Voice of the School Counselor - Texas Counseling Association

A COFFEE CHAT WITH THE COUNSELOR
by Dr. Leon Kilpatrick, Counselor Educator, Vice President, Counselor Supervisor, Dallas ISD
With all that is being put on our work plate as counselors, it is difficult to keep up with the key
foundation in what we do as counselors which is building relationships with our stakeholders.
With a fast track schedule almost on a daily basis, sometimes just being able to return a phone call
within 24 hours can be a major effort. This is especially true with parents who are also on the go but
expect an immediate return phone call from you about their child/children. One practice to help establish
and maintain a relationship with parents is to have a set time and campus location to simply meet with
parents over coffee (or tea). This informal meeting, coffee chat, would be a time to dialogue with parents about counseling
concerns with their child/children. No agenda or appointment is needed. Your coffee chat with the parent could be
held before or after school depending on your unique campus needs and resources. The coffee chat could be as short
as 15 minutes one or two days a week. This might be particularly useful for parents of upper classmen who may also be
very busy and not have the time to meet for a parent conference but still have a need to have an answer to an important,
yet quick question. One suggestion to help establish the best time to have your coffee chat is to include the question on
your Counseling Needs Assessment Survey or take a poll at parent meetings such as the PTA. The bottom line is to
establish a forum in which you can build new relationships and maintain old relationships with parents while chatting over
a cup of coffee. Providing such a forum on a consistent basis can help reduce phone calls from parents or the need to
return calls during the work day. Also, it gives you the opportunity to communicate in person with a key stakeholder who
has a vested interest in the academic success of your student, the parent.
Funding is available! ‘Get Connected’ to the
Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN)!
By Laura I. Hodges, MA, LPC-S, NCC, ACS
In Senate Bill 1788, the 80th Texas Legislature established a state virtual school network to provide online courses for
Texas students. The Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) began serving students in January 2009 with a fee-based catalog of
foundation courses.
State virtual school allotment funds
The 81st Texas Legislature created a ‘state virtual school allotment’ in House Bill 3646. This funding can be used to
pay for online courses taken through TxVSN that students have successfully completed. In order to be eligible for access to
state virtual school allotment funds, the online course must:
• satisfy a curriculum requirement for the student’s graduation
• be provided through the TxVSN, and
• be part of the student’s normal course load. Additional funding for courses taken outside
the normal course load is also available.
A student has successfully completed a course when they have achieved a final grade of 70 or better, and have completed
all required course activities and assessments. When these requirements have been met, then the course provider (the entity
teaching the online course) will receive $400 in allotment funds, and the receiving district or open enrollment charter school
where the student is enrolled will receive $80. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) Finance division will electronically deposit
allotment funds for successfully completed courses into a district’s account in a timely manner.
Increased academic opportunities
There are a variety of online courses available to students through TxVSN. Foundation and elective courses, Advanced
Placement® and dual credit courses are all available in the TxVSN course catalog. These courses are provided by public
school districts, open enrollment charter schools, educational service centers, or colleges and universities. Each course has
undergone a rigorous course review to ensure that each course is 100% TEKS-aligned and also aligned with the International
Association for K-12 Online Learning’s National Standards of Quality for Online Courses. High school courses are led by a
Texas certified instructor in the subject area taught who has completed TxVSN-approved professional development in online
instruction.
(Cont. from Page 4)
District and Open
Enrollment Charter
Participation
4 5
29
193
335
420
District participation
As depicted in the chart, district participation in the TxVSN continues to
grow. The opportunity to take a TxVSN online course has provided academic
opportunities for students not previously available to some districts and open
enrollment charter schools, as well as allowing for flexibility in scheduling due to
master schedule constraints.
Is online learning the best option for a student?
It is important to find out if students have the knowledge, attributes, and
Spring 2009
Spring 2010
Summer 2010
skills necessary to be successful in an online course. TxVSN provides SmarterMeasure
at no cost to each district completing the TxVSN district registra-
Fall 2010
September 30, 2010
tion process. SmarterMeasure is a web-based pre-assessment that can assist
districts in seeing what types of support a student may need in order to be successful in a course. Additionally, this pre-assessment
can also help students see what they need to do to support their own success in online learning. Self motivation, time
management skills, persistence, and on screen reading rate and recall are just a few of the areas included on a summary report
that is provided upon student completion of the pre-assessment. Carefully matching student skills to the online learning environment
helps ensure an appropriate academic setting for the student.
How does a district ‘get connected’ to TxVSN?
All districts and open enrollment charter schools are invited to visit the TxVSN website at www.txvsn.org . Regularly
scheduled informational and training webinars are available, as well as TETN sessions which may be accessed through regional
education service centers. Additionally, the TxVSN Help Desk may be contacted at 1-866-938-9876 or emailed at txvsncentral@txvsn.org.
National School
Counseling Week 2011
by Michael Kaprelian, President-Elect
National School Counseling Week 2011 will be celebrated the week of February
7 through 11, 2011. This event is a week-long celebration to focus public attention on
the unique contribution of professional school counselors and our role in promoting
academic success, career development, as well as the social and emotional development of
the students we serve. Sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), National
School Counseling Week provides an effective means of educating stakeholders about the vital work of the
school counselor.
If you don’t already have an account on the ASCA SCENE, now is an excellent time to set one up in order to follow
the discussion of ideas for celebrating National School Counseling Week. To help you promote the week, ASCA has developed
many materials and documents, a number of which are free. To order any of the other materials, place your order
online at www.schoolcounselor.org. Orders must be placed by January 28, 2011, to ensure timely delivery. Some of the
items available for free include a Proclamation for your governor, superintendent, mayor or other dignitary to sign, morning
announcements, and a Certificate of Appreciation to help you show your appreciation to those faculty members, parents
and other stakeholders who help you promote your school counseling program throughout the year. Among the items
available for sale are posters, pencils and stickers.
Take advantage of the resources provided by our national organization to promote National School Counseling Week
2011, and the vital work you do on a daily basis to promote success for all students.