From the Chair: Change

Change. Sometimes it feels like something inevitable. Something that creates a sense of anxiety, dread or even fearfulness. Other times it can feel momentous. Something viewed with anticipation or joy.

On March 12, 2020 I said farewell to my colleagues to start a new chapter of my life in another part of the state. This was all part of the grand plan to begin merging my life with my fiancé in the promising early days of 2020. Little did I know on March 13 I would be starting the first day of my new job alongside the first day of distance learning. I had to build rapport with a new caseload, develop relationships with school personnel and learn the nuances of a district, all while never stepping foot in the building.

This year is more challenging than many have experienced in their lifetime. But I have hope. In her 2013 TEDTalk, Kelly McGonigal expressed, “How you think and how you act can transform your experience of stress. When you choose to view your stress response as helpful, you create the biology of courage. And when you choose to connect with others under stress, you can create resilience.”

I am proud of the hundreds of school counselors across Connecticut who tapped into each other as resources and participated in the CSCA round tables. There we found opportunities for courageous conversations. Opportunities to discover inequities. Opportunities to advocate for the needs of students with a lack of technology resources, social emotional support and an ally for Black Lives Matter. In the midst of change there is opportunity for growth.

This time has seen so much progress for effectively reaching students from virtual platforms. This includes virtual “cocoa with the counselor,” Instagram spirit weeks and celebrating our graduates through sidewalk chalk inspirational messages or car caravans. The possibility of texting students and families has led to increased communication. New possibilities for student interactions and support have developed that would have only slowly been considered prior to the mayhem of COVID-19.

As we start this new year, I am excited for the possibilities of engaging more families in virtual collaboration. For the opportunity to create small-group lesson plans that can be utilized in person or from afar. I am eager to reconnect with the think tank of Connecticut school counselors to continuously learn from one another as we engage in building a “new normal” for the 2020–21 school year.

Yes, this year might have the power to debilitate us, but I believe this is the year we can dream of whatever we desire and implement it with creativity and collaboration. We can be courageous, resilient, connected and foster our own growth mindset to find success and develop the school counseling program that our students deserve.

Contact Laura Ehlinger (formerly Stabile), CSCA chair, at cscachairman@gmail.com.