April 4-5, 2022
Boston Marriott
2345 Commonwealth Ave.
Newton, MA 02466
We look forward to having you join us at the Massachusetts School Counselor Association Conference!
We look forward to seeing you next year.
Advocating for Our LGBTQ+ Humans
Lead Presenter: Lisa Koenecke
Alternatives to Traditional Education: Non-Baccalaureate STEM Career Pathways
Guiding Families Through the Maze of Payment Options
How To Handle Our Hardest Students
Lead Presenter: Kathleen Hilchey
We know these students all-too-well. They can be explosive, sullen, tearful, or refuse to even speak. How is it possible to support them effectively and not have them take up hours of our work-week? By combining trauma-informed practices and conflict coaching you will leave this session with some simple tools to help these students to feel calmer, to function better, and, to find ways to re-integrate them back to class quickly.
My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP) for Success After High School
Lead Presenter: Lisa Harney
This presentation will include foundations of MyCAP, student driven ongoing development, leadership team responsibilities, and school and family partnerships.
Student Privacy: What School Counselors Need to Know
Lead Presenter: Wendy Rock
Confidentiality is the foundation for establishing trust in the counseling relationship and is an ethical imperative for school counselors. Parents have the right to be the guiding voice in their child’s life. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the federal law that gives parents or eligible students the right to access the student’s education records, seek to have the records amended, and have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information. It is important to consider parent rights and FERPA as school counselors navigate documentation, counselor notes, exceptions to confidentiality (serious and foreseeable harm) and necessary disclosure, requests from non-custodial parents, and navigating custody battles. This session will examine these topics and explore ways for school counselors to protect student privacy while maintaining collaborative relationships with parents, guardians, and legal caregivers, following the law, and reducing professional liability.
The SEL Playlist: Meaningful Implementation Across the School
Lead Presenter: Danette Jewell
The Digital SAT: What You Need to Know
Project Kind: Creating a School Culture of Kindness and Inclusion
Lead Presenter: Jacquelyn Saunders
Many middle schools struggle with making students feel like the belong in their school community. Project Kind is a pilot program at the Gibbs School in Arlington, MA that empowers student leaders to take ownership of inclusivity and kindness in their building. Learn about the impacts of this type of program at the Gibbs as well as how you can start a similar project in your own school.
Student Privacy: What School Counselors Need to Know
Lead Presenter: Wendy Rock
Confidentiality is the foundation for establishing trust in the counseling relationship and is an ethical imperative for school counselors. Parents have the right to be the guiding voice in their child’s life. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the federal law that gives parents or eligible students the right to access the student’s education records, seek to have the records amended, and have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information. It is important to consider parent rights and FERPA as school counselors navigate documentation, counselor notes, exceptions to confidentiality (serious and foreseeable harm) and necessary disclosure, requests from non-custodial parents, and navigating custody battles. This session will examine these topics and explore ways for school counselors to protect student privacy while maintaining collaborative relationships with parents, guardians, and legal caregivers, following the law, and reducing professional liability.
Suicide Prevention: Connecting ALL Students
Lead Presenter: Angela Avery
Suicide remains the 2nd leading cause of death among youth ages 10-24 years old. School Counselors are in a unique position to support and reach ALL students. Learn how to decrease suicide ideation among your students by proactively teaching coping skills and tier-leveled systems of support in your school counseling program. Identify ways to build on what you are already doing. Many resources shared.
Supporting Students with Disabilities to Ensure Post-Secondary Readiness
Lead Presenter: Adam Hartwell
To ensure students with disabilities are college and career ready, supports, resources, and options available. You will learn how to involve parents in Individuals Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) transition planning. We will share information about ABLE, accounts that are helpful for students with disabilities to assist with college and life expenses. Hear from experts from a private and public college who will share successful strategies and experiences.
Understanding Disproportionality in School Discipline
Lead Presenter: Rodney Robinson
In this session, we will examine the history of punishment in the US through a racial lens and how it influences education policy. We will understand disproportionality relating to school discipline practices and how they affect BIPOC students. We will analyze research data of school discipline policies and practices and make recommendations to eliminate discipline disparities.
What Documenting My Time and Using My Data Has Done for Me and Others
This session will illustrate: 1) why it is important to document your time; 2) how to effectively schedule your time; 3) how to work with your administrator/supervisor; 4) how to make your data do the talking; and 5) real-world examples that improved school counseling programs.
ASCA & MASCA: What Do All of Those Letters Really Mean and What Can They Do for Me?
Are you an ASCA or MASCA member and wonder what we do for our members? Do you belong to ASCA and/or MASCA just for the discount registration on the annual conference? How do you fit in? In this session you will hear from ASCA and MASCA leaders who will share the mission of ASCA/MASCA, advantages of membership and how to get involved either locally, at the state or national levels. ASCA and MASCA are better because member involvement. Come find out what we do and how to be more active.
BIG FAFSA Changes and the CSS PROFILE – Get Ready!
Lead Presenter: Matt Carpenter
BIG changes are coming to financial aid with the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act. Come learn what families will be facing with these changes and how you can help them prepare. You will learn: 1. How families with multiple children will be impacted (The sibling discount is going away, but not at every college), 2. HUGE changes for divorced & separated households, 3. How small business owners will be impacted and 4. A NEW, shorter FAFSA.
Building Capacity for High School Tier 2 Group Counseling
Lead Presenter: Kate Driver
Many elementary counselors run counseling groups, but how do you plan and execute this powerful tier 2 intervention at the high school level? This session will explore how to choose a group framework, advocate with administrators for support, and communicate with teachers and families about the importance of group counseling. We will also discuss different models to schedule and deliver groups and examine best practices for selecting students.
Peer Leader Programs: Tapping into the Strengths Within
Lead Presenter: Melissa Dervishian
Peer Leadership programs often develop with the goals of enhancing leadership and confidence among students, and providing peer-to-peer mentorships, but there is so much more these programs can offer. This session will highlight the benefits peer leadership programming can have on developing students’ SEL skills, improving school climate, and strengthening community partnerships.
School Refusal & School Connectedness: A Braided Thread
Lead Presenter: Amy Ballin
School refusal and chronic absenteeism are often addressed as a student problem with individual interventions. Exploring school-related factors that contribute to absenteeism is essential. School counselors play an instrumental role in helping their schools create a welcoming environment. Participants will leave with strategies to increase a sense of belonging and connectedness, antidotes to chronic absenteeism.
Supporting School Counselors to Deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Lead Presenter: John Crocker
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to addressing a litany of concerns that our students face, including anxiety, depression, and trauma. Despite the overwhelming amount of research available that underscores the efficacy of CBT, many misconceptions still exist about its utility in a school setting. In this session, participants will learn how school counselors can implement CBT in groups and individually.
Trauma-Informed SEL
Lead Presenter: Linda Price
Implementing an SEL curriculum or utilizing the components from the CASEL model can create a calmer and more connected school environment. But doing so needs to take into consideration the role that trauma plays in how students understand and engage in relationships. Join Linda Price to learn about how you can bring trauma-informed SEL into your counseling sessions, groups, and classrooms.
College and Career Readiness: Working Smarter in Our Schools
Lead Presenter: Christine Scafidi
As a school counselor we become very territorial of other professionals working with our students. But what if we had partners who supported our work and helped us do our job better? The community in Lawrence is blessed to have a wonderful collaboration between the school counseling program, GEAR UP and the Department of Higher Education. Between these three entities, all of the students at LHS receive college and career support. Come hear how!
Creating a College-Going Culture in a 6-12 School
Lead Presenter: Allison Stoddard
Post-secondary success does not start in 12th grade. Working in a 6-12 school, we utilize our college-bound mission to incorporate post-secondary success and access starting when they enter our school in 6th grade. Through the implementation of a college and career school counseling curriculum, student retention rom grades 6-12 has increased, with the focus on student post-secondary success. Learn how to create a school-wide post-secondary mission.
How Gardner Schools “Do” Mental Health at All Tiers
Lead Presenter: Karen McCrillis
Explore how Gardner Public Schools has implemented MTSS through an interconnected system framework scaled up across the district to provide positive, preventative and proactive practices and decrease time spent in reactive crisis mode. See first hand how we use data and our decision making processes to inform practices at each tier level. Learn how we have implemented evidenced based SEL practices, monitored fidelity, effectiveness and equity.
Let’s Talk About The “A” Word: Anxiety
Lead Presenter: Jon Mattleman
An introductory workshop for supporting youth with anxiety. Severe and uncontrolled anxiety can prevent youth from succeeding socially, emotionally, academically, and even athletically. With insight, humor, and compassion Jon provides the language and direction adults need to be of real support to youth. Participants will learn: differences between stress and anxiety, signs, symptoms, and different types of anxiety, helpful and unhelpful words.
The MASCA Advocacy Agenda
Lead Presenter: Juliette Coatsworth
January 2023 brings a new legislative session to the Commonwealth, and with it, the MASCA Legislative Agenda. The Government Relations and Advocacy Committee is connecting with representatives, senators, and district leaders to bring awareness and build support to the needs and concerns of the MASCA membership. Learn how you can contribute to the cause through various advocacy efforts, big and small.
Restorative Practices: Circle Time!
Lead Presenter: Bonnie Robbins
Restorative practices enable all members of the school community to integrate and normalize a collaborative approach by focusing on building, maintaining and repairing relationships among all members of a school. When students feel like they have an increased connection to school, they have more educational motivation, classroom engagement and improved school attendance. Learn to use a variety of different types of restorative circles.
School Counseling Program Evaluation: A New MASCA Initiative
Lead Presenter: Kari Denitzio
MASCA is pleased to have recently launched a Program Evaluation initiative. Evaluation team members will share the process they’ve developed to capture the perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the school counseling program’s effectiveness and raise awareness about the pivotal role school counselors play. Recommendations will help school counselors connect their department’s noted strengths to specific objectives articulated in the MA Model.
National Center for Youth Issues
ATTN: MASCA
P.O. Box 22185
Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185
