MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER 2011VOL. 48, NO. 1

MASCA

(continued on page 4)

Trends in SchoolCounseling

By DONNA BROWNMASCA Executive Director

DONNA BROWN

I f you have had the chance to read thelatest ASCA School Counselor, you’ve

probably started to think about the FiveTrends presented in the July/August issue.ASCA asked a number of school counsel-ing leaders to describe what they thoughtwould be the most important issues facingschool counseling in the next five years.After sorting through a myriad of topics,five were mentioned by the majority.

Trend 1: Schoolwide BullyPreventionThe first trend mentioned was no surprise:“Schoolwide Bully Prevention.” BrentBurn ham, the author, is a school counsel -or at Midway Elementary School (Utah),an adjunct faculty member at Utah ValleyUniversity, and a 2011 School Counselorof the Year finalist. In his article he des -cribes four hallmarks and eight key com-ponents of the bully prevention programhe has developed at his school. Amongthe hallmarks of this program are prog -ress towards systemic change, commit-ment from the entire school community,teaching of comprehensive strategies andskills, and sustainability.

According to Burnham, one of the mostimportant components is administrativesupport because without strong leader-

RTTT Pre-Conference WorkshopHoliday Inn, BoxboroMonday, October 24

Dr. Vivian Lee, “Using Data to Advocatefor Systemic Change”

(Dr. Lee will be available throughout the day to support teams.)

_____________

MASCA Fall ConferenceTuesday, October 25

Morning keynoter: Dr. Vivian Lee,“Own the Turf: Using Data to Promote College and

Career Readiness K-12”

MARC and MARC Jr. Recognition Awards

Thanks for MASCA ScholarshipTo the Editor:

I am thrilled about winning the $250 for a“summer program for a student in need.”There is a camp in one of our towns,Camp Putnam in New Braintree, that isbasically a Fresh Air Fund type camp.One of the weeks during the summer isopen to children from our local commu-nities. Many of our middle school stu-dents have gone to camp there as young-

er campers and are now in the AdvancedCamper program. They do all kinds ofactivities as a group and train to helpout the younger campers as well. It is aterrific program, and I have donated themoney to that program as it will gotowards many of my middle school stu-dents, not just one. Thank you, MASCA.

— Barbara Page, CounselorQuabbin Regional Middle School

2 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

2011– 2012MASCA OFFICERS

PRESIDENTMICHELLE BURKEBeverly High School100 Sohier RoadBeverly, MA 01915-2654Tel. 978-921-6132 x11107E-mail: mburke@beverlyschools.org

PAST PRESIDENTCAROLYN RICHARDSSomerville High School81 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143Tel. 617-625-6600 x6120 • Fax 617-628-8413E-mail: crichards@k12.somerville.MA.US

PRESIDENT-ELECTJENNIFER LISKMedway High School, Medway, MA 02053Tel. 508-533-3228 x5107 • Fax 508-533-3246E-mail: lisk@medway.k12.ma.us

VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARYJACQUELINE BROWNEast Somerville Community School42 Prescott Street, Somerville, MA 02143Tel. 617-625-6600 x6517 • Fax 617-591-7906E-mail: jbrown@k12.somerville.ma.us

VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGHALBERT MERCADOStacy Middle School66 School Street, Milford, MA 01757Tel. 508-478-1181 • Fax 508-634-2370E-mail: amercado@milfordma.com

VICE PRESIDENT SECONDARYTBA

VICE PRESIDENT POSTSECONDARYJOHN MARCUSDean College99 Main Street, Franklin, MA 02038Tel. 508-541-1509 • Fax 508-541-8726E-mail: jmarcus@dean.edu

VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATORSRUTH CARRIGANWhitman-Hanson Regional High School600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA 02382Tel. 781-618-7434 • Fax 781-618-7098E-mail: ruth.carrigan@whrsd.org

VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORSTHERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D.Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325Tel. 508-531-2640E-mail: theresa.coogan@bridgew.edu

VICE PRESIDENT RETIREESRALPH SENNOTTP.O. Box 1391, Westford, MA 01886Tel. 978-692-8244E-mail: ralphsennott@hotmail.com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORDONNA M. BROWNAdjunct Professor, UMass BostonP.O. Box 366, 779 Center StreetBryantville, MA 02327Tel. 781-293-2835E-mail: dbrownmasca@gmail.com

TREASURERASHLEY CARON25 Belmont Ave., Stoughton, MA 02072Tel. 508-212-0676E-mail: ashcicero@hotmail.com

SECRETARYJENNIFER JUST McGUIREUpper Cape Cod Regional Technical School220 Sandwich Road, Bourne, MA 02532Tel. 508-759-7711 x247 • Fax 508-759-5455E-mail: jmcguire@uppercapetech.org

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATORDEBORAH CLEMENCEP.O. Box 805, East Dennis, MA 02641E-mail: membership@masca.org

COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK EDITORSALLY ANN CONNOLLY19 Bayberry Road, Danvers, MA 01923Tel. 978-774-8158 • Fax 978-750-8154E-mail: sallyconnolly@att.net

SEPTEMBER 2011 3

September 2011

www.masca.org

Published by:Massachusetts School Counselors Association10 issues per year, September through June. The yearlysubscription rate is $30.00. Individual copies are $3.00.

Opinions expressed in the articles published herein representthe ideas and/or beliefs of those who write them and do notnecessarily reflect the views or policies of the MassachusettsSchool Counselors Association, Inc.

The acceptance of an advertisement for publication does notimply MASCA endorsement of the advertiser’s programs,services, or views expressed.

Questions concerning submission of articles, publi cationdeadlines, advertising rates, etc., should be addressed toSally Ann Connolly, Editor.

©2011 by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association.All rights reserved.

MASCA

inside5 Bully-Proofing Your Schools: A Program Review

By Emily Herring

6 Professional Development NewsBy Helen O’Donnell, Ed.D.

6 Advocacy Committee UpdateBy Bob Bardwell

8 MA Model Implementation: A CollaborationBy Ann Marie Mutz and Susan Pivero

9 Greetings from VP Middle/Junior HighBy Albert Mercado

10 Affiliate News

4 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Tweets of Note

rsabellaRussell Sabella

MARC REPORT:Bullying in

Grades 3-12 in MAhttp://bit.ly/ruJoS9

rsabellaRussell Sabella

The RelationshipBetween Cyberbullying and

School Bullying (article)http://bit.ly/mUkmaa

Join us on Twitter:

Donna Brown:MascaExDr

Sally Ann Connolly:sallyconnolly1

BROWN (continued from page 1)ship, systemic change will not be possible.He also points out that staff trainingneeds to include all staff: teachers, secre-taries, aides, bus drivers, nurses, admin-istrators, and anyone who interacts withstudents. The importance of data in mak-ing plans of action is stressed.

Burnham has produced an ASCAwaypodcast on anti-bullying issues: www.ascaway.podbean.com.

Trend 2: Helping disadvantagedstudentsAbby Holley, lead school counselor atShaw PCS in Washington, D.C., is theauthor of the second article about pov -erty entitled, “Helping DisadvantagedStudents Achieve.” Like Burnham, AbbyHolley writes from personal experienceat a school where over 90 percent of stu-dents’ families receive government andschool financial support. She offers alook at the challenges faced by studentsand staff and shares some of the strate-gies that have worked. Admitting thatwhat works is often very simple, Holleyshares the solutions that have workedfor her, among which are consistency, in -clusion of parents, and shared data.

Trend 3: Use of technologyTwo articles are included in this trend:“Take a Risk,” by Dave Forrester, a schoolcounselor at Olympia High School (WA),a past technology chair for WashingtonSCA, and an Adobe Education Leader;and “Collaborate, Create, Communicate”by Diane Harazin, an instructional tech-nology education specialist for FairfaxCounty Public Schools (VA).

Forrester’s article focuses on the needfor school counselors to take risks in usingtechnology. He includes his favorite freetech tools, with suggestions for how eachmight be used. He also cites our own Dr.Tim Poynton and EZAnalyze!

Harazin’s article pinpoints ways tech -nology can be used by students and offersways this same technology can help sup-port programs designed by school coun-selors. She, too, shares the tools she likesbest and explains how and why they areof use.

Trend 4: School counselor’s role“Moving from ‘Guidance’ to School Coun-seling” by Kathryn Sax, a school coun-selor at Pope High School in Marietta,GA, offers a look at how a school coun-

seling program evolves. Readers follow the school counselors

as they embrace the ASCA Model andchange their school, eventually earningRAMP status. For any schools implement-ing the MA Model, this is a must read.

Sax clearly outlines the steps that makechange both possible and sustainable. Itis no surprise that in her opening para-graph she states, “We discovered threetools that helped win administration’ssupport: training faculty and staff, clearproposals in line with school goals, and theuse of data to evaluate the school coun-seling program.” She also suggests waysto ensure administrators understand whatcounselors do to help all children.

This trend section also included a veryshort article, “A Team Approach,” byDoug las Thilman, principal of Cary HighSchool (NC). Thilman describes the teamstructure of his high school and the im -portant role school counselors play in it.He says that because of the relationshipbetween administrators and school coun -selors, students are better served and be -come more successful.

Trend 5: FundingTwo school superintendents—Christo-pher McGinley (Lower Merion SchoolDistrict in Ardmore, PA) and Sharon Zoe -liner (Louisburg Unified School District416 in Louisburg, KS)—provide a shortessay on this trend.

McGinley’s, “The New Normal,”paints a picture all too familiar to us ascounselors. He provides some of the backstory to our current financial difficulties.The economic crisis that has lowered prop-erty values has decreased revenue in areasrelying on property taxes to fund educa-tion. The ending of federal stimulusmoney has taken a toll in many districts,he continues. He clearly and succinctlydescribes the funding problems faced. Heis also concerned about how we havecome to use “reduction in force” to de -personalize our actions.

In “The ABCs of Funding,” Zoelinerexplains the basics of school funding. Shediscusses what funds are available to localschools and how they are usually metedout. She ends by suggesting we get spe-cific information about our own schoolsfrom our school’s business manager.

These five trends can serve as discus-sion starters in your counseling office oryour school. While individual schools willhave many other issues, they certainly willtop most lists. ■

SEPTEMBER 2011 5

Bully-Proofing Your Schools: A Program ReviewBy EMILY HERRING, Counselor, Paul R. Baird Middle School

M assachusetts General Law passeda requirement for all public schools

in the Commonwealth to employ bullyingreporting procedures as well as a preven-tion and education curriculum. This lawstates: “Each school district…shall pro-vide age-appropriate instruction on bul-lying prevention in each grade that isincorporated into the curriculum of theschool district or school. This curriculumshall be evidence-based.”

This year at my school the administra-tion focused on making the school com-pliant with this mandate. Administrationworked with school support services tore view possible programs, curriculums,and initiatives that would not only satisfythe legal requirements but also be flexi-ble enough to conform to the school’sunique needs.

Many programs were reviewed anddiscussed.

Second Step is a popular choice, so theteam explored that program as well asother structured curriculums with scriptedlessons. The team decided that althoughresearch supported their effectiveness, thehighly structured programs lacked flexi-bility. The school wanted not only the bul-lying prevention piece but a culture and cli-mate change within the school that wouldtransition easily into the high school.

Elementary schools in the district havebeen using the Responsive Classroommodel. Although the next logical step forthe middle school was the DevelopmentalDesigns, the team considered that it neces-sitated a drastic change to the building’sschedule and would require more staffing.With budgets cuts looming, the team con-tinued to look for a program that wouldwork within the current parameters.

Months later, the team reviewed andapproved adoption of Bully-Proofing YourSchool: A Comprehensive Approach forMiddle Schools by Bonds and Stoker.Originally designed for the elementarylevel, the program has been expanded toinclude both middle school and highschool levels. Its unique focus—i.e., tar-get group—is the “caring majority.” Thismajority is the body of students not in -volved in bullying behaviors on a day-to-day basis, and they are not the targets.Rather, they are the students who wishbullying was not present and understandthe harmful consequences it brings to all

students in the school. BPYS works to em -power these students, while incorporatingthe more traditional approach of provid-ing coping strategies to both the targetand the student engaging in bullyingtype behaviors.

BPYS has four basic concepts: (1) beinga systematic, comprehensive program; (2)promoting climate change; (3) teachingskills to avoid victimization; and (4) dev -eloping the caring majority. These con-cepts complement the school’s goals forthe upcoming school year and incorpo-rate past climate change work amongthe staff.

The previous year, staff in our schooldeveloped a Behavioral Matrix that out-lined the expectations of the students inthree areas: Respect, Responsibility, andSafety. These three areas clearly out linedhow they could be demonstrated in class,the hallways, the main office and duringmorning activities, lunch time, etc.

With the Matrix already completed,culture and climate change had alreadybegun. BPYS will help us to be more uni -fied in language and procedures in sup-

port of the Matrix and in dealing withsituations that may escalate to bullying.

BPYS has developed five grade-levellessons, which teach students commonlanguage to label behaviors and concreteways to stop disrespectful situations fromescalating or occurring. Follow-up lessonsare taught in class to keep students think-ing of the topic and to expand real-lifeexperiences. Because they address ASCA’sCommon Core Standards and Career Dev -elopmental Expectations, these lessons areeasily integrated into the classroom.

In academic areas, our school has beenworking diligently to implement the Res -ponse to Intervention Model. BPYS willcomplement this model by offering asocial-emotional tiered response.

BPYS also offers the benefit of not beingoverwhelming to implement. Changes tothe schedule and day-to-day operationsare not drastic, and implementation isslow but steady. We have al ready issuedSafety Surveys to students, parents, andstaff to establish a baseline of data. Andwe expect BPYS to be the best fit for ourmiddle school. ■

6 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Professional Development NewsBy HELEN O’DONNELL, Ed.D.

Professional Development Committee Chair

Dean College in Franklin welcomed theMA Model Cohort 2011 with out -

standing facilities, excellent dining, over -night lodging in their condos, and gracioushospitality. A special “thank you” goes toKathy Ryan, Director of Enrollment Oper-ations, who attended to all our needs.

School counseling colleagues fromChel sea, Chelmsford, Everett, Pittsfield(Taconic and Pittsfield High Schools), andSalem came together for two days of train-ing and collegial sharing about the MAModel for Comprehensive School Coun-seling Programs and its implementation.At the end of the academic year, with mytechnical assistance and mentoring, par-

ticipants will present their implementa-tion work at poster sessions to be heldduring the MASCA spring conference.They will also complete a MA Account-ability Report Card (MARC Jr.).

Expanded website resources Thanks to the work of Maria Paoletti overthe summer, more resources are now avail-able on MASCA’s website. Both res trict edand unrestricted areas were ex pand ed, andmembers can access all ma terials. To ac -cess them, click on the MA Model Tab.If you use materials that have been de -signed and posted by your colleagues,please remember to cite your source. ■

Advocacy CommitteeUpdate

By BOB BARDWELLMASCA Advocacy Committee Chair

BOB BARDWELL

Tuesday, June 21 proved to be a greatday in MASCA’s history. Ten mem-

bers and supporters testified before theJoint Education Committee at the StateHouse in Boston about the importance ofelementary school counselors and whythey should be mandated in our state.

For those not familiar, House Bill 1068“An Act to mandate elementary schoolcounselors,” would re quire all publicschool districts to employ a cer ti fied schoolguidance counselor as outlined in the reg-ulations for Educator Li cen sure and Prep -aration. In 2009-10, an estimated 70% ofelementary schools in Mass a chu setts hadno school guidance counselor and 41%had no school counselor, ad just ment coun-selor, or social worker.

Accompanying me in testifying beforethe Committee were Dr. Randal Reback,Professor of Economics at Barnard Col-lege; Joan D’Onofrio, parent and educa-tor; Marlborough Public Schools’ GailOkerman, School Counselor Educator atFitchburg State and experienced elemen-tary school counselor; Bridget Dullea,Grade 5/6 School Counselor, AgawamMiddle School; Benjamin Bardwell andhis mother Wendy, Grade 3 Student atWhately Elementary School; ShannonDoran, graduate student in school coun-seling, University of Massachusetts; andDick Madden, MASCA member and re -tired school counselor. Abby Dolan, agrade 5 student from Groton DunstableMiddle School, was unable to attend, so herstatement was read by Allison Bardwell.

But the hearing was only the first step.Now the hard work begins.

We must let our elected state senators

Register now for the MASCA Fall Conferenceat www.masca.org

SEPTEMBER 2011 7

and representatives know that HB 1068is important. In this current economic sit-uation, when many school districts arelaying off people, there is going to be lit-tle interest in adding mandates, particu-larly if there is no funding to support it.However, we have to try.

As school counselors, we know howvaluable elementary school counselors areto the overall well-being of all students.We know also that a successful elementaryschool counseling program has benefitsfor all students, well beyond the elemen-tary school years. We now have to convinceeveryone else just how important thesecounselors are and why we need a man-date that every school have at least one.

Here is what you can do to help:1. Contact members of the Joint Com-

mittee on Education to advocate for thisbill, particularly if you are a constituent ofone of these 17 members: http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J14.

Not sure who your legislators are? Goto www.wheredoivoteinma.com.

2. Contact your state senator and rep-resentative and encourage them to sup-port HB 1068.

3. Ask everyone in your network to dothe same.

The bullying legislation passed last yearwith overwhelming support because therewas a public outcry. Why can’t this be truefor the mandating of elementary schoolcounselors?

Update on other bills MASCA’s other two bills filed in this ses-sion had been filed previously:

• House Bill 1941 – “An Act Estab-lishing a School Counseling LeadershipPilot Project to Accelerate College andCareer Readiness in Massachusetts Pub -lic Schools”

• House Bill 1945 – “An Act to AssureCollege and Career Readiness throughSix-Year Career Plans for all Massachu -setts Public School Students”

The hearings for those bills will beheld on November 1.

There is great interest in HB 1945. Ithas been a topic of conversation in manyarenas and passed in the House duringthe last session. If you are interested intestifying or assisting with this hearing,please let us know.

In addition to working on the abovethree bills, the Committee has been work-

ing behind the scenes meeting with staf -fers of the Joint Education Committee;Julie Johnson, Government Relations staf -fer at the MTA; State Rep. Todd Smola,sponsor of HB 1068; Dr. Saeyun Lee,Policy Director, Executive Office of Edu-cation; and supporters of career plans (JillNorton from the Rennie Center and Dr.

Scott Solberg, the new dean and schoolcounselor educator at Boston University).

The MASCA Advocacy Committee isalways looking for those willing to help.For more information, visit the MASCAAdvocacy Committee webpage at www.masca.org or contact me at bardwellr@monsonschools.com. ■

To advocate for MA House Bill 1068, contact your legislatorat www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J14

8 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

MA Model Implementation: A CollaborationBy ANN MARIE MUTZ and SUSAN PIVEROPittsfield High School and Taconic High School

A s the Lead Counselors in both highschools in the Pittsfield district, we

did not jump on the MA Model trainwhen it was first introduced. Call it re -luctance, call it sit back and observe, orsimply fear of the unknown, we were inno hurry. But now, thanks to the incred-ible training, resources, and support fromMASCA, we are ready and excited tomove forward to implement the Modelin our district.

The impetus to embracing the MAModel initiative has been the Race to theTop (RTTT) plan approved for our dis-trict and the unwavering support of ouradministrative team at all levels withinthe district and the two schools. We valuetheir leadership in this task, and we ap -preciate their combined encouragementand allocation of financial resources forprofessional development of our schoolcounseling team.

The school counseling departments atthe two high schools in the district, Pitts -field and Taconic, have always workedtogether to present consistency in our

philosophy and goals. This partnershipcontinues; all eight counselors from bothhigh schools work together to create andshare one mission: college and career read -iness for all students.

As lead counselors, when we at tend edthe 2011 MASCA Spring Conference inApril, the tasks ahead seemed overwhelm-ing. But one key message that we tookfrom the conference speakers and ourpeers was to attend the MA Model Insti-tutes as a team. Five of us were able todo so. From the recent ImplementationInstitute we walked away dazed at theamount of information we absorbed andthrilled at our newfound understandingof the Model. We also established greatnew collegial relationships with coun-selors and leaders from other schools inthe state, and the information exchangewas invaluable.

With the support of our administra-tors, we immediately followed the train-ing with a full week of professional de -velopment for all counselors to reviewthe Institute training and begin our im -

plementation. As a team, we designed anddrafted a department graphic that visu-ally represents the vision of our collabo-rative community partnership. With ourart department’s help, the completedgraphic will brand all school counselingdepartment materials and resources.

Collaborative Step 1:CalendarsIn working teams of two—each with aspecific assigned goal—we began im ple -menting our first collaborative action plan:calendars for our diverse stakeholders.

One team developed internal schoolcounseling department calendars to guideour planning and detail our collaborativeresponsibilities for administrative leaders.Another team created a concise calendarspecifically for teachers. A third team isdesigning grade-level specific annual cal-endars for students and their families ingrades 9-12. Exciting progress has beenmade, and draft documents are ready fordepartment and administrative review.

Collaborative Step 2: WebsitesA fourth team is taking responsibility forour website. We want the website to bea resource for all and a vehicle to show-case our work. This team did an incred-ible amount of research exploring web-sites around the country, and it has al readycompleted some training from our tech-nology department. We will be postingthe data we collect and analyze to docu-ment how our programs and services con-tribute to the academic success and col-lege/career readiness of our students.

In addition, we brainstormed on ourVision, and we are excited about whatwe feel accurately and completely repre-sents us as school counselors: Inspire—Learn—Grow…Together. We designeda logo for this Vision and are workingwith others (more artistically inclined) todevelop it.

Can you sense how proud we are ofwhat we have accomplished already? Justmonths ago we felt overwhelmed, but withDr. Helen O’Donnell at the helm of train-ing, we are now confident and lookingforward to showcasing our success story.A group of counselors have moved fromground zero in the MA Model to a modelprogram. ■

Mandating physical activity in schoolsThe recent Massachusetts mandates for healthful food choices in our schools(“State bans unhealthy food sales in schools,’’ Metro, July 14) took a giantstep forward against childhood obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and evencancer.

Now we must follow the lead of the United Kingdom. This month topmedical officers there set the first UK-wide guidelines, which call for at leastthree hours of daily physical activity for children under 5 years of age andat least one hour for those ages 5 to 18.

By mandating daily physical activity for all youngsters in our schools, wecan loosen the tethers to electronic devices and give the green light to fit-ness for this generation and the next.

— Sally Ann Connolly, “Letter to the Editor,” The Boston Globe,July 20, 2011, A12.

• MA House Bill 1053, Mandatory physical education for all studentsgrades K-12Hearing to be held on 9/20/2011

• Bill in Congress to promote September as National Childhood Obesity• Awareness Month

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr112-339

SEPTEMBER 2011 9

Greetings from VP Middle/Junior High

Salutations. My name is Albert Mer-cado and I am your MASCA Vice

President for Middle/Junior High School.I have been a school guidance counselorand administrator for the past elevenyears. Recently, I completed the EmergingLeaders Program (ELP), and I am excitedto continue to be involved with MASCAin my new role. Please contact me withyour thoughts, achievements, opinions,and concerns over the next year in rela-tion to school counseling at the middleschool level. I would love to connect withyou via LinkedIn.

As we start the new school year, takesome time and reflect on your role as aschool guidance counselor. We are allbeing asked to do more with less. But thisis also a perfect time for us to define our-selves and use our creativity, resources,and programmatic goals to do more,despite the financial uncertainties anddifficulties that have arisen.

We don’t know what the next fiscalschool year will bring. Thus, it’s impor-tant that we continue to communicateour values, roles, and contributions to ourschool board, parents, and stakeholders.Take time to reflect and seize those op -portunities that will allow you to brandyour school counseling program as a coreprogram for all students.

A perfect example is the Race to theTop Program, which gives us an historicopportunity to develop and reform ourcollege and career readiness efforts at theK-12 level.

College and career readiness is a con-cern for all students, K-12. Unfortunately,middle school years can often be “theforgotten middle” in relation to collegeand career readiness activities. A recentreport shows that fewer than two in teneighth-graders are on target to be ready

ALBERT MERCADOMASCA VP Middle/Junior High

for college-level work by the time theygraduate high school. In addition, al -though more of our students are gradu-ating from high school and going on tocollege, more are also finding themselvesin remedial courses. This is a national con-cern that we can no longer ignore.

As middle school counselors, we cantackle this issue. The efforts of MASCAand the pending legislation on a six-yearcareer plan are good examples. The work

we do now with our students and theirfamilies will determine if they will be pre-pared to take the gateway courses ingrades seven and eight to ensure that theyare college and career ready upon grad-uation from high school.

Please contact me and share your sto-ries and successes in relation to collegeand career readiness activities at the mid-dle school level. Have a safe and prosper-ous school year. ■

AFFILIATE NEWS

NECA honors counselorsNortheast Counselors Association held itsAwards Night on May 11 at DanversportYacht Club. Sponsor of the event wasDean College. The following awards werepresented:

Administrator of the Year AwardIrene Duros

Leadership AwardMichelle Burke

Counselor of the Year AwardRuth Ryan

Rising Star AwardNicole Luongo

Torch AwardJacqui DeLorenzo

Special AwardsPaul MoranCelia Barletta Deborah Gray

NECA names leadersNortheast Counselors Association has an -nounced that its Executive Board 2011-2012 will consist of:

PresidentKathleen Scott

President ElectTBA

Past PresidentMichelle Burke

SecretaryCaitlin Bailey

TreasurerCharles Brovelli

VP High SchoolBarbara Coutinho

VP Middle SchoolMaureen Leuke

VP ElementaryDonna Brennan

VP Vocational/TechnicalGary James

VP PostsecondaryJacqui DeLorenzo

10 COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

VP RetireesSally Ann Connolly

MembershipJillian Celi

MASCA TrusteeTBA

Members at LargeFlorence AthanasiaEd BryantJohn GouldMarjorie HensleyJames MilleaRalph SennottJames StaffordThomas WalshMary Westcott

Graduate Student LiaisonSteven Gwinn

Counselor EducatorJudith Josephs

GBSCA announces leadershipGreater Boston School Coun sel ors Asso -ciation (formerly, Greater Boston Guid -ance Association) held its final meet ing ofthe 2010-2011 academic year on May 12.Host for the meeting was Mass a chusettsMaritime Academy.

Receiving scholarships from the affiliatewere Ariana Roche (Medford High School)and Monika Girnius (North Quincy HighSchool).

GBSCA officers for 2011-2012 are:

Co-PresidentsJohn Steere Meredith Chamberland

Past PresidentJames Ash

Secretary/Treasurer/MembershipAmy Redfearn

To contact the association, e-mail jgbsca@comcast.net. ■

Brovelli receives recognition

Ed Bryant, MASCA Life Trustee (left), presents Charles Brovelli with the TributeAward certificate. Charlie, former MASCA Directory Editor, was unable to attendthe formal ceremonies held at the MASCA Spring Conference. Belated congratu-lations from MASCA for many years of service to the organization and its affiliates.

Renew yourMASCA membership and

enjoy all the benefits.

www.masca.org

SEPTEMBER 2011 11

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NEWBURYPORT, MAPERMIT NO. 96

Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc.COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Sally Ann Connolly, Editor

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YOUR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL DATE IS INDICATED BY YEAR AND MONTH ON YOUR ADDRESS LABEL ABOVE.To renew your membership, go to MASCA’s website, www.masca.org.

RTTT Pre-Conference WorkshopMonday, October 24 • Holiday Inn, Boxboro

_____________

MASCA Fall ConferenceTuesday, October 25 • Holiday Inn, Boxboro

_____________

MASCA Fall Conference Keynoter

DR. VIVIAN LEE

D r. Vivian Lee, Senior Director ofCoun selor Advocacy at the Na tion -

al Office for School Counselor Advocacy(NOSCA) of The College Board, will bethe MASCA Fall Conference keynotespeaker.

NOSCA is charged with advocating forschool counselors on a national level. Itsgoal is to advance equity and social justicein educational outcomes for all students,but especially for underserved populations.

Much of Dr. Lee’s work centers ontraining school counselors to become data-driven, culturally responsive practitionerswho can engage in the systemic changenecessary to meet the needs of all stu-dent populations. Additionally, she works

with counselors, district leaders, state de -partments of education, professional org-anizations, and counselor educators to ad -vance equity-focused counseling practice.

Lee is past president of the MarylandAssociation for Counseling and Devel op-

ment, co-director of the NOSCA-CSCORFellows Program, and since 2004, asso-ciate adjunct professor at University ofMaryland, College Park.

A former teacher, secondary schoolcounselor, director of guidance and coun-seling, and full-time counselor educator atOld Dominion University and Universityof Scranton, she is the author or co-authorof articles and book chapters on conflictresolution, group counseling, and devel-oping school counseling programs.

Internationally, Lee just completed acollaborative, nine-year library /schoolbuilding project in Ghana, West Africa.In 2008 she was awarded the Counselorsfor Social Justice O’Hara Award. ■