September 29-30, 2025
Embassy Suites by Hilton Norman Hotel & Conference Center
Norman, OK
We look forward to having you join us at the Oklahoma School Counselor Association Conference!
We hope to see you next year!
Lead Presenter: Christi Sturgeon
School counseling in Oklahoma is entering a new era. As expectations for comprehensive school counseling programs continue to evolve, school counselors have an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen their impact, elevate the profession, and expand access to high-quality services for all students. This session will explore the future of school counseling in Oklahoma, including emerging trends, implementation of statewide initiatives, and strategies for building sustainable programs.
Lead Presenter: Kailee Marshall
College and career exploration in middle school doesn’t have to be boring or lack substance. Join this session to learn how to create engaging college and career programming that students actually enjoy. We’ll cover the data behind early exploration, building a college and career fair from scratch, organizing campus tours, and using student data to create personalized experiences that help every student make connections to a future for themselves.
Lead Presenter: Christopher Culver
Students are more likely to succeed when schools intentionally create systems where every student feels connected, known, and supported. This session introduces practical Tier 1 strategies counselors can help lead schoolwide to improve belonging, engagement, behavior, and student success. Participants will explore how connection impacts the brain, behavior, attendance, and school culture while learning immediately applicable strategies that strengthen relationships without overwhelming staff.
Lead Presenter: Amy Whitewater
No school should face a crisis alone. Regional partnerships can provide critical support when tragedy overwhelms local resources. Drawing from a longstanding model in northwest Oklahoma and emerging efforts in southern Oklahoma, this session will explore how to build and sustain a regional school crisis support network, including team development, recommended training, deployment procedures, community partnerships, available resources, and strategies for navigating common challenges.
Lead Presenter: Kat Pastor
Discover 5 practical strategies to weave social/emotional learning into the daily fabric of your work. Practice relational techniques for classrooms, small groups, and staff meetings to enhance engagement, classroom management, student connection, and mental wellness aligned with ASCA standards.
Lead Presenter: Ericka Van Deventer
Student success takes more than one person—it takes a village. Discover how data-driven systems, including Student Assistance Teams (SAT), Hope Mentors, and Family Hope Circles, help identify barriers, strengthen connections, and support students before concerns become crises. Participants will leave with practical strategies for building collaborative systems that improve Hope, family engagement, and student success.
Lead Presenter: Ericka Van Deventer
Student success takes more than one person—it takes a village. Discover how data-driven systems, including Student Assistance Teams (SAT), Hope Mentors, and Family Hope Circles, help identify barriers, strengthen connections, and support students before concerns become crises. Participants will leave with practical strategies for building collaborative systems that improve Hope, family engagement, and student success.
Lead Presenter: Hayden Logan
This session examines the implementation of Jinx, a therapy dog, within a school counseling program. Participants will explore the impact of therapy animals on student behavior, emotional regulation, and engagement, as well as key considerations for integrating animal-assisted interventions in educational settings.
Lead Presenter: Christopher Culver
Kindness is often misunderstood as softness when, in reality, it is one of the most powerful tools for improving school culture, student behavior, mental health, and engagement. This high-energy, research-based session explores the neuroscience behind kindness, belonging, emotional safety, and human connection. Participants will learn how small relational moments influence student nervous systems, engagement, behavior, and resilience.
Lead Presenter: Danette Jewell
Looking for resources and activities to incorporate with your elementary small group lessons? Join us as we model a variety of methods and resources to make your small group instruction engaging and meaningful for students. We will emphasize methods for fostering connections as we share practical ideas. You will leave with ideas and resources to take back to your school and use immediately!
Lead Presenter: Jennifer Sack
Family engagement in the college admissions process is often shaped by love, sacrifice, cultural expectations, and fear of future uncertainty. These emotions can add to student stress, limit student voice, and create tension in the decision-making process. This session equips high school counselors with practical strategies to navigate high-pressure family dynamics, reframe fear into partnership, and ensure students remain at the center of the college planning process.
Lead Presenter: Rebecca Johnson
School counselors are doing meaningful work every day while navigating competing demands and expectations. But how do you know what students need, what is working, and where to focus next? This session explores practical ways to use data to connect student needs with intentional action and evidence of change. Participants will gain strategies to make informed decisions, strengthen advocacy, and show how school counseling contributes to meaningful outcomes for students.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Hogaboom
Ready or not, 2030 is coming — and students need more than an updated course list. This session explores how one district aligned high school courses to career pathways and secured community partnerships to fund targeted career programs. Counselors and administrators will leave with practical strategies for advising students toward meaningful pathways, building community partnerships, and turning graduation requirements into real opportunity for students.
Lead Presenter: Ellen Vannoy
Hear from Oklahoma school leaders at Jenks Public Schools and Yukon Public Schools on how they are on driving college and career readiness for ALL students district wide. See how they are tracking all aspects of ICAP, including coursework, career interests, and post-grad goals, and reporting. Walk away with tactical ideas you can bring back to your team.
Lead Presenter: Brien Sims
This session explores neurodivergence as a meaningful and valuable form of human diversity, with practical implications for school and clinical counseling settings. Participants will deepen their understanding of how differences in attention, processing, communication, and regulation shape student and client experiences across environments. Attendees will leave with person-centered strategies to create affirming spaces that support mental health, belonging, and positive outcomes for students.
Lead Presenter: Angela Reid Matlock
When student behavior becomes challenging, we often focus on changing the student instead of the systems surrounding them. This session explores behavior through the lens of behavior science, MTSS, trauma-informed practice, prevention, and data. If the problem is behavior, the solution must include behavior change. Learn to examine environments, adult responses, skill deficits, and systems while teaching replacement behaviors that create meaningful, sustainable change.
Lead Presenter: Sharla Roche
You have 400 students, one calendar, and families with no roadmap for college. This session gives you the framework and language to guide them from 8th grade on: career exploration beyond quizzes, using high school to build a student’s story, and financial moves that cut cost before the bill arrives. Leave with a counselor reference card of conversation starters by grade, plus current 2026-27 FAFSA updates, merit aid targeting, and the Oklahoma’s Promise window families miss.
Lead Presenter: Michelle Strain
Thinking Ethically is specifically designed for counselors working with students. In this session, attendees will discuss three timely hot topics, including the school counselor 80/20 rule, crisis mandates and mental health protocols, and parent confidentiality vs. student privacy rights. Attendees will examine the legislation in regard to these topics, go through case scenarios, and have a socratic discussion on the ethical nature of the topics at hand.
Lead Presenters from Project COMPASS
This series of sessions is designed for members of Project COMPASS Cohort 2. Members will engage in training to build practical skills in school counseling supervision and mentorship. Attendees can expect to align leadership goals using our four pillars, integrate evidence-based supervision frameworks, and plan for the upcoming school year. Not open to general OSCA attendees.
Lead Presenter: Amanda Fitzgerald
This session will cover ASCA Resources that are available at your fingertips, and ASCA’s 2025 research on the current state of the profession. Attendees will reflect on how these national findings align with their own work, sharing trends they observe in the field. This session will engage large-group discussions focused on current policy needs and scalable approaches to improving practice across schools, districts, and states.
Lead Presenter: Allison Morris
Bixby Public Schools’ Counseling Team will share its MTSS Behavior Framework and demonstrate how school counselors support student behavioral, social/emotional, and academic success through a comprehensive, data-driven approach. Participants will learn how counselors use data to identify student needs, implement targeted interventions, and monitor outcomes within a tiered system of support. Case studies and actionable tools to strengthen student success will be shared.
Lead Presenter: Cheryl Card
Building relationships with a school staff is imperative for the growth of a successful counseling program but it is not always easy. In this session, learn how to use needs assessments/surveys, digital communication, and PLC meetings to build strong, supportive relationships with staff members.
Lead Presenter: Nikki Perry
Schools are recognizing the urgent need for trauma-responsive systems that go beyond behavior management to promote belonging, regulation, and academic readiness. At Pansy Kidd Middle School (PKMS), trauma-responsive transformation has become a cornerstone of our success story. This session will share how intentional, research-based initiatives, such as Morning Mindset, Midday Motivation, and RESET, have redefined school culture and improved both student outcomes and academic opportunities.
Lead Presenter: Sabrina Wood
Did you know the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have over 15 free programs to support students, families and educators as they prepare for education beyond high school? Join us to learn about each program supporting concurrent enrollment, FAFSA completion, Oklahoma’s Promise, scholarship access, financial education, micro-credentials, teacher recruitment, workforce data dashboard, professional development for educators and so much more!
Lead Presenter: Deana Edgar
As Oklahoma implements the 2030 graduation requirements, schools must rethink how counseling programs support student readiness. This session explores how the Oklahoma 80/20 framework allows counselors to use classroom lessons, small groups, and individualized planning to support pathway exploration, ICAP implementation, employability skills, postsecondary readiness, and student engagement through intentional direct student services.
Lead Presenter: Deana Edgar
Behind Every Great Counselor Is a Great Mentor. Mentors are what hold the profession together. Whether you know it or not, you are mentoring someone. It may be a formal mentorship or an informal mentorship, but those newbies are looking to the seasoned school counselor for guidance, direction, and reassurance. Come learn more about the OK Mentorship/Mentee Program and give back. It is amazing how much mentoring a new school counselor will restore your zeal for the job and remind you why you do it.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Hogaboom
When counselors report to district administrators who have never held the role, the consequences are predictable: 504s, testing coordination, irrelevant PD, and duties consume the work counselors were hired to do. This session will explore how one district creatively removed non-counseling tasks and implemented a tiered ASCA National Model framework that meets counselors where they are. Attendees will leave with strategies for advocacy, PD, coaching, and making counselor impact visible to leadership.
Lead Presenter: Kamilah Antoine
Conflict is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to disrupt learning or relationships. In this interactive session, school counselors will experience a Harmony conflict resolution lesson as students would and explore strategies for regulating emotions, communicating effectively, and repairing relationships. Participants will leave with a ready-to-use lesson featuring the first two Harmony conflict resolution steps, adaptable for Tier 1 classroom guidance or Tier 2 small groups.
Lead Presenter: Michelle Strain
You know all the great work you do for students, but have you put it in a framework? Discover how using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports brings power to your practice and to your students, staff, and administration. Attendees will walk away with a map they’ve created highlighting the supports and programs you already offer, and they will be able to identify gaps in their supports. They will walk away with not only an understanding of an MTSS but with direction on next steps.
Lead Presenters from Project COMPASS
Members will come together in a private forum to reflect on their year-long journey, assess their program experiences, and map out both current and future leadership needs in their districts. This session is restricted to Cohort 1 participants only.
Lead Presenters from Project COMPASS
This series of sessions is designed for members of Project COMPASS Cohort 2. Members will engage in training to build practical skills in school counseling supervision and mentorship. Attendees can expect to align leadership goals using our four pillars, integrate evidence-based supervision frameworks, and plan for the upcoming school year. Not open to general OSCA attendees.
Lead Presenter: Dillon Salluzzo
Army Education Resources for Educators and Students
Lead Presenter: Petra Woodard
Caring adults are key to identifying students experiencing trauma, intervening for those who need an advocate, and instilling hope in young people who have lost all hope. Are you equipped? Are you ready? Are you willing? Attendees will engage in an interactive session to learn ways to respectfully address students displaying unwanted behaviors, de-escalate situations while maintaining high expectations, and preserve meaningful relationships.
Lead Presenter: Jessica Hogaboom
The 5th edition of the ASCA National Model can feel overwhelming — where do you even start? This session breaks implementation into manageable, prioritized steps so counselors can build momentum without burning out. Through real examples and practical tools, participants will leave with a clear starting point, a sequenced action plan, and the confidence to move forward — no matter where they are in their implementation journey.
Lead Presenter: Leanne Campbell
As school counselors respond to increased student mental health needs while leading comprehensive school counseling programs, intentional support structures are essential. This session highlights how joining our School Counselor Supervision Cohort integrates mentorship, leadership development, and administrative collaboration. Participants will gain practical strategies to reduce burnout, foster counselor retention, and improve student outcomes.
Lead Presenter: Jackie Spomer
As schools strive to support increasingly diverse student needs, educators face the challenge of balancing access with independence. This presentation explores how accommodations can be implemented to promote resilience, self-advocacy, and skill development rather than dependency. Using the ASCA National Model, participants will examine practical strategies for maintaining equitable support while fostering student growth, confidence, and long-term success in school, college, careers, and life.
Lead Presenter: Emily Burchardt
This one-hour workshop equips school counselors with play-based strategies to help students identify, express, and process emotions. Participants will learn how to use interactive and creative play activities to support emotional awareness, build coping skills, and strengthen student-counselor connections in school settings.
Lead Presenter: Kelli Baker
This session will provide the benefits of what school-based play therapy can bring to a district and how equipping current professionals with the tools to achieve this credential can transform engagement, behaviors and student success, regardless of district size. We will explore the benefits, the collaboration and pivotal ways MTSS grows with School Based Registered Play Therapists on the team. We will walk through the steps as well as ways play therapy is incorporated in schools.
Lead Presenter: Jyotsana Sharma
School can be a confusing space for young and developing minds and bodies. School counselors may struggle to make their school counseling practice trauma-informed. Trauma can be debilitating, but not every student meets the criteria for post-traumatic stress (PTS). In exploring possibilities for social-emotional development that move beyond academic achievement, our team intends to utilize Motivational Interviewing and Socratic Questioning as trauma-informed approaches for K-12 student support.
Lead Presenter: Amy Whitewater
School counseling programs are often underfunded, yet counselors must cover curriculum, supplies, snacks, incentives, and professional development on limited budgets. This session focuses on uncommon solutions to these challenges. Explore creative funding strategies, overlooked resources, and proven ideas from Oklahoma schools. Learn to prioritize needs, find grants, and gain practical tools to strengthen your program—while making every cent count!
Lead Presenter: Nicole Serner
“Using AI and Labor Data to Build Pathway-Aligned Lessons” pairs real labor market data with hands-on AI prompting practice, showing teachers and counselors not just what the numbers say about tomorrow’s careers, but how to turn that into a usable, standards-aligned lesson today.
National Center for Youth Issues
ATTN: OK-SCA
P.O. Box 22185
Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185
All intellectual property rights in and to the Oklahoma School Counselor Association (OSCA) Annual Conference (“the Event”), the content and all materials distributed at or in connection with the Event are owned by OSCA 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 OSCA or the presenting speaker.
