Thursday, September 04, 2014

FSCA Advocacy Update - September 4, 2014

  
September 4, 2014
With the help of Senator Nancy Detert and with the signature of Senate President Gaetz, the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability (OPPAGA) has been assigned to study and produce a report to the Legislature regarding the utilization and availability of Counselors in our Schools in Florida. This is a very exciting time for FSCA as we should finally have the documentation that has been lacking and created a roadblock to our much needed legislation to improve ratios for school counselors.

What can FSCA members do to help? We all need to meet with our Florida legislators or their aides, both representatives and senators, and talk to them about what we do every day! Our experience has been that they are not familiar with our profession and our unique role in schools. Sharing personal stories and situations help them to get an understanding of what we do and how we impact student achievement.

Exciting things are happening at the national level, as well, focusing attention on the important role of school counselors!
  • In the First Lady Obama’s address at the American School Counselor Association’s Annual Convention in Orlando early July, she announced THREE significant initiatives for school counseling.  This is an article from the Huffington Post that overviews the intiatives: Click here to read article. One of those initiatives occurred Monday, July 28 at Harvard (see more on this initiative below).
  • Harvard Graduate School of Education, in partnership with the White House, hosted a summit to discuss strategies to increase access to college. This summit focused on the important role school counselors play in college and career readiness. Take a few minutes to read the article and watch the Harvard Summit.  

Stay tuned for more advocacy updates to come. We look forward to working on these efforts in 2014-15!

No comments: