid spread of COVID-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus, has forced districts to review and in some cases implement emergency shutdown plans. As with any school safety issue, ongoing collaboration among campus staff, administration and district personnel is critical.
Depending on your district’s safety protocol, a school may want to appoint a multidisciplinary team to create plans so services can continue in the event of a shutdown. This team should include an administrator, school counselor, lead teachers, social worker/psychologist and school nurse, plus other personnel deemed necessary.
Any plan should involve comprehensive school counseling services that would be provided, while taking into account legal (depending on the state) as well as ethical concerns. Because school counselors do not provide ongoing therapy, the team should develop a list of available outside mental health services and share with parents and families. Ensure equity and access issues are addressed in any coordinated plan as well, such as ensuring students have access to computers and Internet.
Guidance on Virtual or Distance Learning Programs
The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors provide guidelines for working in a virtual or distance learning environment. Providing school counseling services and activities in this setting presents some challenges and limitations, but here are some things to consider.
Have you worked with administrators to develop a plan for how students and families can reach the school counselor through phone, email or online platforms?
Do you have procedures for students to follow in both emergency and non-emergency situations when the school counselor is not available?
What steps will you take to recognize and mitigate the confidentiality limits you may face as virtual/distance school counselors? Remember to follow your school and district policies for online services/activities, accessing student information and using online platforms.
How will you educate students on ways to participate in the relationship with the virtual/distance school counselor? Develop methods to minimize or prevent potential misunderstandings that could occur due to a lack of visual and verbal cues or the inability to read body language.
Are you using school and district online platforms to communicate with students? Do not use your personal phones. If a communications method is not readily available, work with your school and district administration to find a solution.
Are you providing as much information on the school counseling website as possible? You should be prepared to update it frequently.
Providing Direct Student Services
Should you be forced to develop alternative methods for providing direct services to students, prioritize the most critical academic, career and social/emotional lessons while continuing to teach the school counseling curriculum as much as possible. Because the uncertainty of working in a new environment will bring heightened stress to students, emphasize the following:
Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being.
Self-confidence in ability to succeed, manage transitions and adapt to changing situations and responsibilities
Effective coping and personal safety skills
Social maturity and behavior that is appropriate to the situation and environment.
You also should encourage families to use appropriate online resources to enhance the students’ ongoing academic, career and social/emotional development.
Providing Indirect Student Services
If you are providing indirect services to students, you should make a concentrated effort to educate the school community on how to best reach you. Use email and any available school/district online platforms and resources to consult and collaborate with families, teachers, administrators and other school staff. Provide resources on how to receive mental health, social/emotional and physical well-being support on your website.
PBIS World Educators can search by student behavior to find interventions to help support each student.
Intervention Central Intervention Central provides teachers, schools and districts with free resources to help struggling learners and implement Response to Intervention and attain the Common Core State Standards.
Helping Students with School Anxiety To help you manage anxiety in your students, Rogers provides a comprehensive set of educational tools, helpful articles, anxiety-reducing exercises, and the new “Anxiety in Schools” podcast.
Ramp Up to Readiness Ramp-Up to Readiness™ is a school-wide guidance program designed to increase the number and diversity of students who graduate from high school with the knowledge, skills, and habits necessary for success in a high-quality college program.
MN Common Course Catalogue The Minnesota Common Course Catalogue (MCCC) is a course classification and data collection system intended to provide uniform information about courses that are taught by Minnesota teachers and completed by Minnesota students. The MCCC is being implemented to meet state and federal requirements.
Padlet You get a blank page (a wall), put anything you want on it, anywhere. Then you can share it with a class and use it as a discussion board.
Learning for Justice A place for educators to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools
Lifehacker’s Career Spotlight An interview series on Lifehacker that focuses on jobs you might not hear much about. Jobs range from entry level to very specialized.
FAFSA EVERY documented student should apply for financial aid using the FAFSA. This application is free. It will in no way limit your financial assistance for school; it can only benefit you.
MN Dream Act and DACA Undocumented students can apply for financial assistance for college through the MN Dream Act. Follow the link for more details regarding how to apply and other educational financial supports for undocumented families.
Minnesota Dream Act Students who meet the criteria in the MN Dream Act will be eligible for the following benefits in-state resident tuition rates at public colleges and universities, state financial aid available to students who meet state residency requirements, and privately funded financial aid through public colleges and universities.
College Express A free, comprehensive college search tool in which students can create a personal profile to save information.
Big Future A College Board website dedicated to planning for the future.
You Can Go A College Board website designed to guide students who face barriers to college through the process of overcoming those barriers.
NCAA Eligibility Center Students who plan to pursue Division I or II athletics in college must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center in order to be academically eligible to participate. In addition, schools must register their courses with the Eligibility Center. Counselors are often the people responsible for registering courses.
NextStepU Helps students discover their path in colleges and careers. Provides a college search and scholarship search as well as future planning articles.
Have ethical questions? We are here to support you! Email [email protected] for free professional consultation.
Greetings!
As the MSCA committee on Professional and Ethical Standards & Human Relations, our goal is to help professional school counselors uphold the ethical standards of the profession. In order to do this part of our effort involves providing education and resources to help school counselors navigate the wide-ranging and often tricky ethical dilemmas that arise in schools. The purpose of this link is to provide you with helpful ethical and legal resources to support your work.
