President’s Letter: Success for KSCA

How does a president of a state counseling association, the individual elected to lead the school counselors in the state, define and measure success? As I contemplated this article, I thought carefully about how I would define success for the Kansas School Counselor Association strategic goals and my leadership in this year of KSCA1. How could I describe and measure successful outcomes?
 
Hall of Fame Kansas State University football coach Bill Snyder (the most successful football coach in KSU history) believes the key to success is to improve a little bit every day. He is often heard to voice support for competing at a higher level, thinking it will increase the chances to continue making daily improvements. Coach Snyder has written and spoken extensively regarding his leadership philosophy and the “Wildcat Goals for Success” he implements in the program. His philosophy and goals have worked well for Coach Snyder, so I considered how these could be framed to help KSCA be successful in the four areas directly related to the primary goals of the KSCA strategic plan: advocacy, collaboration, membership and professional development. For the purposes of this article, I have integrated KSCA goals into the following Wildcat Goals.    
 
Commitment: KSCA will provide and support leadership development at national, state and local levels for counselors committed to implementing quality comprehensive school counseling programs.  
 
Unselfishness: KSCA will work united and as a team with other counselors, mental health professionals and counseling associations to provide quality professional development opportunities.
 
Improve: KSCA will increase significantly membership and engagement in the association. KSCA will provide to first-year counselors mentoring experiences and unique opportunities to enhance their skills. All counselors will be strongly encouraged to maintain professional involvement in KSCA/ASCA, stay current with research and best practice, and attend and engage in national, state, local, and conferences and webinars.
 
Be tough: KSCA will provide reminders of the value, opportunities and motivation for counselors to engage in self-care activities to address the mental, emotional and physical aspects of school counseling.
 
Self-discipline: KSCA will support school counselors in implementing comprehensive programs and collecting of data demonstrating success and success in process for schools pursuing RAMP status.
 
Never give up: KSCA will promote advocacy through legislative and policy awareness, communication, and networking with local, state, and national decision makers. KSCA will support advocacy efforts for systemic change to meet the needs of all students and families.
 
Leadership: KSCA will provide recognition and leadership in schools and communities to promote exemplary programs and systemic change. KSCA will also lead in the promotion of excellence in comprehensive school counseling programs and the recruitment of more high-quality and diverse new counselors. KSCA will nurture emerging leaders for the purpose of maintaining a strong and diverse organizational structure and administrative functions.

Responsibility: KSCA will support and promote opportunities for counselors to stay updated in the best practice, current research, knowledge and skills in the professional legal and ethical standards of counseling programs. KSCA will provide opportunities for counselors to enthusiastically engage in professional growth and leadership opportunities and share the role and value of school counseling programs with community members and key stakeholders.

Finally, Coach Snyder is famous for saying, “We came to Kansas State because of the people, we stayed because of the people, and we returned because of the people, and that remains unchanged.” To modify his statement for the profession of school counseling, I would say that school counselors began being a school counselor because of the students, stay being a school counselor because of the students, return as a school counselor everyday because of the students, and that remains unchanged.

Contact Dr. Judy Hughey, KSCA president, at jhughey@ksu.edu.