BLOG & PODCAST · ADVOCACY & DATA
Advocacy & Data
Advocating for your role, and putting your data to work.
97 posts and episodes, newest first. Each one opens on counselorclique.com.
Blog The Class PBS Docuseries: A Must-Watch for High School Counselors *This post is sponsored by The Class Documentary. High school counselors are almost exclusively portrayed in a negative light in the media… often the old-fashioned…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 169 3 Tasks You’re Going to Do Before You Check Out for the Year As the school year winds down and summer break is calling your name, it’s tempting to just check out and mentally shut the door on this year. But before you do, there…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 168 You’ve Collected Data All Year – Here’s What to Do With It Now You’ve been collecting data all year—student attendance, classroom lesson frequency, intervention effectiveness, and student stories… but now what? In this episode, I’m…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 160 Are Non-Counseling Duties Draining You? Here’s How to Take Control Are non-counseling duties taking over your days? If you’re spending more time on testing, paperwork, and hall duty than actually working with students, you’re not alone…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 155 When Parents Don’t Understand Your Role as a Counselor (and How to Change That!) Have you ever felt like parents don’t understand what you actually do as a school counselor? I know I’ve experienced this more times than I can count! In this episode, I…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 146 The School Counselor’s Role in School Safety and Crisis Management with Brandy Samuell When you work in a school, there are a million and one things to think about every single day. School safety is at the top of that list, and might even be one of the…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 144 How to Host a College Application Day As school counselors, we know that not all of our students are going to go to college after graduating. However, for the students who do have college in their future…Small Groups & Lessons, College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 143 Coffee with the Counselor: What It Is and How to Run It Have you ever held a “Coffee with the Counselor” event at your school? This can be a great opportunity for parents to connect with counselors and other parents all while…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 142 Why You Need to Plan Your Year with a 10,000 Foot View Begin with the end in mind. You’ve probably heard this advice before, but I want it to be your mantra this school year! One of the best things you can do at the…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Podcast · Episode 141 How a High School Counseling Curriculum Map Will Set You Up to Win This Year Whether you’re still on summer break or have already kicked off a new school year, there’s one thing I think you need during this season: a curriculum map! While it’s…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Podcast · Episode 132 What to Do When You Work with an Old School Guidance Counselor As a new school counselor, we’re excited and eager to focus on students, enhance the counseling program at our school, and advocate for our role to others in the…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 129 3 Educators Who Changed the Way I Approached My High School Counseling Job If you’ve been in the education field long enough, you know that the people you work with, encounter along your journey, and meet on the different paths in your career…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 124 Ready for Summer? Close out These 3 Things to End the Year as a High School Counselor 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…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 123 Making an Impact with Data at the End of the Year 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…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 114 How to Collect and Share Data for Your Small Groups You’re ready to start using small groups in your high school, but you need to be able to measure their effectiveness and have something tangible to show for your…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 110 Here’s Why You Should Care About National School Counseling Week Did you know National School Counseling Week is only a few weeks away? This year’s celebration is from February 5 through February 9, 2024. Before you ignore this…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 107 3 Ways to Reset As You Kick Off the New Year [Replay] We are taking it back to the second episode of this podcast! This episode is the perfect reminder to focus on resetting yourself for the new year and semester! It’s easy…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 106 Increase Your Job Satisfaction by Setting and Keeping Boundaries: Here’s How! As high school counselors, many of us are natural helpers, and some are to a fault. This often shows up as us not following through on the boundaries we’ve set for…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 104 What to Know About Multi-Tiered System of Supports as a High School Counselor with Dr. Jake Olsen and Dr. Peg Donohue [Replay] Are you familiar with MTSS? In case you aren’t, MTSS stands for Multi-Tiered System of Supports. Essentially, it is a framework that helps schools be effective and…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 103 Rachel Davis Shows Us How to Reclaim Our Schedule With a Time Audit Are you tired of trying to squeeze in everything and feeling overwhelmed? Scheduling is hard when you’re pulled in so many different directions, and it’s something that…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 102 Support Strategies for Meeting Your High School Students’ Mental Health Needs As high school counselors with large caseloads, it can feel like a lot of pressure when it comes to trying to handle the mental health needs of students on top of…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 98 What Should You Do if an Administrator Isn’t Acknowledging the Value of Your Work? We know that as high school counselors, our roles are unique and specialized, and it’s crucial to feel valued and respected by our admin. But what happens when an…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 97 A Parent-Counselor Perspective of the College Application Process with Tyesha Hemmans When we have children of our own, we have to juggle the role of parent and high school counselor. Our experience in school counseling can pay off when it comes to…College & Career, Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 94 Create a Community of Raving Fans for Your High School Counseling Program Wouldn’t it be nice to have a community of raving fans for your high school counseling program? You know, those people who are not only aware of the amazing work you’re…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 93 School Counselor Advocacy and Empowering Students for Post-Secondary Success with Priscilla Grijalva After witnessing a student feel defeated about plans to attend community college rather than a University, Priscilla Grijalva knew that she needed to change the…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 92 How to Advocate for Undocumented Students in Your High School Each student on your caseload has unique needs. Your DACA and undocumented students face a particular set of challenges, and you have the opportunity to be a beacon of…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 89 What to Know About Implementing an Effective Student Support Team We all have students on our caseload who are falling through the cracks in one way or another. While part of your job is to advocate for these students and find…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students, Programs & Systems
Podcast · Episode 86 Comparing the Roles of Elementary, Middle, and High School Counselors with Laura Rankhorn and Kim Crumbley If you’ve ever been curious about the differences in school counseling roles based on the grade levels they support, then this episode is for you. I’m joined by Alabama…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 83 How to Use Needs Assessments Strategically This Year in Your High School Counseling Program Let’s tackle a topic that’s been surprisingly absent from the podcast so far: needs assessments! You’re gearing up for a new school year and are ready to make a big…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Podcast · Episode 81 Protecting and Prioritizing Student Confidentiality as a School Counselor One of our greatest responsibilities and privileges as school counselors is student confidentiality. I know how difficult it can be when others in the school don’t…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 80 From Guidance Counselor to School Counselor: Why Our Title MATTERS! Let’s talk about something that may (or may not) ruffle some feathers – our title! Does it really matter if we’re called guidance counselors instead of school…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 78 How Collecting Calendar Data Can Actually Advocate for Your Role As school counselors, we often find ourselves reacting to emergencies rather than proactively helping our students. But what if I told you that your work calendar could…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 77 What it Looks Like to Implement MTSS In a High School Setting with Dr. Jake Olsen and Dr. Peg Donohue Are you familiar with MTSS? In case you aren’t, MTSS stands for Multi-Tiered System of Supports. Essentially, it is a framework that helps schools be effective and…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students, Counselor Growth
Blog 4 Ways to Make the Most of Your High School Counseling Budget Whether you’ve just been given a pool of funds or you’re brainstorming ways to advocate for more dollars in your high school counseling budget, let’s talk about how to…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 71 An Administrator’s Perception of School Counselors and the Roles They Play Your school’s administration can make all the difference in your job satisfaction as a high school counselor. The experience you have in your role might look very…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 70 What High School Counselors Can Learn from Oatly’s Newest Marketing Campaign Have you ever offered an idea during a team meeting only to have it shut down? Are you nervous to try something new in your counseling program out of fear that it won’t…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 67 How to Utilize Free Financial Literacy Resources in Your High School Counseling Program with Alyssa Lyons Think back to your family dinner table conversations while you were growing up. Did the topic of finances come up, or was that kept private? For many of us, there was a…College & Career, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 66 Maximizing Your Reach with Classroom Lessons (and How to Get Teachers on Board!) There are so many things we do as school counselors to support and impact as many students as possible. One of the best ways that you can ensure you’re maximizing your…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 64 CTE Teacher and High School Counselor Partnerships with Khristen Massic If you’ve been a listener of this podcast for a while, then you know how much I encourage you to build and nurture relationships with staff members in your school…Small Groups & Lessons, College & Career, Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 60 Setting Boundaries with Others and Managing Expectations Around Burnout Leave work at your contracted time. Don’t bring your work computer home with you. Close your door as needed for breaks. Don’t give out your cell phone number to…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 59 National School Counseling Week: 5 Forgotten Ways to Promote Your School Counseling Program National School Counseling week is just around the corner! What does that mean to you? I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but if you’re expecting it to be a week…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Blog Advance Your High School Counseling Program with Social Media: 4 Best Practices (For All Levels) Most of you probably have some sort of interaction with social media on a personal level, but have you considered the benefits of using various platforms to give your…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 57 Your Guide to Navigating Parent Relationships If you had to think of three things that you didn’t receive much training on in grad school, but has become a huge part of your job, I’ll bet that parent relationships…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 55 Teamwork Tips for High School Counselors and Administrators The relationship between high school counselors and administrators is an important one. You often work closely together supporting students and their families. However…Advocacy & Data
Blog Remember These 3 Fundamentals When Engaging Failing Students With huge caseloads of students, outsiders may be surprised by the amount of time high school counselors spend with our failing students. Whether we’re calling their…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Blog Your Cheat-Sheet for Navigating Parent Relationships: 4 Pro Tips When you graduated with your degree in school counseling, it’s probably safe to assume that the tall task of building and maintaining parent relationships was not at the…Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Simple Ways to Use Data as a High School Counselor For many counselors, just hearing the word data makes you start to squirm. This makes sense when you consider that most of us are wired to connect with people, not…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 53 School Counselor and Teacher Partnerships with Rebecca Joyner of It’s Not Rocket Science® Do you have friends at work? Having close relationships with colleagues can make such a big difference in your overall experience as a school counselor. Not only does it…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 51 How Your Strengths & Skills as a School Counselor Can Be Used in a Private Practice with Lorraine Holeman Several weeks ago, I posted on Instagram about a colleague’s unique work space and quickly learned that you all wanted to learn more about her and her private practice!…Advocacy & Data
Blog A Break Down of 4 Counselor Caseload Models: What I Like and Don’t Like About Them When it comes to settling on a counselor caseload model that is best for your school, there are a lot of things to consider. I’ll be the first to admit, there is no…Advocacy & Data
Blog Our Role as an IEP Team Member: 3 Things High School Counselors Want Teachers and Families to Know When it comes to putting together an effective IEP team, many hands make light work. Teachers, parents, and counselors all have indispensable roles to play as IEP team…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 49 Using a Social Media Strategy to Promote Your High School Counseling Program You wear a lot of hats as a high school counselor, and ‘social media strategist’ probably isn’t one of them…yet! Whether you love it or hate it, having a social media…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Ways Time Management Can Be a Powerful High School Counseling Advocacy Tool One of the great plights of being a school counselor: no one really knows what you do. When others don’t adequately value your time, you have to be your own time…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 48 Research in School Counseling – 4 Categories and What to Do With Them with Sara of The Responsive Counselor When you hear the word ‘research’, do you get excited or want to run the other way as fast as you can? I think many school counselors are the latter, and if you’re one…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 45 4 Different Caseload Model Types (Plus My Honest Thoughts on Them) There are so many pros and cons to consider when laying out different caseload model possibilities for your school counseling program. There isn’t much research out…Advocacy & Data
Blog The High School Counselor-Administrator Relationship: 3 Effective, Healthy Habits The counselor-administrator relationship can be an absolute force for good when leveraged correctly. As with any relationship, this partnership requires some intentional…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 44 Owning Your Time Management by Using Your Calendar You’re in the right place if you’re looking for some short and sweet time management tips and a pep talk about your time management. These tips will be some of your…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 42 How to Use Data in Your High School Counseling Program Without Overthinking It I’m going to use this episode to win you over to the side of at least CONSIDERING using data in your school counseling program. Even if you’re allergic to it. Or you…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 29 How to Invest in Yourself as a High School Counselor So That You Make a Lasting Impact on Students Start with YOURSELF when deciding how you’re going to make the most impact on your students! Most of us would acknowledge that “impact” is one of the biggest outcomes we…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Podcast · Episode 19 Using an Advisory Council to Tell Your Story with Lauren and Vira Lauren LaPera and Vira James of Ashley Ridge High School in Charleston, South Carolina bring their voices to the High School Counseling Conversations podcast! Listen as…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 18 10 Key Stakeholders to Invite to Your School Counseling Advisory Council Meetings- Part 2 It’s time to get strategic about the key stakeholders around your advisory council table. In Part 2 of 2 episodes, I cover 5 more people to consider inviting to your…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 17 10 Key Stakeholders to Invite to Your School Counseling Advisory Council Meetings- Part 1 After last week’s episode (Episode 16) where we discussed the benefits that a school counseling advisory council can offer your program, I thought our next steps would…Advocacy & Data
Podcast · Episode 16 School Counseling Advisory Councils: 3 Ideas to Consider Before Starting Yours School counseling advisory councils can feel very daunting and sort of unnecessary if you don’t have one in place yet. You’re probably wondering… “Why is this even…Advocacy & Data
Blog School Counseling Services: 3 Ways a High School Counselor Can Provide Meaningful Services As a high school counselor, I sat around more IEP tables than I could count as a part of the school counseling services that are offered by high school counselors…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Podcast · Episode 7 Resetting Your School Counseling Team in the New Year Help your department by casting vision and resetting your school counseling team whether you’re the department head or a passionate team player. In this last episode of…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Podcast · Episode 3 Resetting Your Admin Relationships in the New Year In Episode 3 of High School Counseling Conversations, we talk about 3 practical ways to focus on resetting your admin relationships or establish a direction with your…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Blog All Things Data: Everything High School Counselors Need to Know About Data There are many topics to tackle surrounding data collection in high school counseling. When and where should I collect data? How should I use it? Where and with whom…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Valuable Places to Share Your Compelling School Counseling Data What good is the data you’re collecting as a high school counselor if you’re not sharing it with anyone? You’re running a data-driven program! It’s time to shout it from…Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Unassuming Ways to Incorporate Perception Data Into Your High School Counseling Program Perception data answers the question, “How are students different in their thoughts, attitudes, skills, behaviors, or knowledge because of what we are doing as school…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Misconceptions About Collecting Data in Your High School Counseling Program Collecting data is the thing you want to get better at but just don’t know where to start. It’s way easier to make excuses and never make progress on this front, right?…Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Reasons Why Using Data Matters in Your High School Counseling Program When asked why counselors aren’t using data, I found a lack of understanding about its usefulness (it makes total sense that you wouldn’t collect data if it was useless…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Ways to Find Money for Your Professional Development Opportunities Ever wonder how you’re going to fund your professional development or professional learning opportunities? I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve been given the full amount, I’ve…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Blog 3 Ways to Make a More Profound Impact on Students by Changing Your Mindset As high school counselors, we are always looking to make a bigger and more profound impact on students while still balancing all of the tasks throughout our day-to-day…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students, Counselor Growth
Blog 3 Unassuming Ways to Invest in Your School Counseling Program So That Your Students Will Grow As school counselors, we all want to see students succeed, so how can we reach all students and help them grow to their fullest potential? Just like every student will…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Tips for Gaining Guaranteed Teacher Buy-In to Your School Counseling Program How do you rally teachers to get on your team and move in the direction you’re headed? Teacher buy-in is so important for moving your school counseling program forward!…Advocacy & Data
Blog 4 Places to Seek Worthwhile Stakeholder Buy-In from Your Local Community Community partnerships can be such a valuable asset to your school counseling program. Your community stakeholders are another piece of your stakeholder puzzle in…Advocacy & Data
Blog How to Confidently Communicate with 3 Main Stakeholders While Planning High School Counseling Small Groups It’s important for students, teachers, admin, and parents to be on the same page about the high school counseling small groups you’re running. If you want your small…Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data
Blog Taking Back Your Calendar: 3 Helpful Tips to Prioritize Your Job and Advocate for Your Role We all know that our days are (and, therefore, our calendar is) absolutely crazy. No two are ever the same as school counselors. (It’s honestly one of my favorite things…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
Blog 2 Ideas for Impactful Tier 1 Academic Interventions with High School Students I am convinced a big part of my school’s student success is because of the effort put towards tier 1 academic interventions with our students. We have always had a…Advocacy & Data, Supporting Students
Blog Master Open Communication With Your Administrators Using These 3 Tips As school counselors, we know how valuable a strong relationship with an administrator can be. This relationship can benefit a student, a caseload, or even an entire…Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Simple Ways to Decide Who Does What in Your School Counseling Program Are you hoping I’m just going to tell you to play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to decide who gets what responsibilities for the year in your school counseling program?…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Blog 7 Helpful Questions For and Answers From a High School Counselor: Part 1 I recently opened up a Q&A on my Instagram stories where followers asked questions about a “day in the life of a high school counselor.” I figured I’d do a round up of…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Blog 6 Questions For and Answers From a High School Counselor: Part 2 Here is round 2 of my Questions and Answers for a High School Counselor Round-Up! Here is a compilation of questions and answers to/from a high school counselor from…Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
Blog Counselor Self-Care: The 5 Myths You’re Believing About Work Email Causing You to Fail at It Let’s address the elephant in the room. School counselors are natural helpers. Not checking email at home is actually counselor self-care! My biggest argument for not…Advocacy & Data, Counselor Growth
- Blog A High School Counselor’s Year in Review I blinked and this year flew by! I took a minute to exhale as I was reviewing what we accomplished this year in order to present it at our end-of-the-year School…
Advocacy & Data
Blog 5 Promising Characteristics of a Principal Who Supports School Counselors If you DO already have a good working relationship with your principal, you already know how valuable this is. If you don’t, maybe it’s something you wish you had. Maybe…Advocacy & Data
Blog Why I Love “Coffee with the Counselors” Partnering with stakeholders is important. We know this to be true. As high school counselors, we are connectors in our school buildings and in our community. It’s a…Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Reasons You Need to Start a Devoted School Counseling Advisory Council Each year, our 3 school counseling advisory councils prove to be one of my favorite parts of our comprehensive school counseling program. It’s definitely easier to make…Advocacy & Data
Blog Counselor Fly-Ins: 7 Insider Things You Need to Know About Them Counselor Fly-Ins are the hidden treasures of school counselor professional development! You get to explore and travel, learn about a college, and bring home information…College & Career, Advocacy & Data
Blog 3 Easy Ways To Advocate for Your Time Without Rocking the Boat How should we best advocate for our roles as school counselors? How should we protect our time to ensure we best serve students and families? How do you let…Advocacy & Data
- Blog How to Use Quick Perception Data for Effective Career Programming: A Pre/Post Test I created a pre/post test that could be used for a variety of career lessons: career small groups classroom lessons: regular ed, special ed, freshman success, etc…
College & Career, Advocacy & Data
Blog Before Applying to RAMP: 5 Things You Need to Know to Kickstart the Process Our school is officially a RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) school, and it feels SO good! This is such an important designation and something you can advocate for in…Advocacy & Data
- Blog 4 Tactics for Collecting Classroom Data I really dove into the importance of collecting meaningful data in new, creative ways as our department endeavored applying for RAMP this past year. This semester, I’ve…
Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
- Blog How to Advocate for Your School Counseling Department Using a Data Wall Some feedback from our end-of-the-year Advisory Council meeting came in the form of “I didn’t know all of the great things you were doing!” especially from parents and…
Small Groups & Lessons, Advocacy & Data
- Blog What No One Tells You About Digitalizing Your Sign In System We were kickin’ it old school with a paper notebook sign in to our school counseling office until October of this past school year. We thought… what an easy opportunity…
Advocacy & Data, Programs & Systems
- Blog What No One Tells You About the Big, Bad Data Monster We are feverishly validating our skills and services as school counselors with data, data, data. As I’ve moved past the initial that’s super scary and I want nothing to…
Advocacy & Data
- Blog Practical Ways to Incorporate Career Assessments into Your School Counseling Curriculum Did you know November is NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT MONTH? There’s no way you wouldn’t around our high school. I am a huge advocate of career education and career…
College & Career, Advocacy & Data