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Aug. 20, 2020

NYSSCA UPDATE

Back to Work ASCA As the 2020-2021 school year begins, ASCA continues to develop and share resources to help you navigate the new environment. We hope you've reviewed the ASCA Back-to-School Resources, which were launched last week. You'll find a number of resources there, including what ASCA standards say about the school counselor's particular role in school reentry, as well as school reentry considerations and guidelines, collecting data in a virtual environment, engaging in anti-racism work and more. READ MORE

Register Early! – Innovation through Collaboration! NYSSCA 2020 Conference NYSSCA Registration and other details available now!! READ MORE

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NYSSCA Awards 2020 NYSSCA As we enjoy some 'down time' during the summer, I encourage you to reflect upon the successes you and your colleagues have had in supporting students and building comprehensive programs that are data driven and student centered. Looking through this lens of skills, programs and leadership, please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for one of the NYSSCA Annual Awards. School Counselor of the Year Instructions School Counselor of the Year Application Administrator of the Year Application (scroll down) Outstanding Program, Practice or Project Application (scroll down) Career Achievement Award Application Leadership Grant Application The deadline for all nominations is October 15, 2020, and award recipients will be announced at the NYSSCA Annual Conference on November 12-14, 2020, at the Turning Stone Resort, Verona NY. If you have any questions, please contact us at: 937-9-NYSSCA or 937-969-7722.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

CDC updates K-12 face mask guidance, recommends plan to prevent bullying District Administration Magazine The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance concerning the use of cloth face masks in K-12 schools. To mitigate the novel coronavirus pandemic, the federal agency recommends people wear cloth face coverings, not face shields, in public settings and when around people who live outside their household, especially when social distancing is difficult to maintain. The Aug. 11 update includes a recommendation that schools have a plan in place to prevent and address harmful behavior, such as bullying, discrimination, and stigmatization resulting from wearing or not wearing masks. READ MORE

What school counselors want parents to know this year Romper School counselors are the understated superheroes of schools. They’re always there to lend advice, provide a shoulder to cry on, and to serve as motivators for students. Since they do give such wonderful and thoughtful advice and are fierce advocates for our children, what school counselors want parents to know this year could give you some serious relief. It doesn't matter what school looks like for your family this year, whether it's digital, in-person, or some kind of hybrid. What matters is that your children feel safe and loved and protected, according to counselors. READ MORE

The opportunity and counseling corps: Helping K-12 students and young adults recover from the coronavirus crisis Center for American Progress As the coronavirus spread this winter and spring, nearly all of the United States' 55 million school-aged children saw their schools close. Families did the best they could to balance work, financial instability, family life and efforts to continue their children's learning while distanced from friends, teachers, extended families and support networks. Policymakers, school leaders, public health officials and families are now staring down difficult decisions about how to start the coming school year. And with COVID-19 diagnoses increasing in many regions, it is likely that disruptive and traumatic school closures could continue in order to keep children, educators and communities safe from COVID-19. READ MORE

Taking a stand against discriminatory school policies Edutopia The recent civil unrest in the country that began as protests against police brutality have led to society taking a closer look at all forms of systemic racism, including in education. Racist policies have greatly attributed to the huge disparity in suspension rates between Black students and their White counterparts. Several studies note that this disparity does not reflect higher rates of misbehavior among Black children. READ MORE

Report: Students struggled during spring closures THE Journal A national survey of students in grades 5-12 found that when it came to the spring school closures, the kids aren't necessarily all right. Large numbers were able to navigate the mechanics of accessing and turning in their schoolwork (87% and 79%, respectively). Nearly six in 10 (57%) said they spent more time than usual on activities they enjoyed. And half reported that they were able to focus on their learning. READ MORE

MULTIBRIEFS EXCLUSIVE COVID-19, children, and existential fear By Keith Carlson As the summer of 2020 wanes and the school year begins, there is understandable fear, confusion, and existential dread regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Myriad questions remain unanswered regarding how to keep our students, teachers, and staff safe amidst the desire to regain some semblance of a normal educational experience. Debates, lawsuits, and mixed governmental messages rage on, and uncertainty is the order of the day. Where do we go from here? READ MORE

How to give kids a quality education while tending to their social & emotional needs in this pandemic? The 74 The politically and emotionally charged debate over whether to open schools has left little room for discussion about equitable, high-quality teaching and learning. While the health and safety of staff and students must remain the top priority, the stakes around instruction for the 2020-2021 school year have never been higher. Despite educators' herculean efforts in the spring, internet access issues, families' varying capacity to support their children, language barriers and the need to shift to remote learning on a dime resulted in disrupted and unfinished learning for students across the country. READ MORE

5 insights into students' mental states during COVID District Administration Magazine Older students and those in the Black, Latinx and LGBTQ communities are suffering higher rates of depression and anxiety during COVID and online learning, the latest Youth Truth survey has found. Just more than half of high school students reported feeling emotionally impacted by COVID, compared to 39% of elementary school students. High school students were also less likely than younger children to say they learned something almost every day. READ MORE

School reopening thresholds vary widely across the country U.S. News & World Report New York City schools can reopen for in-person learning as long as coronavirus positivity rates in the city stay below 3%, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said. In Tennessee's Shelby County, which includes Memphis and neighboring suburbs, schools can open for in-person instruction as long as the positivity rate in the area stays below 25%, the county health department outlined in new guidance. In Arizona, where students began the school year virtually, the state health department published guidance for schools districts seeking to reopen in-person that recommend they maintain for two weeks a positivity rate in the district below 7%, a decline in the number of cases and a hospital admission rate due to COVID-like symptoms of 10% or less. READ MORE

How enhanced edtech platforms address remote learning challenges eSchool News As schools and colleges across the U.S. continue to explore ways to safely bring students back to the classroom in the fall, many are looking into how they can leverage enhanced edtech solutions to assist both in-person and remote learning scenarios — in case of another potential COVID-19 wave. With a widely-available vaccine not predicted for at least another 12 to 18 months, it is vital for educational system leaders to continue to turn to effective, advanced edtech platforms designed to empower their educators to continue propelling students toward success while addressing the challenges of social distancing, and even future quarantines. READ MORE

How schools can help children recover from COVID closures Language Magazine COVID-19 has created an unprecedented challenge for America's K-12 schools. As policymakers and practitioners struggle to respond, they are weighing significant uncertainty and trade-offs that arise because of education, health, and budgetary concerns. The consensus is that students learned less during the spring's school building closures, and the learning losses were especially great for students with less access to devices, internet, quiet study areas, home and community resources and those with learning challenges. READ MORE

Summer reading: How deep will learning losses be as students return? Education DIVE Under normal circumstances, a new academic year would come with the some expectation of summer learning losses that would need to be addressed, particularly for low-income students less likely to have access to books, robust enrichment opportunities and other educational resources during the break. This year, however, districts nationwide are expecting those losses to be compounded by school shutdowns during the spring due to coronavirus. READ MORE

NYSSCA Today   Connect with NYSSCA Dennis Hall, Director of Publishing, 469-420-2656 | Download media kit Hailey Golden, Senior Education Editor, 469-420-2630 | Contribute news New York State School Counselor Association P.O. Box 217 | Leicester, NY 14481 937-969-7722 | Contact Us | www.nyssca.org Click here to unsubscribe. Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. ADVERTISE SUBSCRIBE PAST ISSUES 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX, 75063