TSCA President’s Report
Sat., Nov. 20, 2008
In July, I represented TSCA at Leadership Development Institute (LDI) training in Tucson. School counselors across the nation seem to be facing many of the same issues with most of the problems centering around counselor/student ratios. Many counselors are approaching retirement and positions continue to be left unfilled. This will likely be a problem for years to come with counselor educator programs graduating fewer counselors than demanded.
Other issues facing school counselors include added testing responsibilities. Many counselors assist in giving the tests as well as offer information regarding the assessment prior to testing and test interpretation when the results become available. Spring 2009 will begin mandatory ACT testing for 11th graders across the state of Tennessee. Personnel involved with testing will receive training in January.
New graduation requirements start with the current 8th grade class. Training regarding this change will be offered at the Counselor Institute sponsored by the State Department of Education. This will be held in February in Murfreesboro.
Counselors across the state and nation seem to be facing more and more situations stemming from text messaging and technology generated infractions. Anyone with effective strategies for dealing with any of the above issues is welcomed to share those through our list serv.
More and more, in the news, we hear of schools facing tragedies with weather, multiple deaths due to car crashes, and unusual health situations. Counselors who need assistance should feel free to put out a call on our list serv and hopefully someone in your area can come to your aide.
At the TSCA Luncheon during TCA Conference, counselors will be recognized. Check our website in upcoming weeks for pictures of the winners.
Respectfully submitted,
Gayle Gragg
TSCA President