Terese Jurgensen Iowa Department of Education 

“Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or the things we do. Life is beautiful because of the people we meet.” (Simon Sinek)

Welcome to our first School Counselor Update! The Iowa Department of Education is thrilled to partner with multiple stakeholders and quarterly share out information to support the work of school counselors across the great State of Iowa. For the 2019-2020 school year, please mark your calendars for future newsletters on November 19th, February 4th (School Counselor Appreciation Week!) and April 14th. Through this venue, we will share out a variety of topics to continually support school counselors and Iowa schools ensuring: All learners are safe, healthy, engaged and prepared.

My name is Terese Jurgensen, and it is my honor to support School Counselors, Bullying/Harassment and MTSS/PBIS for the Department of Education. The IDOE website is filled with fantastic resources for school counselors, and I have linked Important issues such as mental health, bullying/harassment supports and trauma informed care for your convenience. Great resources and Information regarding Social Emotional Learning have just been updated and can be found on the middle of the page under the School Climate Transformation Grant.

I also want to share that we have developed a new School Counselor webpage. It has many resources including professional learning for local, state and national conventions; links to the BOEE for school counselor credentials; colleges who offer school counseling licenses; K-12 Articulated, Sequential Implementation of Counseling Programs and much more!

Please share this newsletter with school staff and parents, students and community members who will benefit from these resources. I would also welcome any feedback, questions or suggestions for future newsletters. We are here to serve you and your voice is important!

Thank you to all of the agencies and committed staff who have worked hard, contributed and shared valuable resources to create this newsletter. Your work and the work of every School Counselor in Iowa is greatly appreciated and valued by the Iowa Department of Education.

Jake Welchans - Iowa Department of Education 

Looking to give your students more real-world, hands-on experiences to make your classroom even more relevant? You’ll want to check out the Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning, where you can connect your students with a business project.

This isn’t pointless busy work, but real projects requiring real outcomes.

There’s a whole range of projects on the clearinghouse that could readily match up to what you are teaching in class – anything from math to social studies to science – and more. For instance, one non-profit organization is seeking students to interview people for an oral history project. Some chambers of commerce want students to help them market their towns.

Though most projects are for older students, there are some that seek out grade-school students, too. Many projects will be done online.

Download a poster to hang in your office or classroom! 

The projects are designed to give students a deeper-level of learning, making your classroom content come alive. It also enables students to test-drive various careers and college paths.

Projects change regularly so you will want to come back to the website on an ongoing basis to see new projects being offered.

Kristy Volesky - Iowa Department of Education

The Iowa Intermediary Network is a statewide effort to connect schools (and teachers) with local businesses. Intermediaries can provide a great starting point with their existing relationships and experiences with area businesses. Intermediaries are already helping Iowa students with the opportunity to learn about their interested career path through career fairs, job shadows, industry tours, internships and other great opportunities with employers. If you haven’t connected with your Intermediary yet, now is a great opportunity to provide students with the opportunity to prepare for their future. Find and connect with an Intermediary in your area.

Iowa Health Science Work-Based Learning Toolkit - A new resource released in coordination with the Iowa Intermediary Network to serve as a guide for Iowa’s health care providers, educators and community support partners interested in developing or improving health science work-based learning opportunities in their communities. Specific industry considerations, recommendations and examples of successful work-based learning programs across the state in healthcare institutions. This project supports the Future Ready Iowa initiative through a partnership between the Iowa Hospital Association, Iowa Health Care Association, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Iowa Department of Education, following a Career Pathways project.

Katy Blatnick-Gagne - Iowa Department of Education

Hello! My name is Katy Blatnick-Gagné, and I am an Education Consultant in the Bureau for Career and Technical Education at the Iowa Department of Education. At the department, my responsibilities include general Career and Technical Education topics, Health Science programs and I am the lead coordinator for Career and Academic Planning.

I am a product of CTE, starting by taking CTE courses in both middle and high school along with being a state officer for the FHA/HERO (now FCCLA) student organization. After graduating from Colorado State University with a Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) degree, I had the opportunity to teach in high schools and a community college. I received my doctorate in Educational Technology and moved to Lubbock, Texas where I was the Director of the Family and Consumer Sciences Curriculum Center at Texas Tech University.

I am excited to bring these experiences and my passion to share and support the work of school counselors across Iowa. Learn more on the Career and Academic Planning webpage.

Christina M. Sibaouih - 
Division Administrator, Community Engagement

Iowa College Aid remained busy this summer getting ready for the new school year to start. We are happy to highlight a few of our programs designed to assist students and their families with planning, preparing and paying for college. Now is a great time to order Your Course to College publication. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to help you and your students be successful this year.

Course to College registration is still open. Weekly collaboration calls began on Wednesday, August 28th. September is the time for students to begin preparing and submitting their college applications. Keep an eye out for partner schools to have an opportunity to apply for mini-grants designed to help support Course to College initiatives.

Course to College AmeriCorps Program is currently recruiting College Access Coaches and Student Leaders to serve in partner high schools throughout the state providing one-on-one assistance to seniors with the Course to College steps.

Iowa College & Career Readiness Academy is Iowa’s only online interactive college and career courses, developed by our state’s professionals and based on current data. The Academy is open to anyone working in the college access field. Participants earn a certificate and can earn license renewal or graduate credit. New classes begin on 11/11/19.

Sheryl Cline, President

The new school year is always an exciting time as we meet new students and get back into a routine at school. I hope that you all had time over the summer to relax and refresh yourself to start the new year prepared and excited!

ISCA’s mission is to “advance the academic, career and social-emotional development of all students through excellence in professional school counseling.” We provide a number of professional development opportunities for school counselors, including members-only webinars, newly updated Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors, annual conference, and resources database on our website Iowa School Counselors Association. Please take time to check out our website to find these things and more!

Registration is currently open for the 2019 Iowa School Counselor Association Conference “All-In for Student Success” at Prairie Meadows on November 3-5th. We hope you are able to join us!

The Iowa School Counselor Association would like to thank the IDOE and all collaborating members of this School Counselor Update!

David Ford - Director

Welcome back Iowa School Counselors! AEA Postsecondary Readiness & Equity Partnership (PREP) is excited to continue its efforts in supporting school counselors to increase the number of students attaining a postsecondary credential with an eye on first generation, low-income, Hispanic/Latino, Black/African-American, and students with disabilities. Have you seen your school’s post-secondary PREP Trendline? Check it out!

AEA PREP has partnered with the Iowa Latino Affairs to create Latinos CAN, the first statewide coalition focused solely on educational attainment for Iowa’s fastest growing demographic. More resources will be coming this fall following Latinos CAN official launch at the Iowa Hispanic Heritage Festival in September.

The U.S. News & World Report just released an article about FAFSA being required for high school graduation. It is now law in three states, with at least three more writing legislation for the upcoming year. FAFSA completion removes one of the most significant college access barriers - what are you doing to help your students complete? Do you have ideas or best practices to share how you are using your FAFSA Completion data to increase the completion rate at your high school? Share them by emailing me at dford@mbaea.org so we can highlight your work!

Look for AEA PREP at the ISCA Conference! Have a great start to the year!

Brittania Morey - Director of Communications

Greetings from Iowa College Access Network (ICAN)!

My name is Brittania Morey, and I am the Director of Communications for ICAN. I am so thrilled to part of this publication and to talk to you about the programs and opportunities to assist you in crafting the College and Career Readiness aspects of your school counseling programs.

ICAN offers services outlined in our website, www.icansucceed.org that is jam-packed with information to help students succeed.

ICAN is the leader in FAFSA completion assistance in Iowa through our FAFSA Ready Iowa events. We also host events such as the upcoming Golden Circle College and Career Fair, the largest in the state, on September 29 at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines. In addition to our student/family focused services, we also offer a variety of professional development opportunities, including 9-12 CCR curriculum.

If you need assistance with career and college readiness, visit www.icansucceed.org and explore our resources. Or reach out to me or any member of the ICAN team. We are here to serve you and your students.

The Iowa Department of Education is seeking nominations for outstanding high school seniors for the 2019-20 U.S. Presidential Scholars selection cycle. We encourage you to nominate students who, while demonstrating outstanding scholarship, might not otherwise be nominated through the current SAT/ACT, arts, or CTE recognition processes. If you have an outstanding high school senior deserving of consideration, submit a nomination through the Department’s online Presidential Scholar Nomination Form by Sept 30.

Department Director Ryan Wise will select 25 students (10 males, 10 females, and 5 in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) category) to submit to the U.S. Presidential Scholar Program for consideration. The 2020 Presidential Scholars will be selected by the Commission on Presidential Scholars and will receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion at a ceremony in their honor in Washington, DC. Reviewers will consider the following categories:

• Involvement and service (in school and community)
• Leadership and character
• Writing samples
• Academic achievements
• Discretionary points for extraordinary achievement, heavy workload, family responsibilities, or obstacles  overcome.

The CTE component of the program will honor students on the basis of outstanding scholarship and demonstrated ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Reviewers will consider the following categories:

• Mastery of technical skills
• Strength in teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving
• Real world application

Specific information to be included in each nomination is described on the Department’s online General Component Presidential Scholar Nomination form, or the CTE Component Presidential Scholar Nomination form. Nominations must be submitted no later than Sept. 30.

For questions regarding the nomination process, contact Deborah Darge at deborah.darge@iowa.gov or 515-242-6176. Read more about the Presidential Scholars Program.