Are school counselors too realistic or overly optimistic? This week we hear from Arizona School Counselor of the Year Kristina Guy who answers that question by believing ALL of her students are college capable but in need of guidance to ensure they consider multiple pathways to reach their end goals.

For Jillian Fackenthal, recognition as Florida’s School Counselor of the Year means thinking differently, collaborating with others, and involving students in finding solutions – even when success is measured in nontraditional ways.

Transitioning from being a teacher to a school counselor is not uncommon. But for School Counselor of the Year Belinda Tutor, it was a calling that has opened new doors of opportunity for her and her students.

Todd Schimmell is not your typical School Resource Officer (SRO). Not only can he handle tough situations he is also an author, an illustrator, and a great benefit to the school district’s school counseling program.

Listen as Indra Owens, school counselor at Chelsea Heights School in Atlantic City and the 2020 New Jersey School Counselor of the Year, shares her personal passion to educate, engage, empower, and equip families with the tools they need to take advantage of social-emotional and mental health supports.

Political discourse around social-emotional learning has risen to a fever pitch in some communities around the country. One way to lower the temperature is to do what Stephanie Stewart Bridges does, keep the focus on students.

We begin a series of podcasts focused on school counselor of the year candidates including some, like Kimberly Raymond, who share their success with real and not-so-real helpers.

Helping students become aware of when things are working right, or the way they want them to work, is a principle concept of brief counseling. This week’s guest Carey Hughes shares the perfect example of putting this principle into practice with students.

If you’ve ever thought, ‘I wonder how well mindfulness techniques actually work in the classroom,’ listen in this week as Oklahoma School Counselor Specialist Sarah Kirk shares two stories of the ways in which mindfulness has benefited students AND teachers.

Dr. Russell Sabella is our storyteller again this week, with three essential lessons learned from a group of boys about how to keep students who are ‘at-promise’ engaged.