May Updates

OK State Dept of Ed sent this bulletin at 05/02/2024 07:24 AM CDT

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May School Counselor Spotlight: Oklahoma School Counselor of the Year: Beth Mills, Shawnee Public Schools

Congratulations to Beth Mills - 2024 Oklahoma School Counselor of the Year!!

Beth Mills is the 2024-2025 Oklahoma School Counselor of the Year. She is one of three counselors at Shawnee Middle School.

Beth has led many initiatives during her career as a counselor, collaborating with stakeholders to make a significant impact on her students, their school, and district. She has also served three years on the Oklahoma School Counselor Association Board, and she was part of the state committee that shaped the Oklahoma Comprehensive School Counseling Framework.

A few of her achievements include creating morning videos to build relationships post-Covid called “Mondays with Mills” and implementing an after school program. “Wildcats After Hours” eventually became “Wolves After Hours” at her current school, which established a positive, safe environment where students could receive after-school homework support.

Beth is passionate about working with fellow counselors to make a positive impact on decreasing chronic absenteeism, increasing academic growth, and building strong relationships with all students and stakeholders. She is an advocate and champion for equity and systemic change, and we are so proud of all the hard work she has done. We look forward to her continued excellence and success!

We are honored to present Beth Mills as the Oklahoma School Counselor of the Year. She is an amazing representative for our state, and we wish her luck as she competes for the National School Counselor of the Year.

Graduation Checklists

We know that you are watching the progression of House Bill 3278 and the potential changes to graduation requirements. Since this bill is still active in the legislature, some details are still changing. OSDE is watching the bill and is ready to begin work on resources and trainings, provided the final version of the bill is voted into law. In the meantime, Graduation Checklists for 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 have been updated to include the new FAFSA requirement and are available on our Academic Advising page.

Generative AI for Educators Course

In Partnership with Grow with Google we are pleased to launch a no-cost Generative AI for Educators course, designed to help teachers build essential AI skills Generative AI for Educators is a two-hour, self-paced course designed to build teacher comfort and excitement in the use of AI tools to assist their professional practice. Developed by experts at Google, teachers will learn how using generative AI tools can help to save time on everyday tasks, differentiate instruction to meet student needs, enhance lessons and activities in creative ways, and more. Teachers earn a PDF certificate from the course, which they may be able to present to their district for CEUs for PD.

Sign up here to get started!

Work-Based Learning Opportunity

Hertz Global operates the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, and Firefly car rental brands in corporate and licensee locations throughout approximately 150 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and New Zealand! Hertz is also located right here in Oklahoma and would love to connect to your classroom to share experiences in their multiple departments that span from field operations and support to corporate roles! Request their Work-Based Learning services through Connect2Business or by emailing jessica.mollica@hertz.com

NEW! FAFSA GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

BEGINS 2024 – 2025
Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, in order to graduate from a public high school in Oklahoma, students must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Watch this video to learn more about the requirement, why the FAFSA is important, and the resources in place to support your efforts.

Oklahoma FAFSA Data Portal
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and Oklahoma College Assistance Program offer the Oklahoma FAFSA Data Portal (OK-FDP), a free online tool to help counselors, principals and mentors provide more targeted assistance to high school seniors as they complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Get started tracking FAFSA progress for your seniors today!

OK-FDP Flyer | OK-FDP Video

State Department of Education Resources
Resources from the State Department of Education, including a Frequently Asked Questions document, are available on the College & Career Readiness website: https://sde.ok.gov/college-career.

FAFSA is Open!

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open! Many state and private institutions, career technology centers, and some proprietary schools use FAFSA to determine a student's financial aid eligibility. This will include federal and state programs such as grants, work-study funds, scholarships, and federal student loans. As these deadlines approach, it’s important for students to complete and submit their FAFSA.

Applicants will need a Federal Student Aid ID to complete, sign, edit, & renew their FAFSA. Create your FSA ID at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch.The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education has created some great FAFSA completion resources:

Schedule a CCR Listening Session

Are you interested in discussing College and Career Readiness? Jennifer Peters, Program Manager of CCR, is keeping aside some time in the day for listening, sharing, and problem-solving with Local Education Agencies.

Have questions for Jennifer?
Schedule a meeting or send a message to Jennifer.Peters@sde.ok.gov

Is Work-Based Learning getting you down?

Fear not! Our College and Career Readiness Specialist, Meredith Dennis, will be heading efforts to support schools with developing and connecting students to quality Work-Based Learning experiences.

Have questions for Meredith?
Connect with her HERE to schedule a meeting or send a message to Meredith.Dennis@sde.ok.gov .

Mental Health Awareness Month - Recognizing the Needs of our Educators

Parents, students, administrators, and community members alike often use Teacher Appreciation Week as an opportunity to celebrate and honor educators who have made an impact on the lives of students, but it is also a great occasion to improve the lives of teachers, too.

How can we let our teachers know we believe in them, too? Check out May's Prevention Playbook for some ideas.

Download the Playbook

DMH toolkit for Child Abuse Prevention

Scan the QR code or Click the link below to access the Oklahoma Prevention Education Network (OPEN) Toolkit

OPEN's Mission: To promote sexual health and violence prevention and increase awareness among school aged youth. In addition, this subcommittee aims to provide education, support, guidance and training for anyone serving youth.

@OKOPENOPLC | Linktree

PREPaRE Crisis Response Training

SDE will continue to offer PREPaRE Crisis Response training to Oklahoma School Districts upon request. School districts will need to provide the funding for the curriculum to NASP. $45/person for Workshop 1 and $55/person for Workshop 2. SDE will continue to provide certified PREPaRE trainers to facilitate the curriculum for free.

Download Workshop Descriptions

Questions: Jackie Lindley - jackie.lindley@sde.ok.gov

Questions about Prevention & Intervention?

Have questions for Sheri?
Send a message to Sheri.Fleming@sde.ok.gov

Coffee with Counselors

Please join us Tuesday, May 7th at 9am for "Coffee with Counselors!" This is an informal time for school counselors from across our great state to come together for celebration, collaboration, and continued growth. We look forward to you joining us!

Register Here

OKMTSS Conference

Mark your calendars for the 2024 OKMTSS Conference this June at Rose State College.

Pre-Conference: June 24th - 12:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Conference: June 25th - 26th - 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

In-Person and Virtual options available.

Click to register: https:@OKSPDG | Linktree

Submit your proposal for the OSCA Conference!

The Oklahoma School Counselor Association is soliciting proposals for presentations promoting evidence-based programs in the domains of academic achievement, emotional growth, social development, career exploration, and post secondary planning. Presentations showcase best practices, current research, or skills of value to counselors, pre-K to postsecondary, as well as district personnel, graduate students and counselor educators.

More Information Here

Questions about Comprehensive School Counseling?

Have questions for Christi?
Send a message to Christi.Sturgeon@sde.ok.gov

Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. Here are some links to tools to use in May to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities who may need mental health support.

Functional Family Therapy

The Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs is offering the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program for highest at-risk youth and adjudicated youth in specific Oklahoma counties. FFT is an evidence-based treatment program designed to reduce at-risk behavior in adolescents with an 70%-80% effectiveness rate. FFT is the leading treatment to address adolescent substance use, delinquency, and family system change. FFT targets youth aged 11-18, younger siblings, and their parents/caregivers. Intervention ranges from, on average, 8 -12 one-hour sessions for mild cases and up to 30 sessions for more difficult situations. FFT is conducted over an approximate three-month period and is largely an in-home intervention that is provided at no cost to the family.

FFT is appropriate for youth ages 11-17 exhibiting frequent and high degrees of the following problematic behaviors: defiance of authority figures (home and school), aggressiveness toward other people, extreme sibling rivalry, running away, truancy, vandalism, negative peer association, poor academic performance, chronic absenteeism from school, frequent school suspensions/expulsions, current/history of arrest, bullying issues, gang affiliation, and or substance abuse.

Is FFT available to students in my county?

To learn if FFT is available in your county please click below. Counties are where FFT is available are highlighted in blue: Functional Family Therapy (FFT) (oklahoma.gov)

How to do I make a referral?

To make a referral, please reach out to your local county Office of Juvenile Affairs.

For the Juvenile Bureau counties of Camanche, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Canadian, please reach out your local Juvenile Bureau Office.

Questions about School-Based Mental Health?

Have questions for Rachael?
Send a message to rachael.hernandez@sde.ok.gov

^{**Inclusion of upcoming events in this newsletter does not constitute an endorsement by OSDE. The information provided is for general awareness purposes only. OSDE does not assume any responsibility for the content or outcomes of these events.}

Grant Funding Opportunity

Opportunity Labs, a national non-profit organization, is inviting school districts to apply for participation in an innovative Community of Practice (CoP) focused on the long-term preservation and enhancement of mental health support for students in the face of looming budget challenges.

This initiative aims to facilitate mutual learning, innovation, and collaboration among 15 selected districts (or LEA equivalents) to promote the effective exchange of knowledge and best practices in budgeting that supports the sustainability of school-based mental and behavioral health interventions.

Recipients will receive $20,000 in unrestricted grant funding and will gain 1:1 access to national experts in school mental health systems, evidence-based budgeting, district finance, family and community engagement, and more. Proposals must be submitted by Friday, May 10 at 5:00 ET.

The full RFP is available HERE

Contact Student Development

Marissa Lightsey, Program Director; Student Development

Dr. Sheri Fleming, Program Manager; Prevention & Intervention Services

Christi Sturgeon, Program Manager; Comprehensive School Counseling

Jennifer Peters, Program Manager; College & Career Readiness

Rachael Hernandez, Program Manager; School Based Mental Health

Emily Hicks, Administrative Assistant; Student Development

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