President’s Letter: Check Your Blind Spot

Take the time to look at and analyze your school counseling program. Is there something you might be missing? This is known as a blind spot. And usually, because you are not aware, something is in that blind spot. It is not a weakness because you have not noticed it yet. It becomes a weakness if it is something you should be doing and do not want to do. For now, I’ll stay focused on whether anything you should take action on is in the blind spot.

To check, ask yourself these questions.

• Are you treating all students equally?
• Do you spend as much time with your advanced students as you do with your lower-end students?
• Is there a group of students you have not recognized that need your assistance?
• Have you checked to see if you are meeting the needs of your title students, 504 students and ELL students?
• Are you doing as much for the boys as you are the girls, or vice-versa?
• Have you collected data that can help you analyze what you are missing?
• When setting your goals, are you making sure they align with your school wide goals? Do your goals focus on achievement, attendance and/or behavior?
• Are you advocating for your students? For your school counseling program?
• Have you written an article related to school counselors or in support of school counselors?
• Are you involved in any committees that need to have a school counselor voice?
• Have you presented in an area of school counseling?
• Are you or have you been involved at the state (AkSCA) or national (ASCA) level?
• Do you have an advisory council?
• Are you following the ASCA National Model? Have you purchased the new fourth edition published in 2019?

Do not be overwhelmed if you find several items in your bind spot. Take your time. Do one thing well and then move on to the next item. You might even have to prioritize your list or put a few items on a five-year plan.

This is how I check my blind spot: I create a list of activities that I do every week for the entire year. I call this my Counseling Timeline 19–20. I start with quarter one week one, then week two, etc. I list all activities that involve the counseling department for each week. I started doing this five years ago, so now I just copy the previous year and edit as I go. This helps remind me what is coming up and what I might need to do. My counseling advisory council, which meets twice a year, has helped me see a few of the blind spots I had. They would suggest something that would then usually fall to me to execute. As I look at the list for each week, I may identify a new item that replaces what was on the list the previous year. I have learned that if this happens, it will be okay not to get to everything on the list every year.

Once again, do not become overwhelmed with your list of to-dos. Be proud of the work you are doing because school counselors do make a difference.

Contact Natalie Kant, AkSCA president, at nkant@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.