President’s Letter: Staying Creative and Resilient

Are we still in March? What day is it? Where is my mask? What time is the Zoom meeting? … Lots of questions as we head into our new school year. Plans have come out from state education boards and districts and many are changing daily. While reading and participating in conversations, I have also been practicing my deep breathing techniques and reviewing my classroom lessons on being flexible.

I have to admit, when I received the news last spring of school closing for the rest of the year, I was standing in the grocery store in Manhattan, Kansas. Among lots of people searching for toilet paper, Clorox Wipes and hand sanitizer, I cried. I was instantly in shock – I had told my kids at school I would see them after spring break was over. I immediately thought of them and how I was going to connect with my “frequent flyers.” Then I got it together, grabbed my essentials and answered a few phone calls from principals.

How did you feel? How did you handle your emotions?

I do want to take a minute and celebrate with all of you how far we have come. In the middle of a pandemic, we have come together, completely changed our ways to reaching out to students, families, staff, etc., and been so creative – with porch gifts, postcards, Zoom calls, emails, birthday parades, Bitmoji offices/classrooms and more. How awesome is that? We are amazing educators!

Kansas School Counseling Association is working hard to ensure that our members are up to date on current information. We are holding meetings, share-outs, happy hours and level breakout sessions. We will be meeting using Zoom while we are in this situation, and we hope to meet in person as soon as it is safe. We are also sending emails with pertinent information. KSCA will be here for our members.

We acknowledge and celebrate the following school counselors and professionals who helped with the State of Kansas “Navigating the Change 2020” document and implementing the SECD. Kudos for all of their hard work, persistence and resilience as we move forward through these unprecedented times. Kansas school counselors ROCK!

• Robin Butler, School Counselor, Wamego USD 320
• Mallory Jacobs, School Counselor, Topeka USD 501
• Darcy Keeffe, School Counselor, Osage City USD 420
• Dr. Jessica Lane, Counselor Educator, Kansas State University
• Chelsey Martin, School Counselor, Coffeyville USD 435
• Noalee McDonald-Augustine, Education Consultant, Smoky Hill Education Service Center
• Melanie Scott, School Counselor, Dodge City USD 443
• Amy Wells, School Counselor, Louisburg USD 416
• Kristin Wright, School Counselor, Clay Center USD 379

Take care of yourself and each other, be safe and healthy, and good luck, my friends! Thank you for all you do, and as always, please contact me if you need anything. I’m here for you.

Contact Mallory Jacobs, KSCA president, at mjacobs@tps501.org.