For the first time, the New York State School Counselor Association will offer its leadership seminar in Rochester for counselors and administrators who want to build working relationships that will contribute to improved academic performance at their schools.
The sessions on July 6 and 7 will employ a national model with emphasis on effective ways for building supervisors and counselors to team up on such issues as student learning, attendance, and behavior. The leadership academy also is sponsored by the Warner Center for Professional Development and Education Reform at the University of Rochester, the Rochester City School District, and the Midwest NY Student Support Services Center, part of Genesee Valley BOCES.
Jay Carey and Carey Dimmitt, directors of the Center for School Counseling Outcome Research at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will be the main presenters with state and local experts participating in other sessions. Their research to improve school counseling has led to measuring and evaluating the outcomes for more effective programs around the country.
“Too often, school counseling is considered an ancillary set of support services rather than a central educational program,” says Karen Mackie, outreach coordinator for counseling at the Warner Center. “School counselors are responsible for becoming part of school leadership teams to increase access and break barriers to academic success for all students.” Mackie, coordinator of the two-day program, is an instructor and doctoral student in counseling at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester.
This professional development opportunity encourages counselors and their administrators to work on ongoing situations at their own schools while learning about concepts and activities that produce more workable student support services in schools.
All sessions will be held at the Airport Holiday Inn on Brooks Avenue. Registration is $120 per person for materials, refreshments, and luncheons. More information and the registration from are available on the Web at www.rochester.edu/Warner/warnercenter or by contacting the Warner Center at (585) 275-8270 or e-mailing marty.garland@rochester.edu. The registration deadline is June 28.