Counselor Connection--June 17

In order for us to ensure supplies, food, and goodies, please register by today! Attend on the morning of July 17th for McKinney-Vento Pre-Conference and then come to the Counselor Retreat and you can get reimbursed for up to 3 nights hotel and mileage from your campus. See below for more info! AND we are going to have some FANTASTIC stuff to give you that will staff your counseling office. This is the don't miss event of the year! If you haven't completed the Google Form with your t-shirt size and you are planning to attend, please do so.

Attend on Wednesday from 9-12 with the McKinney-Vento Team and your travel for up to three nights, as well as mileage from your campus will be reimbursed. See flyer above for more details. Register Online.

Low-burden, high-impact strategies to increase well-being, belonging, and engagement in all areas of campus community by introducing a consistent structure for learning that promotes powerful relationship-building while also helping students find value in their learning. Training will include staff community building, research-backed classroom engagement, usable tools and strategies, meaningful and inspirational content, and practical problem solving. Register Online (this is for both days).

School counselors must negotiate the competing interests of the overregulated school environment, student’s need for confidentiality, and the legal rights of parents to be the guiding voice in their children's lives. Updates on these competing interests will be discussed through recent court developments. Legal rulings will be highlighted in areas such as sexually active students, bullying, academic advising, child abuse, educational records, and sexual harassment, First Amendment rights, and transgender youth. The goal is to facilitate participants’ legal literacy and provide guiding principles to support best ethical practice.

Call the Fredericksburg Inn and Suites at 830-997-0202 and ask for the rate for the ESC REGION 15 COUNSELOR RETREAT. It should be for $107 per night.

If you haven't heard of or utilized a mobile app called How We Feel, it was developed by a friend of ours Marc Bracket. Marc is a research psychologist and the Founding Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. This app is a great first step to take this summer to help you identify patterns and grow in emotional awareness.

Have you attended the training on Building a Practice to Support Educator Wellness & Trauma-Informed Classrooms and Campuses? This Trainer of Trainer model will provide you with the resources needed to help those on your campus in these areas. If we have enough interest, we can get this on the calendar.

1. The Servant - James C. Hunter
2. The Road to Character - David Brooks
3. The Power of Moments - Chip Heath and Dan Heath
4. The Energy Bus - Jon Gordon
5. The Culture - James C. Hunter
6. The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
7. Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World - Michele Borba
8. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win - Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
9. Think Again - Adam Grant
10. Deep Kindness - Houston Kraft

Young adults will learn tips to start their own conversations and spot the signs that a friend may be struggling. Watch them on Instagram. To learn more, you can also read AFSP’s news release.

Suicide Safer Homes Brochure for Distribution Partnered by: 988, Trevor Project, AgriStress, Disaster Distress Helpline, Texas Suicide Prevention Collaborative

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy) and accompanying Federal Action Plan. The National Strategy outlines concrete recommendations that seek to prevent suicide risk; identify and support people with increased risk through treatment and crisis intervention; prevent reattempts; promote long-term recovery; and support survivors. Suicide is an urgent and growing public health crisis, particularly among youth. In 2021, 22 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide, with nearly 1 in 10 having attempted suicide.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools Action Guide in December to help school and district leaders build on their efforts to promote students’ mental health. The guide describes six strategies proven to support mental health and well-being in schools. New implementation tools are available to help leaders prioritize strategies, create an implementation plan, and share it with partners.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Know2Protect, Together We Can Stop Online Child ExploitationTM, a first-of-its-kind national public awareness campaign that brings together public and private sector partners. Through Know2Protect, DHS and its partners will educate and empower young people, parents, and trusted adults on ways to prevent and combat exploitation and abuse both on and offline, explain how to report incidents of these crimes, and offer support resources for victims and survivors of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency School Safety Security Taskforce partnered with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center to develop the K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit. This toolkit is designed to help students and community members report safety and wellness concerns in schools. It provides strategies and guidance for K -12 schools and districts to improve safety reporting programs and encourage bystanders to report any issues they witness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) offers a guide, Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: An Action Guide for School and District Leaders. The guide is about helping students with their feelings and mental health. It talks about things like helping students understand mental health, doing activities that help them relax and feel calm, making connections between students, families, and school staff, and making sure that the staff also feel good.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation and YouTube Kids have teamed up to share tips to help families practice healthy online habits now and into the school year. Whether families use free Wi-Fi at the library, log on to the family laptop, or browse apps on their smartphones, these tips will help children stay safe and secure online.

As you are working on schedules for the 2024-25 year, remember that some Program of Study names have changed as well as courses. Please refer to the 24-25 Program of Study TEA page.

At the April State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting, the SBOE approved for first reading and filing authorization proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter B, Graduation Requirements, §74.13, Endorsements. The proposed amendments would update titles of courses and career and technical education (CTE) career clusters and align all CTE programs of study with endorsements. The proposal identifies the students to whom the updated endorsements would apply.

The official public comment period for the proposed amendments is now open. To view the proposed amendments and submit public comments, visit https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/sboe-rules-tac/proposed-state-board-of-education-rules.

Public Comment Period: May 17, 2024 - June 17, 2024

The proposed effective date of the proposed amendments is August 1, 2024.

The following Texas Administrative Code (TAC) rule actions were filed with the Texas Register for publication in the June 14, 2024 issue.

Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter A, Required Curriculum, §74.5, Academic Achievement Record (Transcript)
Summary: The adopted amendment requires that completion of instruction in the use of an automated external defibrillator, in addition to the existing requirement for instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, be indicated on a student's academic achievement record. The amendment was adopted without changes since published as proposed.
Second Reading and Final Adoption by SBOE: April 2024
Effective Date: August 1, 2024

Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.38, Requirements for Instruction in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Summary: The adopted amendment implements House Bill 4375, 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, by requiring instruction in the use of an automated external defibrillator in addition to instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for students in Grades 7-12. The amendment was adopted without changes since published as proposed.
Second Reading and Final Adoption by SBOE: April 2024
Effective Date: August 1, 2024

Please see the TEA website to view adopted State Board of Education rules.

Texas Suicide Prevention Collaborative

Workshop teaches individuals how to help someone manage their thoughts and feelings of suicide in order to stay safe. 4-hour workshop on interventions that provides individuals with a specific set of coping strategies and resources to use at any time to decrease the risk of suicide.

• 8:30 - 12:30 p.m. | July 25th, and Oct. 24th.
• CEUs for multiple disciplines provided
• To register email suicide.prevention@hhs.texas.gov

A free, one-hour workshop designed to help caregivers support a child who has experienced loss. Participants should register for one session, as the same workshop is being offered in

English and Spanish on several dates listed below.

Monday, June 10th: 6-7pm CT Spanish

Thursday, July 18th: 12-1pm CT English

Monday, August 5th: 6-7pm CT Spanish

The workshop will be held virtually via Zoom. Register

September 10, 2024, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm CT | For more information and to register

🌟 NEW IN 2024-2025:

• District Leadership Cohort - August 2024 through June 2025 *limited spots available!
• Advancing Equity Conference for School Counselors - December 11, 2024
• Closing the Gap: An Action Research Cohort - September 2024 through April 2025 (five 1-hour webinars!)

💫 BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND:

• Use of Data in School Counseling Institute: Overview & Foundations - 3 dates to choose from!
• New School Counselor Institute - October 3, 2024
• Use of Data in School Counseling 7-Part Series - September 2024 through May 2025 (register for individual workshops or the entire series!)

Check out our virtual events webpage for the full 2024-2025 calendar and event details!

Want to learn more about Hatching Results’ virtual events?

FACT: According to the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, employees engaged in professional development are also more likely to stay engaged in their work and to be enthusiastic about pursuing their goals.

General School Mental Health Resources: https://schoolmentalhealthtx.org/

Mental Health Resources Database: https://schoolmentalhealthtxdatabase.org/

Mental Health Best Practice Repository: https://schoolmentalhealthtx.org/best-practices/

This list is of known providers of particular services. The providers on the list are from a variety of sources. The list is being provided as a courtesy, for information only, and the user should understand that no assurances or guarantees regarding the providers on the list are being made by providing this list. We do not endorse, approve, or recommend any specific provider listed below. This list is not inclusive of all community agencies, services, or organizations that provide the particular service, and the omission of an agency, service, or organization from this list does not imply disapproval. It is the responsibility of the user of this list to determine whether any of the content is of value to them and whether or not the agency, service, or organization meets their specific needs.

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National

• Emergency: (24/7): 911
• Referral Services: (crisis counseling, housing, food, health care, family services): 211 | https://www.211texas.org/
• Suicide Prevention: 988 | 988lifeline.org
• Self-Injury/Cutting: 1-800-366-8288 | selfinjury.com
• Eating Disorders: 1-800-931-2237 | nationaleatingdisorders.org
• Runaway Hotline: 1-800-231-6946 | 1800runaway.org
• Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 | childhelp.org/hotline/
• Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 | rainn.org
• Domestic/Relationship Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | thehotline.org
• Trevor Hotline for LGBTQ Youth: 1-866-488-7386 | thetrevorproject.org
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline | samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
• Other resources for developing healthy lifestyles, including mental and emotional help: helpguide.org

Email: mentalhealth@esc15.net
Website: https://www.esc15.net/
Phone: (325)658-6571
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Region15ESC/
Twitter: @Region15ESC