Not "How" ... But "Why"

Well, friends, here we sit on the precipice of another school year.  After a long summer of various odd jobs and an extended vacation from my fiancee, who took my dog to Minneapolis so she could take a graduate class (which was really, really hard for me!), my excitement for the coming year grows and bubbles in my brain.  If you have at least a year of School Counseling under your belt, you are likely gearing up for a busy, sometimes stressful school year.  When I look at a school year in one big chunk (macro, if you will)... well, it can be overwhelming.  It is moments like this that I like to remind myself why I am passionate about being a School Counselor; not just how to do it.

I read a bunch of awesome School Counseling blogs that teach others all kinds of things.  You can learn how dress for the job over at JYJ Counselor; how to use Google Drive with The Counseling Geek; and even how to "#SCCHAT" at SCOPE.  I read these blogs and I love it.  I wouldn't be the School Counselor I am today without their guidance, candor and understanding.  This post though, my post, is all about what came before the "how"... the passion, the "why."  The school I work at has ten school counselors total, a wealth of knowledge and experience for a new counselor to have at their daily disposal.  One day, while we all sat around eating our lunches in our cozy conference room, there was a lull in conversation and I turned to my mentor-counselor (who is my data-driven idol!) and asked why she chose this profession.  What ensued was an eye-opening discussion of why each of us became School Counselors.

For my mentor, she talked about finishing her undergrad and coaching women's Field Hockey.  Through that work, she identified that she could bridge those skills into a career and enrolled in a graduate program at a local university.  One, who was a former teacher, talked about how students always approached her for advice anyway, so becoming a counselor was a natural progression.  Another had volunteered with students through his place of worship and quickly identified an interest in helping young people through a sometimes tumultuous time of their lives.  For myself, I always enjoyed working with people, listening to their problems and easily empathized.  I had a teacher at school (whose wife is a fantastic School Counselor in Wisconsin) who showed me how important it is for students to have people who listen and help them find solutions to their own problems (plus, I really like spreadsheets!).  I am forever indebted to that teacher and like to think that I can be that kind of support for my own students.

After the awesome conversation at the lunch table, I thought I should take my "why" question to the Twitter-verse and here are some of the responses I got:

Big question for #scchat and #SCCrowd community: what made you want to become a school counselor, anyway? Can you share in 140 characters?!?

— Dylan Hackbarth (@dylanhackbarth) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth @SCCrowd For me it was a desire to help the students 1 on 1 more. So many underlying issues were impacting their education.

— Star Jackson (@Nassau2013) August 13, 2014

@dylanhackbarth son of educators, knew I didn't want to teach, counselors coolest people in my hs, get 2 help so many #scchat

— GeekMaster Jeff (@CounselingGeek) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth to payback what I had been given , to make a difference, to help , I love working with adolescents!

— Susan Spellman Cann (@SSpellmanCann) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth I've been working w/ HS students for last 10 years in other ways. Becoming a SC made sense for my next 30+.

— Jeremie Bateman (@JeremieBateman) August 5, 2014

These stories are AWESOME.  Can you share your reason in 140 characters? Tweet at me (@dylanhackbarth) and include the tag #SCCHAT... WHY did you become a School Counselor!?

Catching Up

It has been awhile.  Looking back, I should have expected my blogging to fall off when the school year started.  I mean, I started my first position as a school counselor, in a new school, in a new state.  It is okay though- while a ton has happened since I last wrote, personally and professionally, I am back on the figurative "blogging horse" and will catch you up on some of the stuff I've been up to.  No real tips here today, more of a re-introduction:

Professionally-

I count my lucky stars each day I get to work with the fantastic student services team at my school.  In total, there are ten (I KNOW, TEN!!!) school counselors within my high school.  Nine of us have caseloads of a few hundred students while one works as the "transition counselor"- a very important individual who gives extra, extra support to students who may be struggling academically.  We have two school psychologists and one social worker.  Want to talk about spoiled, we have a host of other professionals that specialize in specific areas of serving students, a registrar, transcript assistant, assessment coach and student information assistant.  In combination, this group works like a well-oiled machine and, thankfully, when I've had questions I always have somebody available to ask.  

Of the ten counselors, four of us were new to the building this year.  Another and I were total greenhorns, while two others transferred from other schools within the county.  I have a mentor who is one of the most organized, productive and kind individuals I have ever met- best of all, her office is right across the hall.  Pretty convenient while acclimating to the regulations and little details of working in one of the largest school districts in the country!  

Speaking of offices!  Here is a short Vine of mine.  Be warned, I took this video back in August- I promise my desk is neater now (don't worry, mom!)  I've also hung my diplomas on the wall, right next to some of my Wienermobile memorabilia...

One of the best parts of being a new school counselor is integrating the fresh knowledge I have, just out of graduate school, to the tried and true methodology of a productive team.  Did I mention that my mentor is our American School Counselor Association RAMP coordinator?  I love me some data and ASCA-aligned comprehensive school counseling!  We don't apply again until next spring, but, as a team, we have already begun editing our department's vision and mission statements.

The first year as a School Counselor is a bit like trial by fire.  I wrote 50-ish letters of recommendation and advised students through the college application process. I hold 504 Plan meetings, attend IEPs, complete academic advising meetings with each student, plan conferences, crisis counseling, goal setting, classroom lessons, lunch duty, register new students, field parent phone calls, answer emails upon emails, and on and on and on.  Other school counselors out there know how far that list extends... After the challenge of graduate school, it is nice to know it is real.

Personally-
I mentioned at the end of my previous post that I got a dog.  Maple is a Pointer/Pitbull (I pronounce it: pibble) mix.  Here is a Vine I took after she won a dog cookie in a Howl-o-ween costume contest:

On another personal note, my Music Teacher Lady and I are engaged.

It has been a crazy but very rewarding year.  I hope to continue blogging and have a few posts with some tips and personal practices brewing in my mind.  Til then.

Interview Preparation: What to Bring

Long time, no post.  I know, it is the pitfall of any new or new-ish blogger- we have a flurry of ideas at the beginning and then we see something shiny and our attention is gone.  Such is life.  Not to make more excuses, but I am a week from graduating!  Another exciting piece of news, after completing a slew of interviews, I accepted a position within Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia.

It is school counselor interview season and I plan to do a couple of posts about what has helped me 1) get interviews and 2) prepare for interviews.  If you are looking for a one-stop-shop for this kind of information, I highly recommend reading Danielle's post over at "SchoolCounselorBlog" with great interview tips.  I started searching counseling blogs and ASCA Scene last November in preparation for the whirlwind interview season...so, if you are reading this, I highly recommend checking those web resources.

Some of my cohort-mates have been asking me about what I bring to interviews.  First of all, I bring my A-game.  I make sure to read as much as I can about the school, district, and the people that will be interviewing me.  Many schools have counseling websites where they post photos and short biographies- it is funny because at interviews, it feels like you are meeting celebrities when you get to meet the other counselors... maybe that was just me.  Checking school counseling webpages helped me get a feel for the school before I even stepped a foot in the door- look at the program's missions/visions, services offered, student data... many schools have it all right there!

Now, what do I actually bring to the interview?  The School Counseling Fellows program at Johns Hopkins University requires all students to complete an e-portfolio that addresses the eight parts of CACREP.  Since I was doing interviews pretty early, I didn't have my e-portfolio done, but I would have gladly shared it with prospective schools/districts if I had.  Here is a link!  

In lieu of the e-portfolio, I had a nice folder/portfolio that I got from an office supply store for about $4.  I thought of interview materials in two categories: (1) "credential" materials that show your educational background and other professional credentials and (2) "work" materials that show what you can actually do.  For "credential" materials, you want to bring a copy of your resume, references, and business cards if you have them.  I had different references sheets depending on where I was interviewing because some my references had stronger connections depending on the district I was interviewing.  I also always brought copies of my four letters of recommendation and transcripts from my undergrad at the University of Minnesota and my up-to-date transcripts from Johns Hopkins University, just in case the interviewer or committee wanted to see it.

Did you get all that?  Here is a "credential" checklist:

1. Resume                                                       
2. Reference Sheet                                          
3. Business Cards
4. Letters of Recommendation
5. Transcripts (undergrad and graduate)

I brought multiple copies of all the aforementioned materials.  Even if I was not asked to provide the materials, I always offered them at the end of the interviews (good way to be on top of your stuff, eh?)

For "work" materials, I made sure to bring examples of work that show my ability to fit the multiple and varied capacities that counselors fulfill:

1. A lesson plan (I like to use Understanding by Design templates) and a classroom counseling lesson I did with career clusters on Naviance.com.  I like to use a lesson plan template to show my full conceptualization of what the students already know, what I wanted them to learn, my delivery methods and my assessment tools.
2. SMART Goal Worksheet- I created this worksheet for my everyday "counselor tool kit."  I have used in in classroom lessons but also pull in out when working individually with students to help them formulate specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and timely goals.  Obviously the concept of a "SMART" goal already exists, but I wanted to show how I could create my own documents to define my own practice.
3. DATA- I brought several data sets (complete with spreadsheets, graphs and PowerPoint presentations I presented to classmates and school personnel) to show how I evaluate my interventions and how I completed grade-level needs assessments through my internship and practicum experiences.  As graduate students, we learn data, but I like to show how I can actually use it.
4. Other materials that show off my specific skills.  I am a pretty techie guy.  I digitized my internship site's school registration packet.  Since the school had Promethean Boards in each room, students and families could view relevant registration, scheduling, and college readiness information by following the simple prompts.  I brought a copy of the presentation and used it as a talking point to show off what I can do.

Everyone has different skills and completes different projects through their practicum and internship experiences.  I suggest finding your top projects, make sure they address varying levels of intervention, and bring them along.  You may not get to show them off, but at least you have them to back up what you are saying.  

Again, I just went through this process over the past couple of months.  I am not a voice of authority on the subject of getting hired, but I think it is valuable to share what worked for me.  Good luck if you are in the process!  Keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of weeks as I share some of my other "lived experiences" from the interview process.  Make sure you leave a comment if you have any specific questions about other things I did!

PS.  I got a dog!

I really need to learn how to rotate pictures on here...