November 11-13, 2026
Turning Stone Resort Casino
5218 Patrick Rd, Verona, NY 13478
We look forward to having you join us at the New York State School Counselor Association Conference!
We hope to see you next year!
Lead Presenter: Will Saunders
This session examines how school counselors can expand equitable access to education careers and increase representation in teaching. Grounded in research on Black male teacher pathways at HBCUs, participants will explore identity, mentorship, and systemic barriers in career decision-making and transitions into education pathways. While centered on Black male students, these strategies support equitable pathways for all underrepresented groups.
Lead Presenter: Michael Catalano
What happens when tradespeople become educators? From Trades to Schools: Expanding Career Pathways Through Lived Experience brings together professionals who transitioned from industry into education to share how their experiences shaped their work with students. Through personal stories and practical insights, participants will explore career pathways, workforce readiness, experiential learning, and strategies for helping students connect education to postsecondary pathways and careers.
Lead Presenter: Orfelina Cisneros
This interactive presentation equips school counselors with practical tools, evidence-based strategies, and ready-to-use resources to effectively support immigrant-origin students and their families. Participants will learn how to foster welcoming and inclusive school environments, navigate relevant legal and policy considerations, promote equitable access to college/careers, and strengthen partnerships with families and community organizations. The guide will be distributed to start using it.
Lead Presenter: Loren Dittmar
Supporting others can be deeply meaningful—and deeply exhausting—especially when personal hardships collide with professional demands. In this powerful session, Loren explores how vulnerability can fuel resilience, deepen connection, and renew your sense of purpose. Walk away with practical tools and a fresh perspective on how life’s toughest moments can strengthen both your work and your well-being.
Lead Presenter: Kriya Lendzion
Nicotine and cannabis vaping has surged on our campuses in recent years, with increasingly destructive consequences to students’ physical, mental, and academic well-being. Shifting this dangerous trend will take comprehensive and innovative efforts, which school counselors are positioned to catalyze. We will review the proven risks of youth nicotine and marijuana vaping and explore promising practices for impactful one-on-one, classroom, and school-wide prevention and intervention efforts.
Lead Presenter: Marshall Nagy
Looking for practical, easy-to-use resources to strengthen your responsive counseling practices? Together, we’ll build a toolbox with strategies for de-escalation, peer conflict resolution, and other common student needs. Come ready to participate and experience these activities from a student’s perspective. You’ll leave with tools you can use right away!
Lead Presenter: Carol Dahir
This session will explore how AI can help us to design and/or revise our comprehensive school counseling program based on the NYSED amended school counseling regulations Part 100.2(j) (July 2017).
Participants will share their perceptions and familiarity around the use of an array of AI systems and explore how to utilize AI to best serve every student equitably. Bring a device to follow along.
Lead Presenter: Kristen Stanton
The #1 protective factor for students is having a trusted adult. Approx. 10-20% of students can’t identify a trusted adult in their school. This session will give you an overview of the Invisible Mentoring program and discuss how you can bring it to your school for FREE! Invisible Mentoring is a powerful approach where a student is matched with an adult in the school but is unaware they’ve been designated as a mentee. The focus is on connection, ensuring students feel seen and like they belong.
Lead Presenter: Cily Rueda
The NYSED High School Equivalency program office will provide an overview of the four pathways for earning an HSE diploma in NYS. The presentation will include best practices for supporting students regarding age (MCSAA) requirements, Alternative High School Equivalency Preparation (AHSEP) program enrollment, and relevant NYS policies and procedures. An in-depth review of the Regents-HSE pathway will be included. There will be an allotted time for Q&A.
Lead Presenter: Lysa Mullady
To become an advocate, you must master active listening, persuasive communication, and deep knowledge of your chosen issue. Key skills include understanding legal or policy frameworks, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence. Join us to learn about NYSSCA’s advocacy work as we strive to unite, represent, and support professional school counselors in NYS as they provide academic, personal/social, and career services for their students. Learn how you too can become an advocate.
Lead Presenter: Roselyn Kendrick-Jones
For many students, summer represents a time of rest, growth, and new opportunities. For others, it can bring increased risk due to food insecurity, housing instability, mental health concerns, lack of supervision, interrupted services, social isolation, or limited access to supportive adults. This interactive session will explore how school counselors and student support teams can implement proactive summer risk planning to ensure continuity of care and support for vulnerable students.
Lead Presenter: Janelle Sipowicz
School counselors are uniquely positioned to lead systemic change. This session provides practical tools for applying Root Cause Analysis to data-informed decision-making. Participants will learn when to use RCA, how to facilitate a step-by-step process, and ensure decisions are data-driven and create meaning out of the results. Real examples include master scheduling for equitable access, analyzing student behavior patterns, and identifying priorities to improve school culture and climate.
Lead Presenter: Trisha Vanzetta
When ALL adults in the building are grounded, happy, and regulated, students are too! Hear from two school counselors who took on the challenge of strategically working with adults in their building to positively impact school culture. At this session, you will hear about historical challenges, strategic plans, and concrete ideas/examples to bring back to your school and use right away. For anyone looking to bring some more joy to their building, this is for you!
Lead Presenter: Kristen Stanton
The NYS OMH Suicide Prevention Center can assist your district in developing a comprehensive suicide prevention program from the ground up utilizing a multi-tiered system of support model. Attendees will leave with the information and resources needed to assess their districts’ policies and protocols and to implement the staff trainings and student programming required. Free programming available to all NYS schools will be explored.
Lead Presenter: Hennessey Lustica
This session shares lessons learned from developing one of New York State’s first Behavioral Health CTE pathways. Presenters will walk through NYSED requirements, Transition A certification, and alignment with Portrait of a Graduate and NY Inspires. Learn how partnerships with NYSED, OMH, and IHEs supported implementation across 40+ districts, and gain practical steps to build or expand workforce pathways in your district.
Lead Presenter: Matthew Shapiro
The School Mental Health Resource and Training (SMHRT) Center supports NYS schools in implementing mental health instruction as part of the K-12 health curricula. This presentation will detail the myriad of ways the SMHRTCenter is committed to helping schools effectively incorporate Tier 1 of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support by teaching about mental health, broadening mental health literacy, and helping schools prepare to address students’ mental health challenges.
Lead Presenter: Giovanni “John” Durante
Built on insights from 300+ interviews with admissions leaders, this session helps counselors better understand today’s college admissions landscape. Drawing on experience as a high school principal, author, and podcast host, I will share practical strategies counselors can immediately apply to guide students and families. Through curated audio and video clips from admissions officers, attendees gain an authentic look at how colleges evaluate applicants and what truly matters.
Lead Presenter: Lysa Mullady
Creating a positive school climate is essential for fostering emotional well-being for all students. Character Education promotes positive behaviors and teaches conflict resolution skills. A multi-tiered approach is essential for cultivating a safe, stigma-free culture, fostering peer relationships and promoting long-term student well-being.
Lead Presenter: Roselyn Kendrick-Jones
As the landscape of postsecondary opportunities continues to evolve, school counselors must be prepared to guide students toward pathways that align with their interests, strengths, goals, and circumstances. While counselor preparation programs have traditionally emphasized college admissions processes, today’s counselors must also understand career and technical education, apprenticeships, workforce development programs, military options, dual enrollment opportunities, and alternative pathways.
Lead Presenter: Joseph Palmer
An interactive session on using core values, character education, and trauma-informed practices to strengthen social/emotional growth for at-risk students in school and afterschool programs. Learn practical strategies to engage and empower students while improving culture and climate. Through the Hi-5 Friends mentoring model, participants will see how student connections drive stronger attendance, improved behavior, increased engagement, and success schoolwide.
Lead Presenter: David Moran
Digital literacy is often absent within social/emotional learning curricula. School counselors can augment these curricula to include lessons on netiquette, behaviors to keep students safe, and positive engagement with social media and artificial intelligence. This presentation will provide school counselors with examples of integrating digital literacy in alignment with a social/emotional learning curriculum. Current research will be shared on the implications for school counselors.
Lead Presenter: Carol Miller
Think sheets are often used as a quick fix for behavior—but are they actually teaching skills? In this session, school counselors will learn how to shift from punitive, compliance-based responses to meaningful, skill-building reflection tools. Discover how to replace “rule broken” with “skill needed,” connect think sheets to SEL, and use them across Tier 1 and Tier 2—without relying on forced apologies.
Lead Presenter: Jeannette Alomia
New school counselors often face excitement, uncertainty, and competing expectations. This interactive session offers practical strategies for clarifying the counselor’s role, collaborating effectively with administrators, and engaging meaningfully in MTSS. Participants will gain tools, resources, and actionable steps to build confidence, advocate for their work, and establish a strong foundation for long-term success.
Lead Presenter: Andrea Kramarczyk
As school counselors, we know how important it is to be able to provide services to all of our students, not just some. Classroom lessons are an ideal way to proactively teach needed skills and disseminate valuable information. But how do we get students to invest in the lessons and themselves? In this workshop, learn easy ways to upgrade your classroom lessons from functional to engaging. Bring your own ideas to share, as well!
Lead Presenter: Demetrius Doss
From kindergarten through senior year, families need clear guidance to navigate rising college costs and financial decisions. Even families who don’t qualify for traditional financial aid face unexpected challenges. This session equips school counselors with practical tools, fresh insights, and often-overlooked college funding strategies to help families make informed decisions, maximize opportunities, and plan for college without sacrificing their financial future.
Lead Presenter: Robert Crawford
This high-energy, hip-hop-inspired session supports school counselors in moving beyond “random acts of guidance” to design intentional, engaging lessons. Using an album-style framework, the session models how to build lessons with clear objectives, strong pacing, and interactive strategies. Participants will experience live demonstrations and explore practical tools for increasing student engagement and participation. Emphasis is placed on creating inclusive, culturally responsive lessons.
Lead Presenter: NYSSCA
Session Description Coming Soon
Lead Presenter: Terri Tchorizynski
Are you trapped in a cycle of constant crisis response? Reactivity not only leads to burnout but also limits your ability to drive meaningful change for students. In this session, school counselors, MTSS coordinators, and district leaders will move from reactive crisis management to a proactive, intentional framework for student support. Join us for an exclusive look at our “playbook” of proactive strategies. You will gain practical tools to reduce reactivity in Tier 1, proven methods to optimize and reinforce Tier 2 supports, and actionable strategies you can implement right away to maximize student outcomes. Stop putting out fires and start building a system that empowers your students and your team.
Lead Presenter: Alison Schwenzer
Using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is necessary for implementing effective interventions for student discipline. Collaboration between counselors and administrators is crucial for this to take place. This workshop will explore how one supervisor of student discipline works with the counseling team to create approaches that focus on the academic, behavioral, and social/emotional needs of students in order to improve student outcomes.
Lead Presenter: Elizabeth Rivera
This session is for principals and counselors ready to stop working in silos and start building something great together. We’ll get honest about what’s working, what isn’t, and how to use the data already in your building to make smarter decisions. Expect a real, step-by-step process for taking a hard look at your school’s culture and climate — and a clear path forward for making it better, creating a place where students and staff actually want to show up.
Lead Presenter: Indira Kemp
This interactive session introduces the Critical Empathy Framework (CEF), a six-pillar practitioner methodology designed for high-barrier student and family engagement. Participants will explore why rapport alone often fails in resistant cases and learn strategies for identifying emotional protection, communication breakdown, and hidden barriers beneath student and family behavior. Attendees will apply the framework through guided case analysis rooted in real school-based practice.
Lead Presenter: Jeanne Myers
The Capital Region Master Counselors have developed a career resource guide aimed at supporting high school graduates seeking direct entry into the workforce. The guide is designed to help counselors connect students with professional employment opportunities, equipping counselors and students with crucial information and resources as students transition from high school to meaningful careers. This guide is a work in progress and is adaptable to all school counseling programs in all regions.
Lead Presenter: Nakeshia Smith-Farnum
Over the past three years, Valley Stream Central High School District has strengthened school culture through districtwide restorative practices with the help of eight Restorative Counselors. Climate data shows increased student belonging, expanded Tier 1 community-building circles, and targeted middle school supports. Reentry and mediation circles reduce repeat behaviors, while leadership modeling, student voice, family engagement, and data tracking ensure consistent, responsive implementation.
Lead Presenter: Alison Schwenzer
Transformative social/emotional learning should be the foundation of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program. While there are many classroom curriculums available, finding one that meets the needs of individual schools is difficult and typically requires adaptations. This workshop will review literature pertaining to belonging, highlight examples of lessons incorporating CASEL competencies, and discuss evaluation to measure effectiveness.
Lead Presenter: Benedetta (Beth) Gerardi
Following the death of a student or staff member, schools are often asked to memorialize the deceased in some meaningful way. Without a written policy in place, decisions may be made that inadvertently perpetuate trauma and grief. In this session, we will explore the research and discuss best practices for schools in response to loss.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Ellott
When schools, state agencies, and Pre-ETS vendors coordinate supports, students with disabilities experience stronger alignment between academic and career pathways. This session explores strategies for integrating Pre-ETS into counseling conversations, strengthening interagency collaboration, and aligning student-centered planning with community supports. Grounded in NYS research, participants will leave with practical tools and examples for immediate implementation across school settings.
National Center for Youth Issues
ATTN: NYSSCA
P.O. Box 22185
Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185
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