- The ASCA Annual Conference
- TCEA Convention and Exposition
- The NAREN Conference
- The Girl Bullying Conference
- National Conference on School Discipline
Long after school counselors finish their graduate studies and launch their careers, they continue their education in many ways in order to keep abreast of new developments in their profession and implement these new concepts into their daily practice, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Each year, multitudes of conferences aimed at informing and growing the profession of school counseling take place. Conferences ranging from bullying and social dynamics to implementation of new technologies and skills instruction are available for school counselors to continue building and honing their skills and careers.
1. The ASCA Annual Conference
The American School Counselor Association’s annual conference will take place in Los Angeles. “Reach for the Stars” is the theme this year, and the registration fee includes keynote addresses, breakout sessions, workshops, lunches and snacks, and the opportunity to network with professionals from all over the country. The conference also offers scholastic credit for graduate students.
2. TCEA Convention and Exposition
The TCEA Convention and Exposition is an educational technology conference that offers education professionals of every stripe to learn and implement technological resources effectively into educational environments. As the role of the school counselor occasionally involves skills training and educational collaboration with teachers, the TCEA conference is an excellent resource for school counselors. Thus year’s convention will take place in Austin.
3. The NAREN Conference
The NAREN Conference addresses the unique problems of at-risk students and provides school counselors with information and methods of addressing these problems and helping to ensure greater student success. Daily keynote speakers, dozens of presentations, breakfast, and lunch are included in the registration fee, among other perks. The 2018 date has not yet been announced, but is likely to take place in autumn of 2018.
Related: 10 Best Deals on Online Master’s in School Counseling Degree Programs
4. The Girl Bullying Conference
Focusing on relational aggression among girls, the Girl Bullying Conference is now in its twelfth year. The conference offers school counselors and educators insight into causes of relational aggression among girls as well as tools for constructively addressing it and for building positive and empowered relationships between girls. The 2018 conference boasts two dates and locations in 2018 – March in Orlando and June in Atlanta.
5. National Conference on School Discipline
School counselors must frequently address social and behavioral problems in the course of their work, making the National Conference in School Discipline an invaluable resource. The conference discusses new developments and concepts in behavior, learning, and social dynamics among students, and provides educators of all kinds with appropriate methods and tools for maintaining discipline in scholastic environments. This year’s conference will take place in March 2018.
Each of these conferences for school counselors offers valuable knowledge and methodologies to school counselors across many different facets of their work. Whether you attend one or all, each will offer valuable tools for professional practice – now and for years to come.