This open call for nominations is an opportunity for PSSCA members to have direct influence on our member-driven organization. PSSCA members are welcome to nominate yourself or colleagues with their approval.  Access the Nomination Form electronically by clicking the link above. The deadline for submitting nominations is November 12, 2019.  Qualified PSSCA members will conduct all voting via an online ballot. 

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PSSCA is pleased to announce a Call for Nominations for PSSCA Advocate of the Year.  Nominations are due November 1st, 2019. To view the nomination form go to https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/other-awards

PSSCA is pleased to announce a Call for Nominations for the 2020 PSSCA School Counselor of the Year. Nominations are due November 1st, 2019. To view the nomination form, go to: https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/nominate

Bullying happens.

It will likely happen every day somewhere in Greenville County Schools. A WYFF News 4 investigation found that last year there were more than 180 reports of bullying on the district’s hotline or bully reporting app.

The app is installed on each of the district Chromebooks.

Reports were filed from 45 different schools.

The majority of the reports involved middle schools in the district.

While it doesn’t mean there was no bullying in the school, there were no reports filed at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School.

“Clearly it is an issue,” said the school’s counselor, Deb Blume. “But sometimes I feel like if we would all focus more on educating students about empathy and compassion, we might get a lot farther than focusing on the negative things that are happening.”

Blume is the South Carolina counselor of the year.

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Results from a study with school counselors at a state conference in Ohio suggested school counselors who saw the term “guidance counselor” were statistically significantly less likely to believe school counselors were able to perform the 25 tasks on the survey. Each of the items on the survey was created using content from the 2018 ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies Draft (ASCA, 2018a) and/or the 2016 CACREP Standards (CACREP, 2016), specifically the Section 5 Entry Level Specialty Area related to School Counseling standards. In other words, participants perceived those with the title “guidance counselor” as less competent to do the job described in the survey.

School counselors perceive their own competence differently based on the title they use to describe their professional role. When school counselors use “guidance counselor” to describe the work that they do...

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Congratulations to Anderson School District Five for being recognized for their outstanding work with their Professional Learning Plan.  Read more here. 

PSSCA awarded several mini-grants to SC School Counselors to provide funding for implementation of activities and programs mirroring the ASCA National Model Standards.  

Congratulations to Jordan Miller at Grove Elementary School in Greenville County!

PSSCA awarded several mini-grants to SC School Counselors to provide funding for implementation of activities and programs mirroring the ASCA National Model Standards.  

Congratulations to Gilbert Primary School Counseling Department!

Pictured left to right: Zan Tracy Pender (Lexington One Director of School Counseling and PSSCA Executive Director),

Mackenzie Hall (GPS School Counselor), Amber McMillan (GPS School Counselor), and Will Moody (GPS Principal)

Hello,

I am Maria Grovner, School Counseling Coordinator for Atlanta Public Schools, but also President-Elect for Georgia School Counselor Association.  I wanted to share with you that our 2019 Annual Conference will be held very close to South Carolina this year in Augusta, GA, Nov. 13-15, 2019. Since it’s so close to South Carolina, we would love to extend an invitation to South Carolina School Counselors to attend, especially if they work/live within a reasonable distance. More information can be found on our website via this link. Counselors can create a guest account and register for the special rate we are extending specifically for the South Carolina School Counselors.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on my cell number below. I look forward to the possibility of meeting you and others of your delegation at the ASCA state leaders meeting this summer.

Maria Grovner

678-492-4523

PSSCA awarded several mini-grants to SC School Counselors to provide funding for implementation of activities and programs mirroring the ASCA National Model Standards.  

Congratulations to Midland Valley High School Counseling Department!

Pictured left to right: Amy Moak (MVHS school counselor), Kim Ryans (MVHS lead counselor), Jessica Thomas (MVHS school counselor & primary grant recipient), and Sharon Worley (ACPSD Coordinator for Counseling & Career Services/PSSCA Board Member)