Inspiring School Counselors

What does it take to be recognized as school counselor of the year? For School Counselor and College and Career Coordinator Lydia McNeiley, it’s a mixture of continual improvement, student advocacy, and de-processing at the end of the day by singing your favorite songs in the car on the way home, as loud as you can. Listen in as Lydia shares more on these and other ways she promotes student success.

Enjoy a lively conversation with three school counselors from Indiana whose corporation-wide service learning program for students at ALL grade levels– called Triton Gives Back – has become quite successful. You’ll also learn what role Hugh Jackman and Robert Downey Jr. played in the program’s success!

For something different, we asked school counselors to tell us what resources they felt no school counselor should do without, and to have a little fun with it. The resulting answers make for an enjoyable podcast and a wonderful Christmas list for the hard-to-shop-for-school counselor (but good luck finding THESE items!).

Affinity is defined as a “similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship.” Using this definition, the American School Counselor Association has formed “affinity groups” for new school counselors, rural school counselors, and many more, including a school counselors of color affinity group. Aimee Portteus shares a conversation this week with high school counselor Lukas Mendoza to learn more about his involvement in ASCA’s School Counselors of Color Affinity Group.

Every day when you return home from school, wouldn’t it be great if you were engaged in an activity that you love, keeps you fit, AND continues to benefit students? Michigan School Counselor Kelsey Smith has managed that unique balance, and shares the secret sauce of her success this week with Aimee Portteus. About Kelsey […]

With only five years under her belt as school counselor in Texas, Ashley Wright has already been recognized as an outstanding school counselor. Listen in this week to discover the two resources Ashley says are key to her success, her practical tips on working with teachers and community partners, and why her students lovingly refer to her as Counselor DJ Ash-Bash!

When you have worked as a teacher, coach, and administrator for almost 20 years you learn what works and what doesn’t. This week, our guest Alisa Kaczorowski shares the practical tips she has learned about what works with trauma-informed care.

With much enthusiasm, guest school counselor Lezlie DelVecchio-Marks shares with us how the growth mindset has not only helped her students but herself, the challenges of achieving RAMP, and the many practical ways she fosters “connections” with her students.

Guest School Counselor Marianne Matt describes why her high school students love the Accuplacer (yes, really), a favorite time-saving trick, and her rediscovered habit of journaling.

Join us for a brief message as we take a summer break after a long school year and share a few upcoming changes to the podcast, including how YOU can be a part of the new Inspire School Counselors podcast coming this fall.