INSCA Conference | November 12-13, 2026 | Plainfield, IN
We look forward to seeing you next year!
Lead Presenter: Kerri Lines
Indiana’s new diploma seals and accountability model place work-based learning, career readiness, and student progress monitoring at the center of high school planning. Whiteland and New Castle High Schools will share how they are building systems to help students access WBL experiences and stay on track for graduation. 220 YL will share how simulated work-based learning can help schools expand access, document student progress, and close gaps when traditional WBL placements are limited.
Lead Presenter: Amanda Swert
Child Exploitation 101 is a prevention-focused training designed for school counselors, educators, and student support staff as schools prepare for Indiana SEA 355 prevention mandates. Co-created with Applied Science professors at Indiana University and the head detective of the Human Trafficking Unit in Indianapolis, the training addresses online grooming, sextortion, trafficking indicators, and the growing role of Gen AI, including deepfakes and impersonation scams impacting youth today.
Lead Presenter: Samantha Vidal
School counselor PLCs can be more than scheduling and lesson planning. This interactive session explores practical strategies for creating PLCs focused on collaboration, data, student outcomes, and continuous improvement. Participants will examine structures, facilitation ideas, and ready-to-use tools that help counselor teams strengthen comprehensive school counseling programs and better support thriving students.
Lead Presenter: Laura Overby
Most educators were trained in content and curriculum, very few were trained in the biology that has to be working before any of that can reach a student. This session is a science-first introduction to Nervous System Literacy: the awareness and ability to identify, communicate, and regulate the physiological processes of the nervous system as they relate to emotion, cognition, and behavior. Participants leave with a new lens for every student behavior and practical, school-ready language.
Lead Presenter: Carolyn Stone
School counselors can be powerful strategists and formidable advocates when applying legal muscle to problems that impact youth who are victims of trauma. Intervening on behalf of students is infinitely easier if there is a law that provides leverage. This session focuses on the legal rights of students who have experienced trauma such as domestic violence, abuse, homelessness, foster care, sex trafficking, and bullying.
Lead Presenter: Caroline Retter
This session highlights the collaborative efforts of school counselors and school social workers in creating a proactive, schoolwide approach to student mental health and suicide prevention. This session will showcase a week-long initiative focused on belonging, connection, and celebrating students’ unique identities through developmentally appropriate activities that strengthen school climate, increase help-seeking behaviors, and promote protective factors across all grade levels.
Lead Presenter: Amanda Davis
“Beyond Burnout” is a presentation for school counselors and educational professionals focused on recognizing and managing burnout in school settings while acknowledging the systemic factors that contribute to chronic stress and emotional exhaustion. Topics include compassion fatigue, workplace stress, boundaries, work-life balance, emotional wellness, resilience, and practical self-care strategies to support long-term well-being and effectiveness.
Lead Presenter: Samantha Vidal
Thriving school counseling programs are built through intentional systems, collaboration, and data-informed practice. This interactive CTSS kickoff session will introduce participants to the Carrying the Torch to Student Success process, Year 1 expectations, and practical implementation strategies aligned with the ASCA National Model. Participants will leave with tools, resources, and immediate next steps for strengthening their counseling program.
Lead Presenter: Kelly Myers
Participants will engage in practical discussion and collaborative brainstorming around interventions that can be implemented immediately within their schools. Special attention will be given to how school counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals can operate within the MTSS structure to enhance prevention, early intervention, and student success in the classroom.
Lead Presenter: Ada Stucky
Learn how Cascade Middle School transformed student leadership through the Cadet Ambassador Program. This session explores how 8th-grade students serve as school leaders and peer mentors focused on academics, social skills, behavior, and personal growth. Attendees will learn about the application process, leadership training model, and mentoring structures while receiving practical, turn-key resources to help launch a similar program that strengthens school culture and student connection.
Lead Presenter: Shannon Mount
Self-Care Plan 2.0 redefines well-being using AI tools and validated personality assessments like the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, and DISC. Participants will discover how platforms such as Gemini help identify personality-driven motivators, stress triggers, and recovery methods. Attendees will create two individualized plans: a maintenance plan for ongoing wellness and a crisis plan for stress periods. Participants leave with actionable AI-guided templates to promote authentic well-being.
Lead Presenter: Caroline Retter
This session highlights a school-based model supporting 5–6 middle school transitions through a weekly grade-level bootcamp focused on executive functioning skills such as organization, time management, and self-advocacy. The experience culminates in Middle School Olympics, celebrating student growth, confidence, and readiness as they prepare for a successful transition to middle school. It also highlights structured district-level collaboration to finalize and align transition details.
Lead Presenter: Kimberly Weston
Participants will learn how our elementary school developed a data-driven system for identifying and supporting students’ executive functioning skills. Teachers rated students across 12 executive skill areas, allowing us to analyze trends, identify needs, and target interventions. This session highlights how executive functioning data guided small-group instruction, monitored student growth, and improved outcomes through intentional, skill-based supports.
Lead Presenter: Mike Paget
Defying the Defiance: The Path to Happiness with ODD Students will review the typical causes of resistance, defiance, and noncompliance. We will discuss important guidelines on how to respond and include several practical examples for dealing with these challenges. We will also focus on the unique importance of adults staying calm with these students, who are so skilled at pushing authority figures’ buttons.
Lead Presenter: Oliver Camacho
As ethical expectations, professional standards, and public accountability continue to evolve, this session offers a practical introduction to ethics in today’s rapidly changing landscape. Ethics in 2026: Navigating Change will explore emerging legislative themes shaping ethical practice across professions, highlighting how new laws and policies influence decision‑making and responsibility. Through realistic ethical scenarios in action, participants will examine common dilemmas in the field.
Lead Presenter: Deb Thompson
Whether you are new to the field of school counseling or a veteran, focusing on the C’s of School Counseling will help you survive and thrive in this ever-changing profession. This session will help you to embrace and lean into the C’s of School Counseling and still love what you do. Learn how to keep the passion that led you to become a School Counselor in the first place. Learn to take care of yourself while helping others.
Lead Presenter: Dr. Clifton Hackman
High ability students are often assumed to already possess skills like self-regulation, collaboration, help-seeking, and time management, yet many struggle when these skills are never explicitly taught. This session explores the hidden competencies students need to thrive beyond academics and examines how school structures, technology, and AI impact student development. Participants will leave with practical strategies that can immediately support student success.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Johnson
The point of this session is to better understand the impact loss has on children, and to better equip you on becoming more comfortable with the uncomfortable topic of grief. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is something we all will have to deal with, but people are sometimes nervous to start the conversation, or do not feel like they know what to say. We will explore how to have hard conversations, discuss our own attitudes about death, and navigate how to best be there for your students.
Lead Presenter: Kristen Seward
School counselors who apply positive psychology in their work intentionally accentuate the character strengths and positive emotions related to learning. In doing so, we improve students’ academic, social, emotional, and career outcomes and potentially create a school-wide atmosphere focused on what’s strong with students, teachers, and administrators. In this session, we’ll explore the power of positive psychology in developmental, strengths-based school counseling.
Lead Presenter: Rebekah Frazer
This session offers Indiana school counselors a clear, practical, and timely overview of the legislative and regulatory developments emerging from the 2026 Indiana General Assembly. With a focus on how new laws directly shape counseling practice, student services, and school‑level compliance, the session translates complex policy updates into actionable insights counselors can immediately apply within their schools.
Lead Presenter: Janelle Zukowski
This session provides counselors with practical guidance on developing and sustaining an effective School Counseling Advisory Council (SCAC). Participants will explore the purpose and benefits of an advisory council in strengthening a comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP), including improving stakeholder engagement, increasing program visibility, and aligning services with student needs. Participants will gain tools for maintaining long-term engagement and addressing common challenges.
Lead Presenter: Sarah Pilarski
Being a new school counselor can be isolating and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Elevate-Ed connects mentees and mentors within a structured, research-backed platform covering 24 critical topics, aligned with ASCA standards, MTSS, and counselor competencies. Elevate-Ed proves how the right support makes all the difference, eliminating costly, time-consuming off-site workshops.
Lead Presenter: Deb Thompson
No one who works in a school wants a crisis to occur, but crises do occur in schools. Learn to be prepared for such crises as the death of a student or staff member, or an emergency during the school day. There are very specific steps to follow that will make going through a crisis and recovering from a crisis more manageable for the entire school community. Be prepared before it happens.
Lead Presenter: Anne Johnson
Learn mindfulness-based strategies to help students navigate the college admissions process with less stress and more clarity. This session includes ready to use tools for school counselors and educators, plus resources for guiding students in researching campus mental health supports during their college search.
Lead Presenter: Lori Ann Steininger
Explore how professionally trained facility dogs can support school counseling programs by enhancing student engagement, emotional regulation, school connectedness, and social-emotional learning. Learn practical ways Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is being used in schools through real-world examples, evidence-based strategies, and success stories from educational professionals.
Lead Presenter: Jennifer Dodson
Explore how school counselors and school social workers can intentionally partner within schools to maximize impact. This session offers practical tools, sample structures, and a tiered, MTSS-aligned model to coordinate services. Learn how elementary, middle, and high school teams organize roles, collaborate, and deliver supports to improve academic, social/emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all students.
Lead Presenter: Sarah Altman
If you’re looking to enhance your classroom lessons, let’s chat! We will explore tips, tricks, and strategies related to lesson format, developmental needs, resources, and technology.
Lead Presenter: Paul Harris
Session description coming soon
Lead Presenter: Lacey Houle
This presentation provides an overview of federal child labor laws for non-agricultural employment. It explains what jobs minors can and cannot do, the hours they are allowed to work, and how these laws are designed to protect their education, health, and safety. Educators will also gain insight into the most frequent violations, particularly in high-risk sectors like food service and construction, to help counselors spot potential red flags for their students.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Johnson
The point of this session is to better understand the impact loss has on children, and to better equip you on becoming more comfortable with the uncomfortable topic of grief. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is something we all will have to deal with, but people are sometimes nervous to start the conversation, or do not feel like they know what to say. We will explore how to have hard conversations, discuss our own attitudes about death, and navigate how to best be there for your students.
Lead Presenter: Jasmin Williamson
Which E’s do your students SEE themselves in? Help your students figure out which of the three E pathways: Enrollment, Enlistment, or Employment best align with their career goals after high school? Come learn about engaging and educational strategies you can use in a classroom lesson, small group workshop, or even a whole school initiative to increase exposure and engagement of college and career readiness! Come learn more about College Month, Career Month, Tournament Month, and a 3E Fair!
Lead Presenter: Rebekah Frazer
This session offers Indiana school counselors a clear, practical, and timely overview of the legislative and regulatory developments emerging from the 2026 Indiana General Assembly. With a focus on how new laws directly shape counseling practice, student services, and school‑level compliance, the session translates complex policy updates into actionable insights counselors can immediately apply within their schools.
Lead Presenter: Madison Weintraut
Learn how the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP) can help educate and train students for in-demand occupations. INCAP apprentices spend multiple full days a week with their employer, with the other days spent at school. At graduation, apprentices will have the foundation to enter the workforce, continue with the INCAP Career Program, or go to college. Graduates earn degrees and credentials that hold value in the job market and count toward college credit.
Lead Presenter: Elizabeth Hoyt
Counselors are often seen as desk-bound schedulers. At Shortridge, we changed this by elevating counselor voice and leadership. By integrating them into key decision-making spaces and expanding classroom services, we built a program that is now a district model. Results were powerful: graduation rates rose from 77% to 97% in two years, with major gains for ENL students. This session shows how strategic visibility and leadership can transform school culture and student outcomes.
Lead Presenter: Jane Kim
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping education, yet many schools lack clear guidance for responsible implementation. This session explores how AI and engagement-driven technologies affect student development, mental health, relationships, and equity in schools. Drawing from research, developmental psychology, and lessons from rapid digital adoption during COVID, participants will gain practical frameworks to help schools approach AI with greater clarity, balance, and confidence.
Lead Presenter: Rodney Bussell
Research has shown that children with dads/positive male figures in their lives have increased creativity along with being happier and more secure children. Counselors will be able to identify and discuss essential factors that negatively impact student attendance, behavior and academic performance. Understand how the core values of the SEL framework can positively transform student productivity and self-esteem.
Lead Presenter: Jennifer Dodson
This session prepares school counselors to serve as effective site supervisors for interns and practicum students through an ASCA-aligned program management lens. Participants will explore a structured supervision framework, practical tools, and strategies to support counselor-in-training development while strengthening comprehensive school counseling program implementation in PreK–12 settings.
Lead Presenter: Joel Salomon
Students often limit their futures because of beliefs they have accepted as true: “I’m not smart enough,” “I can’t afford college,” or “Success isn’t for people like me.” In this engaging and practical session, counselors will learn how to identify and challenge the hidden beliefs that affect academic achievement, career exploration, and postsecondary planning. Attendees will leave with tools and activities they can immediately use to help students expand what’s possible.
📧 in-sca@ncyi.org
📞 866.318.6294
National Center for Youth Issues
ATTN: INSCA
P.O. Box 22185
Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185
Legal & Copyright Information
All intellectual property rights in and to the INSCA Annual Conference (“the Event”), the content and all materials distributed at or in connection with the Event are owned by the Indiana School Counselor Association and/or the Event sponsors or speakers presenting at the Event. You may not use or reproduce or allow anyone to use or reproduce any trademarks or other trade names appearing at the Event, in any Event content and/or in any materials distributed at or in connection with the Event for any reason without the prior written permission of Indiana School Counselor Association or the presenting speaker.
