Terese Jurgensen - Iowa Department of Education

Self-Care is a priority and a necessity  ~not a luxury ~  in the work we do!

It is our hope this School Counselor Update finds you well at the close of this unique and challenging  year. This is our fourth and final newsletter for this school year, and we look forward to providing this service again in 2020-2021.

I have really enjoyed writing it along with all of the outstanding professionals  included here. It has been our hope that the information included has been informative and helpful to your very important work.

In efforts to continually reflect and improve this newsletter, we have been fortunate to start an "Elementary Focus" section through Partnership with the Iowa School Counseling Association. We are excited to introduce Natalie Wilson, ISCA Board Member, who will be writing for the newsletter throughout next year, focusing on the work of Elementary School Counselors.

As we look forward to the 2020-2021 school year, if you are leaving your current work and taking a new position in another district, it would be super helpful if you could send me an email and let me know your new address. We have approximately 1,200 school counselors in Iowa, and I need all the help I can get!

In closing, I want to thank all of the wonderful people who have collaborated on this newsletter throughout the year.  Please know that as a department and through the newsletter we are thinking of all of you and appreciate all you do for students, staff, families and communities. Please remember to take time for yourself and for your family, 

Katherine Leggett - Iowa Work Force Development

Greetings from Future Ready Iowa! First and foremost, a huge thank you for all you are doing to help and support Iowa students and families this school year.  We know how important your work is and how it will continue to be critical to the success of Iowa youth. In an effort to support your work we want to again provide you with a couple of resources that may be helpful for youth and their families.

Iowa’s Career Coach – Students and adults can answer a few questions and be directed to information about related career opportunities to fit their interests and strengths right here in Iowa.

Iowa Earn and Learn – This website provides information about Registered Apprenticeship and the opportunities available to Iowans who want to earn and learn at the same time. Stay tuned to  Future Ready Iowa for updates on potential Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship funding.

If you have ideas of how Future Ready Iowa might be able create resources that support your work, please share with me,  Kathy Leggett, Future Ready Iowa Policy Advisor. 

Joe Collins - Iowa Department of Education

Work is underway to develop new promotional materials to showcase and explain the wide range of exciting opportunities available across industries in Iowa's growing and innovative information technology (IT) fields.

Virtual employer round tables for each region of the state were held throughout April to address regional and local needs and concerns with hiring a skilled tech workforce.

The final product is expected to be released in July. Similar statewide projects have been completed for other industries, including Health Science, Building Trades, and most recently Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics (TDL).

This project was developed in support of the Future Ready Iowa initiative, through a public/private partnership between the Iowa Department of Education, Technology Association of Iowa, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council. 

For more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, Joe Collins, (515) 725-0646, Sector Partnership and Career Pathways Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges.

Katy Blatnick-Gagne - Iowa Department of Education

The goal of Iowa’s ICAP is to create a system focused on the student experience and preparation for postsecondary success. This will be achieved through measures which prompt a more holistic, integrated approach to the delivery of career guidance and a process more rooted in meaningful student activities and experiences.

While each district is required to use an approved Career Information System (CIS), experiences do not have to be limited to those systems. ICAP experiences should take place throughout the entire school year during students’ 8th-12th grade years.

As we near the end of the unique school year, many districts have contacted the Department about the ICAP requirements for the school year. Guidance was released stating that due to cancellation of events and school closures, students may not be able to complete components within the ICAP. Some activities could be completed within the district's career information system, and it is a local district decision to assign those lessons. School districts will submit the data that is available in September when the CSIP is completed in CASA. There is no penalty for not having all students complete ICAP components for the 2019-2020 school year.

Keep in mind that a District should be reviewing and updating (when needed) its ICAP District Plan. This plan should include activities that take place during the school year allowing students to meet the ICAP requirements before the end of the school year.

Christina M. Sibaouih - 
Division Administrator, Community Engagement

Iowa College & Career Readiness Academy: Registration is open for the June courses, including 101, 201, 301, and 501. Classes may be taken for license renewal or graduate credit, or for no credit (free). Course descriptions and registration are available. Space is limited!

May is College Decision Day! High schools around the state will be celebrating their students' postsecondary decisions. Iowa College Aid is offering various supports for virtual celebrations this year. Although COVID-19 has caused some setbacks, Iowa College Aid is pursuing the opportunities in regards to completing the college-going process. We're working with students and school counselors to ensure FAFSAs get completed and students are prepared for their next steps.

Course to College: Registration is open for the 2020-2021 Course to College program. Iowa College Aid provides the essential support and resources for schools to cultivate a college-going culture from college preparedness through the transition to higher education. 

AmeriCorps Student Leaders: Do you know a student who may be interested in supporting their classmates’ postsecondary paths? AmeriCorps Student Leaders serve as peer mentors to assist students in their high schools to complete the necessary steps to enroll and attend college. Each Course to College Partner School can nominate up to 2 students to serve their school. The student must be 17 or older to serve. 

Texting Program: Rising seniors and their parents can now sign up to receive text messages from Iowa College Aid's virtual college coach. Text messages include personalized reminders to complete certain college-going tasks, as well as the opportunity to connect with a college coach for advice and assistance throughout the college-going process. 

Sheryl Cline, President

The Iowa School Counselor Association board has been working diligently to bring on-demand professional development and networking to school counselors across the state over the past two months. We will continue to offer opportunities as situations arise. Membership in ISCA is not required to participate in these activities, as we believe it is crucial to get this information to any and all school counselors across Iowa. However, if you have found these resources to be helpful, we encourage you to join and support ISCA.

Notification of events are being shared through our membership contact list, Listserv, and social media in addition to being posted under the Professional Development Tab on our website.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out to our board for assistance. Board members are listed on our website or you can reach out to us Iowa School Counselor's Association. 

Natalie Wilson

I cannot tell you how proud and excited I am to be in the company of amazing Iowa elementary school counselors! My first thought to share is, "I want to quickly remind you that you are doing enough." You are showing up for yourself, your families, and schools." The best piece of advice that stuck with me recently was  "Do what is best for your demographics." There are resources everywhere you turn, but you know what is best for your students and families right now.

Utilize ASCA’s templates and resources to organize your year-long program as our most important work next year will be personal connection focused around meeting students where they are at.

Lastly, advocate for your role with Ethical Standards laid out for you. We are mighty, but we can’t do this work alone and are called to stay within our boundaries and scope of practice. Thank you for all you do!
I am excited to serve on the School Counselor Update. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

Sue Schirmer - Heartland AEA

Greetings! Many of you are looking for some on-demand, on-line learning at this time, and I am excited to announce the self-paced course for Counselor Academy is ready to go. It is titled ASCA Model 4.0 and is offered through the AEA Learning Online training system (where you take mandatory reporter). I created two courses: one for two license renewal credits and one that is free to Iowa educators, but offers no credit.

This is something that can be started and stopped; worked on with a team or individual. Please share with colleagues, and help me spread the word!

No credit module option: ASCA Model 4.0

Relicensure Credit course: ASCA Model 4.0 - 2 Credits

David Ford - Director

AEA PREP, in partnership with Iowa’s Office of Latino Affairs and many other local and statewide organizations, is excited to introduce the Iowa Latinos Can Coalition! Latinos Can is a statewide initiative that strives to eliminate the educational attainment gap for Latino students in Iowa by creating systems change which will aid Latino students in earning a postsecondary education. Latinos Can has produced a number of resource materials for educators, students and families in both English and Spanish, including:

Bilingual Video Series Addressing Latino Education in Iowa

School Guide about the educational system in Iowa with Spanish and English versions.

Save the Date! Saturday, October 24 - Latino Education Fair - Request for Proposals will be coming soon on the Latinos Can website!

Brit Morey - Director of Communications

ICAN is working hard to ensure students, parents, and educators continue to have access to the planning resources they need to achieve success.

Though our offices are closed and we aren’t traveling to communities, ICAN has transitioned all of its services online. We are offering virtual appointments to students and continuing our one-on-one advising services for families. We are utilizing Facebook Live Monday-Thursday at 2 pm and doing Q&A sessions on a variety of topics, some on our own and some with a panel of guest speakers. We are also offering our traditional presentations in webinar format - some open to all and some offered to specific schools.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday a free webinar is offered at 1 pm and streamed on our Facebook page.We also have a website full of resources and are committed to continuing to assist students and our school counselor partners meet your needs.

Virtual appointments - Schedule an Appointment

Facebook Live - ICAN Facebook

Webinar schedule and seminar recordings - ICAN Videos 

We are working on resources for our elementary and middle school counselors so stay tuned. Please subscribe to our ICAN e-alerts and we’ll keep the resources coming. If you need something, please reach out to me, Brit Morey. Director of Communications.