Here's What to Expect in This Episode: Even though for some of you, summer might feel so far away, in reality, it’s just around the corner. I know I was always ready to leave and start relaxing, but there are certain things that need to get done before heading out the door. I want you to feel confident and know that you have everything wrapped up from the year and are ready to start a new school year when you return. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing three major end-of-year items to help you close out your year. There are a million things on you ..read more

Here's What to Expect in This Episode: Sometimes the things we have to do as high school counselors aren’t glamorous, exciting, or thrilling. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not important or essential for running our counseling programs. One of those things that may fall into this category for you is analyzing data. It’s likely that you’ve collected data throughout the school year, but as the end of the year approaches, you’re probably thinking, “What do I do with this?” In this episode, I’m sharing how analyzing your end-of-the-year data shows the impact you made this year.  I ..read more

Here's What to Expect In This Episode: I’m shocked to say it, but today’s topic is a first for the podcast! It’s not something that we’re immersed in our day-to-day routine, but it’s so important in supporting student needs that, as high school counselors, we should be knowledgeable about it. That’s right, I’m talking about IEPs and 504s. Since I’m not an expert in this subject, I wanted to bring on a guest who has decades of experience and can help provide us with the information we need when attending IEP and 504 meetings. Today’s guest, Catherine Whitcher, has a passion for solving s ..read more

Here's What to Expect in This Episode: I’ve said it before, but this time of year is one of the most stressful with graduation, wrapping up the school year, and so many other things that consume your school day. That’s why I wanted to take a moment and reflect on your year and, more importantly, the success you’ve had throughout the school year. To help celebrate, seven other high school counselors are sharing their counselor wins with our community. As each high school counselor shared their counselor wins, I was amazed by the number of wonderful things happening in counseling programs ..read more

Here's What to Expect in This Episode: As graduation approaches, you’re probably doing all the last-minute details of finalizing the details of the event, ordering cap and gowns, designing the program, and about a million other tasks. And while you’ve thought of every detail, you probably didn’t consider or want to think about the seniors not graduating. While it’s an unfortunate and depressing thought, it’s the reality that a lot of counselors have to face during this time of year. So, if you’re in this situation right now, what do you do? Even though you might have some seniors not gr ..read more

Here's What to Expect in This Episode: We’ve officially entered the last quarter of the school year, which means graduation for seniors is just around the corner. However, we all know some students who are at risk and in jeopardy of not getting their diplomas. As high school counselors, it’s part of our job to help those at-risk students graduate. So, I’m sharing ways you can specifically support them during this time. Being a high school counselor, you probably already have a relationship with these at-risk students and have supported them throughout their high school years. However, w ..read more

Here's What to Expect In This Episode: As high school counselors, doing classroom lessons is part of the job and helps us stay connected to students and their needs. However, most of our lessons tend to focus on the essentials of scholarship programs, financial aid literacy, reading transcripts, and so much more academically. Instead, I want to give you some counseling classroom lesson ideas that involve social-emotional learning.  In order to have a proactive counseling program, we need to provide and teach our students the necessary skills they need to be successful. I’m sharing ..read more

Here's What to Expect In This Episode: Have you been wanting to start classroom lessons in your high school counseling program but haven’t taken the plunge yet? You’re in the right place because I have some motivating tips for you that will help you take action on classroom lessons. Specifically, I have six steps that you can follow. If you’re feeling like you’ll be creating more work for yourself if you start classroom lessons, hear me out. More classroom lessons can lead to more intentional small groups, individual counseling sessions, or just more direct time with students! It solves ..read more

Here's What to Expect In This Episode: Are you interested in hosting a career fair at your high school and wondering where to begin? That’s similar to the position I was in as a school counselor. There hadn’t been a career fair at my school in many years, but I decided to pitch the idea to help with career readiness efforts for students.   Career fairs can be an incredible way to reach many students at once and open doors and career opportunities for them. They can also tremendously impact your students’ lives, expose them to careers they may never know about, and teach them about ..read more

Here's What to Expect In This Episode: As high school counselors, we are experts at discussing mental health, relationships, self-regulation, and post-secondary planning. But when it comes to school counselor finances, it can feel uncomfortable and confusing! Whether you want to pay off debt, save, or invest, this conversation will empower you regarding your finances.   Today’s guest, Jeremy Schneider, is a successful entrepreneur and personal finance expert. After starting an internet company in college, selling it at 34 for over $5 million, and retiring at 36. Jeremy has dedicate ..read more