Welcome to the Guidance Counselors Chapter

Dear Colleagues,

As your new chapter leader, I would like to welcome you to the guidance counselor Web page. This site was designed to keep members informed on events that are planned for the chapter, as well as accomplishments that have been made. With updating materials on a regular basis, I hope that you will find it useful to you both personally and professionally.

I look forward to collaborating with you and continuing our communication. I am available to answer your questions either by phone at 212-598-7776 or by email at rthompson@uft.org. Thank you.

Membership Meeting Dec. 2

Wednesday, Dec. 2
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Queens UFT Office, 97-77 Queens Blvd., 8th Floor
Rego Park, NY 11374

See the flyer here.

Come and meet your new Guidance Chapter Leader, Rosemarie Thompson, Queens Borough Representative Rona Freiser and other members of the Queens UFT staff.

Special Guest Presentation:
Linda Vila-Passione, UFT Director of School Safety
Tabio DaCruz, Queens UFT Victim Support Staff

Wine and cheese will be served.

RSVP to Kathy at 718-275-4400

New guidance Web portal from DOE

The new Guidance Portal provides information, resources, and professional learning opportunities for guidance counselors, college counselors, social workers, and other pupil personnel staff across all aspects of guidance services.

The Guidance Portal can help you plan for important dates, meet deadlines, prioritize responsibilities, and support students in their academic planning and personal-social development.

New DOE Governance Structure

I have posted a link here to changes in the governance of the Department of Education that involve counselors. As you probably have heard, each borough will now be serviced by an Instructional Support Team (ISC). I have listed the names and emails for the contact person for guidance services at each ISC. Each team will also have a counselor assigned to it. Some of these counselors have already been assigned; others are yet to be named. As soon as the list is finalized, I will provide you with their contact information.

Teacher’s Choice Allotment

Teacher’s Choice Allotment for us this year was $100.00. All counselors received $100.00 to spend on guidance related materials. You should save your relevant receipts from Aug. 1, 2009 thru March 15, 2010. Details on submitting the receipts will be given out at your school.

Professional Development

Our 5th Annual Guidance Counselor Conference was held last spring. More than 150 counselors and graduate students attended. There were two workshop sessions covering topics from grief to grant writing as well as gang intervention and CTE (Career and Technical Education) awareness and articulation. Guidance counselors look forward to this annual event to enhance their professional knowledge and network with colleagues. This year’s conference will be held on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. Save the date!

Brochure: “School Guidance Counselors in New York City Public Schools”

You all should have received by now a copy of the new guidance brochure, “School Guidance Counselors in New York City Public Schools,” completed last June. This brochure is the result of two years of work by a committee of counselors, supervisors, and directors of college counseling programs. I congratulate and thank all those who served on the committee. You can access the brochure here. Please also feel free to call my office if you would like us to send you additional hard copies. You should display it proudly and use it to demonstrate to administrators and parents your important role in the educational community.

National School Counseling Week

National School Counseling Week is Feb. 1-5, 2010. Check out the ASCA Web site for details on how to celebrate!

We will be kicking off National School Counseling Week with the 6th Annual Guidance Counselor Conference on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. Remember to save the date!