The South Dakota Department of Education has taken over facilitating the Regional Teacher of the Year program. The state is divided into five regions [http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/documents/19-Regions.xlsx], and one winner will be chosen from each.

Each South Dakota school district that wishes to participate needs to submit the name of its District Teacher of the Year to Sherry Dickerson [sherry.dickerson@state.sd.us], with the Department of Education, by March 15 in order for the nominee to be considered for the Region TOY program. The Department of Education will contact District Teachers of the Year directly to apply for the regional award.

Districts may still determine their own methods for selecting district winners, but nomination forms should be made available to teachers, parents, students, school support professionals and the general public through multiple avenues and formats. A sample nomination form can be found on the South Dakota Teacher of the Year webpage [http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/teacheroftheyear.aspx].

Professional development opportunity for Region TOYs
This year the department will be able to offer the five Regional Teachers of the Year the opportunity to attend the NNSTOY (National Network of State Teachers of the Year) Conference held in Las Vegas in July. One of these five regional finalists will become South Dakota’s 2019 Teacher of the Year.

For more information about the South Dakota Teacher of the Year selection process, including guidelines and timeline for selection, and regional and state applications, visit the South Dakota Teacher of the Year webpage [http://www.doe.sd.gov/oatq/teacheroftheyear.aspx]. For further assistance, contact Sherry Dickerson at 605-773-2490 or Kathy Riedy at 605-773-8415 with the South Dakota Department of Education.

The South Dakota Department of Education’s office of Child and Adult Nutrition Services is seeking sponsors for the Summer Food Service Program, a federally-funded program that provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months. Schools are among those organizations that can apply to be sponsors.

Learn more about this opportunity and sign up for administrative training on the Department of Education’s Summer Food Service Program webpage [http://doe.sd.gov/cans/sfsp.aspx]. The registration form is found under “Trainings – 2018 Summer Training Registration.” For both new and renewing organizations, the registration form is due Feb. 22.

“Many schools across the state sponsor Summer Food Service Program sites, and it would be wonderful to see those numbers continue to grow,” said Julie McCord, program specialist with South Dakota’s Child and Adult Nutrition Services. “This is a great opportunity for community collaboration. Many organizations offer summer programming for kids—summer reading at the local library, for instance. So how about partnering with that local librarian to feed those hungry readers?”

Community organizations, nonprofits, schools, tribal and local governments can apply to be sponsors if they operate in low-income areas, serve a group of mostly low-income children or operate a summer camp with a high proportion of low-income participants. Parks and recreation departments, city and county health departments, libraries and neighborhood service agencies can participate as sites or sponsors.

School food authorities also have the option to utilize the Seamless Summer Option to provide meals in the summer. Information on that option can also be obtained from South Dakota’s Child and Adult Nutrition Services office.

Questions? Call Child and Adult Nutrition Services at 605-773-3413.

• Understanding the role of today’s school counselor

  The role of the school counselor has evolved to meet the needs of today’s students.

  What is a school counselor’s primary role?
  Like all educators, school counselors wear multiple hats, but their primary role is to establish a comprehensive school counseling program, based on data-driven goals to foster student development in career, academic and social/emotional areas.

  The South Dakota Comprehensive School Counseling Program Model [http://doe.sd.gov/octe/counselors.aspx] serves as a guide for school counselors to plan and implement a comprehensive school counseling program in their schools.

  Are school counselors therapists?
  No, school counselors aren’t therapists. In South Dakota, certified school counselors have either earned a master’s degree in school counseling or a master’s degree in counseling with one year of supervision by a mentor school counselor and passage of the Professional School Counselor Praxis.

  Certified school counselors have training to assist students with social/emotional needs, but therapy or long-term counseling to address psychological disorders is beyond school counselors’ scope of practice. For example, a school counselor has the training and expertise to support students with stress-relieving strategies during testing.

  When social/emotional issues are beyond their scope of practice, school counselors may assist with student referrals to a clinical mental health counselor or therapist. Examples of appropriate social/emotional counseling provided by a school counselor are social-skill building, relaxation techniques for test anxiety and short-term counseling for a student experiencing a rough day at school.  While they cannot provide long-term therapy, school counselors may provide individual and small-group counseling services to students.

  Why is the term “guidance counselor” considered outdated?
  The term “guidance counselor” has the connotation of simply guiding students into what they’ll do after high school. The goal of the contemporary term, “school counselor,” is to highlight the broader role of fostering student development in career, academic and social/emotional areas.

  For more information on celebrating National School Counseling Week, please visit the American School Counselor Association website [https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/about-asca-(1)/national-school-counseling-week].

• Meet Castlewood’s Ashley Price

  Castlewood School District K-12 counselor Ashley Price grew up in a small district that shared a school counselor with a neighboring district. “I always felt like it would have been nice if she were around more,” Price says. Now one of her favorite things about her job is that she gets to be a daily onsite presence for her students.

  “I describe Castlewood’s school counseling program as comprehensive,” Price says. “We start at kindergarten with character education, and we go all the way up through 12th grade with college and career readiness. We cover all the domains of school counseling: social/emotional, academic and career.”

  In 2017, Price became a National Certified School Counselor, a certification that requires specific coursework, at least 100 hours of postgraduate supervision, an endorsement from a professional colleague and two academic years of postgraduate work experience as a school counselor.

  An early-career school counselor once told Price and her graduate school classmates that the first three years in the profession would likely be among their most difficult.

  Now five years into the profession, Price says the advice was accurate: “I’ve gotten a lot more confident. I feel like I have a grasp on things now—my role at the school and how I help these kids. Those first couple of years at a new school, students are getting to know you, so they may not always come to you with their problems, but now that I’ve been here for a while, I’m a lot busier than I was then, simply because they’re more comfortable coming to me with things I can help them with.”

  When a recent Castlewood graduate stopped to seek advice from Price on the transition to college, she was deeply honored that the student still felt comfortable coming to her for help, even after graduation.

  Castlewood students regularly use SDMyLife, and seniors are required to do career shadowing in a field that interests them. Students in the district can also take career and technical education courses at nearby Northeast Technical High School in Watertown.

  Price consistently encourages her students to attend campus visit days at postsecondary institutions. “I think those really inspire students to a college or career choice,” she says. “It helps them to envision their future, which in turn helps to motivate them in school now.”
  

  Price meets regularly with several of her colleagues from nearby school districts. “It’s so helpful to meet up with them and discuss issues specific to counseling, especially when most of us are the only counselors in our district,” Price says.

  One of the biggest challenges facing school counselors today, Price says, is the influence of social media: “Basic communication skills can be lost on kids these days because they prefer screen communication to talking in-person. This often leads to conflict, since it’s much easier to bully from a distance.”

  She was encouraged recently when, after an argument with some friends, a student reflected to Price, “I should have ‘pressed Pause.’” Price had recently led a lesson with students that taught them to mentally “press Pause,” like on a remote control, to take time to reflect on whether they should actually say a particular thing either online or in-person.

  “I was like, oh my gosh, it clicked!” says Price. “That was an a-ha moment for that student and me.”

  
  Castlewood students celebrate National School Counseling Week

• Nominate an outstanding school counselor by March 5

  The South Dakota School Counseling Association Awards committee is accepting nominations for outstanding school counselors and others making contributions to the school counseling profession. Nominators do not have to be SDSCA members.
  

  Three of the five awards are specifically geared towards professional school counselors. The recipients of the following three awards will receive a free SDSCA membership for 2018-19:

  • Orv Schmieding Award
  • Outstanding Professional School Counselor Award
  • Rising Star Award

  The Special Contributions Award is given to an individual or group/organization who makes a positive contribution to the school counseling profession but isn't eligible for any of the three school counselor awards. Nominations are good for two years as long as the individual or group is still eligible for the award.

  New this year is the Administrator Advocacy Award. Do you work with an administrator who is helping you implement a comprehensive school counseling plan and supports your efforts as an advocate for the school counseling profession?  If so, consider nominating him or her for the Administrator Advocacy Award.

  Award nominations are due to Julie Nelson by March 5. Send the completed nomination form and two letters of recommendation to Julie.R.Nelson@k12.sd.us or
  Julie Nelson
  Southwest Middle School
  4501 Park Drive
  Rapid City, SD 57702

  For more information, visit the SDSCA website [http://www.sdschoolcounselors.com/awards.html].

• Executive Proclamation
  http://sdsos.gov/general-information/executive-actions/gubernatorial-proclamations/search/Document.aspx?CabId=523E2A2A&DocGuid=20180124-2102-2029-0530-035ccbac0d3e

The Department of Education maintains a list of Emerging Classroom Leaders, which consists of distinguished teachers and principals from across South Dakota. These educators may be considered for membership on advisory boards and task forces, as well as candidates for special recognition programs. Please make this year’s recommendations by March 15.

Candidates should be relatively early in their teaching careers, but must have a minimum of five years of experience in education. Candidates must be building-level personnel. They are typically classroom teachers, as opposed to specialists, and are recognized by peers and supervisors as unique in their growth. Occasionally, a principal or specialist is considered. Previous recognition is not required. 

To recommend someone for our Emerging Classroom Leaders Pool, complete a Talent Pool Recommendation Form [http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/distinguishededucators.aspx] and return it to Kathy Riedy, Department of Education, 800 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501, no later than March 15. 

In addition to filling out the form, we ask that you include a one-page narrative.  We also need a resume, if possible. Please keep your recommendation confidential and do not share it with the individual. 

For more information, contact Kathy Riedy [Kathy.Riedy@state.sd.us], Department of Education, at 605-773-8415.

2018 Winter Assessment Workshops
Feb. 14, Rapid City
Feb. 15, Rapid City

SD English Learner Chats (3:45-4:30 p.m. CST)
[http://doe.sd.gov/title/documents/17-ELwebinar.pdf]
Feb. 20
March 20
April 17
May 15

SD-STARS Monthly Webinar
Feb. 21

CTE Western Region Exchange
March 5, Rapid City

School Finance Accountability Board
March 12 [http://doe.sd.gov/accountabilityboard/]

South Dakota Special Education Conference
March 13-14, Sioux Falls [http://www.usd.edu/medicine/center-for-disabilities/sd-special-education-conference]
   • Free Parents' Night Session March 13 [http://doe.sd.gov/pressroom/educationonline/2018/feb/documents/Parents.pdf]

Board of Education Standards
March 19, Pierre [http://doe.sd.gov/board/]

Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters (hosted by the SD Office of Emergency Management)
March 20, Pierre [https://sdoem.eventsmart.com/events/g366-planning-needs-children-disasters/]

Work-Based Learning & Employer Partnerships
March 20, Rapid City
March 21, Mitchell
March 26, Watertown
March 27, Sioux Falls

Effective Core EL Program
April 9, Aberdeen
April 10, Mitchell

SD Early Childhood Education Conference
April 12-14, Spearfish [http://sdececonference-org.doodlekit.com/home]

TIE Conference
April 15-17, Sioux Falls [http://www.cvent.com/events/tie-conference-2018/event-summary-a715ccc6c3714143abf76a8dcb5e41e5.aspx]