Nominations are now being accepted for the Advocate of the Year Award. The Advocate of the Year Award is to recognize persons who have demonstrated their belief in and support of school counseling programs that have had an impact on counselors and their students at the local, state, or national level. Nominations are being accepted until December 15, 2024, at https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/other-awards.

PSSCA is awarding mini-grants to SC school counselors to provide programs and activities to enhance the delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program in South Carolina elementary, middle, and high schools. Our goal is to identify best practices by providing funding to enhance comprehensive school counseling programs in elementary, middle and high schools in South Carolina.

Apply today at https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/other-awards

PSSCA's South Carolina School Counselor of the Year nominations are now open. Make sure to nominate a deserving school counselor for his or her outstanding work. Nominations are due December 1, 2024. https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association awards multiple scholarships to high school seniors of up to $1,000.00. This is a non-renewable scholarship to assist with post-secondary education costs. Eligibility:

• Must be a high school senior.
• Must be a permanent resident of the state of South Carolina. 
• Must plan to attend a post-secondary institution during the 2025-2026 school year. 

Applicants must:

- Submit an application.

- Complete an essay of no more than 500 words about a school counselor who has made a difference in your academic, career, social, and/or emotional development. You must include your career goals, post-secondary education plans, and an explanation for how this scholarship will help you.

- Essays must be the original work of the student. AI generated essays will not be accepted. - Applicants must be willing to allow their essay to be shared with the school counselor they write about if feasible. 

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association is pleased to announce the selection of the following members to the Board of Directors: Sierra Barnes (Fairfield Middle School, Fairfield County School District), Abigail Bays (Monaview Elementary School, Greenville County Schools), and Heather Williams (Riverside High School, Greenville County Schools). 

These three outstanding individuals will join the PSSCA Board of Directors on July 1^st and serve in that role for three years. 

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association (PSSCA) is a statewide nonprofit organization. PSSCA helps advance the profession of school counseling by assisting South Carolina school counselors with guiding their students toward academic achievement, career planning and social/emotional development to help today’s students become tomorrow’s productive, contributing members of society. 

Sierra Barnes, Fairfield Middle School

Abigail Bays, Monaview Elementary School

Heather Williams, Riverside High School 

This open call for applicants is an opportunity for PSSCA members to lead our member-driven organization. Under PSSCA’s current Bylaws, members must self-nominate for the position of Director.  Directors will serve a three-year term (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026).  Directors may serve no more than two consecutive terms and shall have a maximum of three terms. We are seeking to fill three director positions for the (July 1, 2023- June 30, 2026) term. 

Read More Here

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association is pleased to announce the selection of the following members to the Board of Directors: Kimberly Brown (Wade Hampton High School, Greenville County School District), Geraldine Henderson (Student Services, Beaufort County School District), and Anya Stewart (North Augusta High School, Aiken County Public Schools).

These three outstanding individuals will join the PSSCA Board of Directors on July 1^st and serve in that role for three years.

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association (PSSCA) is a statewide nonprofit organization. PSSCA helps advance the profession of school counseling by assisting South Carolina school counselors with guiding their students toward academic achievement, career planning and social/emotional development to help today’s students become tomorrow’s productive, contributing members of society.

Kimberly Brown

Wade Hampton High School

Geraldine Henderson

Beaufort County School District

This year, 69 schools in 19 states received the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation. These schools will be honored during a special ceremony at the American School Counselor Association’s Annual Conference for making an exemplary commitment to their school counseling programs.

The RAMP designation, awarded for aligning with the criteria in the ASCA National Model, recognizes schools committed to delivering a comprehensive, data-informed school counseling program and an exemplary educational environment. Since the program’s inception, nearly 1,200 schools have been designated as RAMP recipients.

This year, Virginia leads the number of RAMP designations, with 10 schools in the state receiving the honor. Thirteen schools, in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Virginia, will receive the RAMP School of Distinction award, honoring schools with exceptionally high-caliber school counseling programs based on rankings determined by a panel of RAMP reviewers. RAMP-designated schools are now in 47 states across the country. The RAMP designation is good for five years, after which time schools must reapply to maintain their RAMP status. This year 21 schools earned Re-RAMP status.

“This year’s RAMP honorees have shown their commitment to students and the school counseling profession,” said Jill Cook, ASCA executive director. “These schools used data to drive their program development and implementation so all students can achieve success. RAMP designation distinguishes these schools and encourages school counselors nationwide to strive for excellence.”

At the PSSCA 2022 Annual Conference, the following awards were announced: 

PSSCA South Carolina School Counselor of the Year - Shari Hooper 

Elementary School Counselor of the Year - Abby Bays

Middle School Counselor of the Year - Kim Groome

High School Counselor of the Year - Erin Carroll

PSSCA Advocate of the Year - Robert Rabon

Mini-Grant Winners: Sterling Elementary School and Midland Valley High School

PSSCA Scholarship Winners: Aisha Burton, Katie Beth Cannon, Andrew Towner, and Sean Fowley

Pictured are: PSSCA South Carolina School Counselor of the Year - Shari Hooper, Middle School Counselor of the Year - Kim Groome, High School Counselor of the Year - Erin Carroll, PSSCA Advocate of the Year - Robert Rabon

The Palmetto State School Counselor Association (PSSCA) is awarding mini-grants to South Carolina school counselors to provide programs and activities to enhance the delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program in South Carolina elementary, middle, and high schools. Our goal is to identify best practices by providing funding to enhance comprehensive school counseling programs in elementary, middle and high schools in South Carolina.

Here is the link to the application: https://pssca.schoolcounselorawards.org/scoy/other-awards

The paper application found here

Due: December 17, 2021 by 11:59 PM