School Counselors Reflect on SACAC Professional Development

School Counselors Reflect on SACAC Professional Development Amy Short, School Counselor at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, GA, and Meg Scheid, School Counselor at The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, & Technology in Lawrenceville, GA, sum up what SACAC wants to provide for school counselors – resources and support for college access counseling: “My […]

Challenges, Triumphs, and Advice: School Counseling During a Pandemic

Challenges, Triumphs, and Advice: School Counseling During a Pandemic As we continue to make our way through National School Counseling Week, we wanted to bring to light some of our very own school counselor SACAC member voices! From student support and success to college and career counseling and everything in between, our high school counselors […]

A Glimpse Inside YES-Appalachia in North Carolina

A Glimpse Inside YES-Appalachia in North Carolina Rebecca Figueroa (she/her), Operations Manager, YES-Appalachia (NC) Tell us about your program and what you do:    YES-Appalachia is a community-based organization that identifies high-performing, low-income students from rural Appalachia. Our mission is to uphold and implement America’s promise of equal opportunity for equal talent in the Western North […]

Member Spotlight – Jahleese Hadley

Member Spotlight Jahleese Hadley, Director of College Access, GLOW Academy, Wilmington, NC Who/What first inspired you to work in education? Or What motivates you to wake up and go to work? I am a product of a small, all-girls college preparatory school in the heart of Spanish Harlem in New York City. I went to […]

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

You’ve Got a Friend in Me Shannon Grimsley (left), Outreach Program Director, Get2College/Woodward Hines Education Foundation Brandi Lyndall (right), Director of GEAR UP Outreach, Get2College/Woodward Hines Education Foundation When students across Mississippi were sent home from high schools and colleges due to COVID-19 in March 2020, our world, and theirs, changed. Get2College responded professionally in […]

Supporting Transgender & Transitioning Students in the College Application Process

Supporting Transgender & Transitioning Students in the College Application Process Melissa Kotacka, MA NCC CT, Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment *Views and opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and not the institution’s This year marks my thirteenth year in the admissions profession, and thirteen years of working with and supporting LGBTQIA+ students through […]

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day by Rachel Fried, Director, Public School Initiative Basic cultural comprehension goes a long way. Often, schools and individuals are unsure where to even begin with Native recruitment and retention. The reality is, simple transformations can have great significance. As college access practitioners, a first step can be to look inward at institutional […]

January LA State of the Month Post: A Closer Look at the New Orleans College Case Study

A Closer Look at the New Orleans College Case Study Sheena Reed, Metairie Park Country Day School, Metairie, LA I made the transition from college admissions to college counseling because I wanted to increase college knowledge, especially among Black students who were first in their families to attend college. I saw too few applications from […]

January LA State of the Month Post: Expanding the Network: Louisiana Public School Counselor Outreach Initiative

Expanding the Network: Louisiana Public School Counselor Outreach Initiative: Feedback from The LCA Annual Conference Caitlin Neal-Jones, Ascension Episcopal School (pictured right), and Kerri Caruso, Mount Carmel Academy (pictured left) Last April during Louisiana’s annual Legislative Day, we were approached with the idea of participating in the Louisiana Counseling Association’s annual conference. With the help […]