My School Counselor Podcast

A Curriculum Discussion with Melanie Hadaway

Melanie has over 20 years experience working in curriculum for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. We have a candid discussion about the development of curriculum, how it aligns to student learning, what do grades really mean as well as choosing the right curriculum for homeschool learning. We cover it all in this episode and I am super excited for you to hear it.

Online Education- An Interview with Sara Busalacchi and Anjilee Ferguson from Mountain Point Academy

Anjilee Ferguson: Anjilee has over a decade of experience in the Online Education industry, working at both the high school and college levels. During those years, she has worked with numerous students, residential treatment centers, and curriculum providers to provide the highest quality of learning.  Her passion for innovative and creative solutions for students led her to co-found Mountain Point Academy. Throughout her time in Online Education, she has seen the inner workings of many departments, working as a registrar, academic mentor, and enrollment counselor.  Anjilee earned her BA in Public Relations from Utah State University and an MS in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.  In her spare time, she likes to work on writing her first book, spend time outdoors with her family, and jam out to classic rock.  
 
Sara Busalacchi: Sara has over a decade of experience in the Education field and has been in Online Education since 2010. She majored in Secondary Education Mathematics at Concordia University Wisconsin. During her time working for several notable online schools as well as a top provider for online curriculum, Sara had the opportunity to collaborate with many residential treatment centers to bring them the highest level of service for their 6-12th grade students. Her passion for helping students in need of an alternative education solution led her to co-founding Mountain Point Academy. When she is not spending time working with MPA students and staff, Sara loves playing the bass guitar, being outdoors, and raising twin daughters with her husband Jim.
 
Social Media Accounts:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mountain-point-academy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mountainpointacademy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thempaway/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzed4rX-5Ym1xJyqvYqzK4A

Are You Moving?

Moving is common. Whether that is to another school in your area, another state or another country. On this episode, I talk about the importance of being proactive about it with your incoming school and taking your official records with you. Also, I give a tip to parents about how they can help kids through the emotions of moving.

Emotional Intelligence with Tabatha Marden

Tabatha is a Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, Life Coach, Social-Emotional Learning Consultant, Mental Health Advocate, and specializes in speech therapy.
Tabatha is fiercely committed to supporting people of all ages (parents, business leaders, adults, kids and teens) to discover coping tools to stress less, reduce stress, relieve anxiety to feel good on the inside and out.
Due to stress being at its all time high in the world, seeing numerous people struggle with anxiety, burnout, and confidence, she saw the need for practicing emotional intelligence and having more honest conversations about feeling and processing emotions, instead of pushing them away, and shifting negative thoughts into a healthy confident mindset.
She is known for her authentic, no non-sense approach model 5 steps to ROCK the “F” word…Feelings and ability to connect with and create meaningful change in people’s lives through her Emotional Wellness Mastery Program called Thrive in EQ. 
Hosting one to one and group coaching, professional development training, speaking events and EQ assessments.
Drawing from her professional experience working in the field of Speech Therapy in schools and her life experience raising four children, Tabatha created a signature approach to help her clients create and enjoy sustainability, emotional freedom in business, school, parenting and in life.
Tabatha lives in Arizona, with her husband and four children.
Social Media Contacts:
Instagram @tabmarden
Website: Tabathamarden.com
Text: 602-603-4131 text word "Wellness" 

Student Reports

Graduation Progress 
Progress Reports 
Report Cards
Transcripts
What are these reports and why are they important? On this episode, I talked about all of them and tell you the most important report you should audit with your school counselor!  I promise if you do it early, it could save you a lot of headaches your Senior year! 
Homework:
Request your transcript from your counselor or Registrar

Scheduling

Scheduling is a job duty that gives the largest migraine headache. I can assure you other school counselors would say the same! On this episode, I talk about the scheduling process, how it's not just the school counselor that's involved and who should choose the courses that are offered. I encourage you to be proactive in the process and communicate with your school counselor so you have the best shot of getting into the courses you need.
Homework: 
Find out your students current progress towards graduation. Some schools have this information in your child's student information system, where they check their grades online and find assignments
Ask your school counselor for a copy of your credit check. This is a document that is used to track the type of classes you are taking and how they are being awarded credit towards the cumulative number of credits required to graduate. 

Why School Counselors

In this first episode of the My School Counselor Podcast, Lindsay Pinkelman introduces her journey to this podcast and her love for School Counseling. She explains the reason she built her business and why she has a strong desire to provide families with school counseling content. Lindsay explains the roles and responsibilities of elementary, middle, and high school counselors and provides action items for how you can begin the conversation with yours.