CONGRATULATIONS Esther Hugo!

The selection committee for the NOSCA Advocacy Awards for College and Career Readiness has selected you for our 2011 winner for the National Advocacy Award for Partnerships and Collaboration. Your leadership with the College Board Western Regional Office, school counselor leaders and practitioners in the development and execution of the James Irvine Foundation Grant is being recognized for its demonstrated innovation, breath of outreach and its impact on school counselors and districts in California. Most noteworthy was the professional development provided for school counselors in districts where there are high numbers of underserved student populations.

Our 2011 winners of NOSCA Advocacy Awards will be recognized in a ceremony that will be held during the Awards Luncheon, Saturday, April 9^th, 11:45pm -1:15pm at the Destination Equity Conference in Chicago. We do hope you will be able to attend.

A letter from Jack Wright

Dear WACAC,

Back in 1984-86, I was the WACAC President and with the help of the counseling and admissions community, LAUSD moved forward to have a full time counselor in each of the districts high schools. It was a major move that greatly benefited students and post secondary institutions.

Today, with the major cuts LAUSD is proposing, the FUNDING for the position of COLLEGE COUNSELOR has been ELIMINATED this current year and next fall as well. The district thinks that the traditional counselors can assume the responsibilities without any detrimental impact on access of the students. With other proposed counselor curtailments, It is projected that the student/counselor load will be 700 to 800 students per counselor. As usual, the district is passing the discretion on to the individual principal to determine the total staffing configuration in each high school.

The board of WACAC has a responsibility to step up to the plate and let it be known that this move to compromise the position of College Counselor will greatly endanger the opportunities of all the students, especially those who live in underserved, first generation immigrant low income communities.

These students have NO VOICE! It is up to us to express the important fundamentals of ACCESS that focus on our high school college counselors and students. Please forward this message to those who can take immediate action.

Sincerely,
Jack L. Wright

All WACAC Members Invited - NCAN and collegebound students of California and the southwest need you!

This came in as an email to one of our

My name is Shameek Robinson and I am the Statewide Network Coordinator at the National College Access Network (NCAN – www.collegeaccess.org)

As a first generation college graduate, I’ve worked in college access over the past decade with underrepresented populations and communities. As a NACAC member, I’m reaching out to you to ask your help and participation as I continue that work with NCAN building college access networks in California and other Southwest states!

NCAN is holding four regional meetings over the next 6 weeks in different parts of the country to gather professionals from the arena of college access to discuss the topics of Policy, Advocacy, and Networking. More information can be found by visiting this website - http://www.collegeaccess.org/2011regional.aspx.

I am working on planning and attending two of the four meetings, and am specifically asking for your assistance and support with members in the southwest region for NCAN’s Albuquerque Regional meeting on April 6th. College access professionals from California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, are invited to attend.

In addition to inviting you to attend this particular event, I need your help to invite WACAC members to the regional meeting as well. Specifically, I am inviting you as a NACAC, WACAC, and College Board staff member, to NCAN’s Regional meeting in Albuquerque. I’m also requesting that you share this invitation with WACAC and it’s members.

H.R. 1 - Kati Swanson

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/ImpactofHouseFY11SpendingCuts.pdf

Hi all,

You may have seen the Action Alert ASCA blasted out yesterday. I just wanted to give you some background information on H.R. 1.

On Feb. 19th, the House Majority passed H.R. 1. This Resolution would cut education by $10.6 billion or 15.3%, and unprecedented amount. In addition to several competitive grant programs, many formula-funded programs (like IDEA and Title I) would also take a very big hit. ASCA has been making the rounds with the Senate staff to let them know that H.R. 1 would be catastrophic to our nation's schools as well as meeting with House staff to voice our displeasure with the passage of H.R. 1. The Senate, which is still controlled by the Democrats, is not expected to pass H.R. 1 as it is currently written so we're working hard on the Senate to restore as much funding as possible to each of these meaningful programs.

H.R. 1 would eliminate the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP). While we certainly don't won't this program eliminated, if it were to be cut it would not be the end of the profession as we know it. In fact, most school counselors out there won't even know that the federal funding has been cut. A majority of school counselors are funded through district/county and sate funding. Some counselors are funded through federal dollars - and you would probably know if you were one of them (some people are funded or .5 of their position is funded through title 1 dollars, for instance). Even fewer are funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) - and you would definitely know if you fall into this category. The ESSCP is a competitive grant program that your district would have had to apply for and win. It is a 3-year continuation grant (meaning if your district won the grant 2 years ago then you still need this program to be funded for the third year). NEA estimates, that if the ESSCP were completely eliminated, approximately 625 counseling jobs would be cut - and those aren't all school counselors as school social workers and school psychologists can be hired from that program as well. To put it in perspective there were approximately 105,000 school counselors in the 2008-2009 school year. That said, we don't want to see 1 school counseling job lost so it is important that we work together to fight HR 1. In addition, as previously mentioned, there are other proposed cuts to education that may certainly impact how your building operates - or how school counseling is funded. Many states use Perkins money (which has been cut) to fund portions of their state school counseling initiatives, services to special education would be reduced drastically and college access to our neediest students would be severely cut.

The reality is that the federal investment on education is already very low. It is estimated that less than 10% of any schools budget will come from the federal government - leaving 90% of the funding up to state and local funding sources. As we know, many of our states are also in a budget deficit so I would encourage everyone to become very active with your state school counselor association because that will impact your job security the most!

Also, I wanted to make everyone aware that ASCA has been working to combat HR 1 for the past several weeks. It was the first resolution introduced by the House this Congress and we've been making Hill visits and reaching out to both House and Senate members to voice our concerns about all of these cuts to education, specifically the ESSCP. Also, ASCA is a member of the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) which is a coalition of over 85 organizations that work year round to increase the federal investment on education. With the work of CEF, ASCA is present at every budget hearing, appropriations meeting and one-on-one Hill visit to ask questions, raise awareness and educate lawmakers about the real life work educators are doing every day in our nation's schools - including the role of the school counselor and the impact each of you has on our students.

-Kati Swanson

Announcing the Call for Volunteers for NACAC Committee Service

VISIT HERE

"Applications are now being accepted for committee service positions. Committee service is an opportunity to help NACAC serve both the profession and students more effectively, and members who have served on national committees will attest to the professional and personal rewards of this leadership experience. Read the full announcement in the February 2nd NACAC Bulletin.

The deadline for submitting your volunteer forms and supporting documents is March 15, 2011. If you are interested in applying for committee service work, please review the Committee Service Guidelines and Volunteer Forms below.

Please note that the NACAC Board of Directors is continuing to review the effectiveness of the committee structure and committee members may be involved in the discussion adn evolution of their own committees."

-From NACAC website

VISIT HERE

Forget your WACAC password?

Just click "forgot username/password" and it will be emailed to you!

(see below)

You want to participate in the Montana Counselor Tour!

"One of the best tours I have attended: organized, professional, eye opening, and helpful to my school and me."  -2010 Montana Counselor Tour participant comment 

"Like many, I have dismissed Montana out of hand as great college resources. No excuses. Just an apology! The Tour was a top-notch experience-being both professionally enriching and personally enjoyable.  Not only did I leave with an excellent understanding of the educational opportunities at the four schools but with rich appreciation for the influence of culture, history and natural resources in the region. This tour was exceptionally well organized. And in the true spirit of Montana culture, it provided refreshing balance between work and play through integration of the pre-tour and post-tour activities. As a veteran counselor who has visited many college campuses, I highly recommend this tour to all counselors who are helping students to achieve good fits in their college choices. "  -2009 Montana Counselor Tour participant comment 

It's not too late! There are still some seats available on the 2011 Tour

When:        July 18-22, 2011

Pre-Tour July 17 to Flathead Lake and the Mission Valley
Post-Tour July 23 to Yellowstone National Park

Where:     Four Colleges and Universities

The University of Montana, Missoula
Carroll College, Helena
Montana Tech, Butte
Montana State University, Bozeman

Cost:          $150 per counselor includes accommodations, meals and bus transportation during tour

Participants responsible for travel costs to and from Montana
Limited seats for guests ($300 registration fee for each guest)

Apply today!
(http://www.montana.edu/admissions/counselortour/)

Contact Shannon Marr

Tour Coordinator

montanatour@bresnan.net

(406) 788-7431

2011 WACAC Annual Conference - Registration Now Online

We are pleased to announce that registration is now available for the 2011 WACAC Annual Conference at Loyola Marymount University.  The conference will be held from Tuesday, May 24th through Thursday, May 26th.

As a 2010-2011 WACAC Member, you will need to use the MEMBER ACCESS CODE to register at the Member Rate.  The Member Access Code was emailed to you.   Please note that this access code is for current 2010-2011 WACAC Members only (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011).  Once you are registered for the conference, your member registration will be compared to the current membership roster.

For your associates who are not current members, a NON-MEMBER registration is available.  This registration includes Membership for the 2011-2012 membership year beginning July 1, 2011.
Click HERE to register!

Best,
-WACAC

Bi-Weekly Update from WACAC 2-14-2011

WACAC Conference at LMU - Registration Opens February 15^th
(complete registration instructions coming tomorrow!)
Registration for this year's annual WACAC Conference opens on February 15th, 2011. This year's conference will be from Tuesday, May 24th through Thursday, May 26th at Loyola Marymount University's campus. A conference invitation brochure will be mailed out in the coming weeks and will also be available on the WACAC website.

IDEA Conference - Official Invitation Coming Soon!
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Institute is designed to assist educational professionals at all levels who work with students from underrepresented populations by providing them with solutions to the issues they have in serving this population. All innovative high school guidance personnel, energetic enrollment management, admission, outreach and recruitment staffs are welcome to attend this exciting institute where dialogue, collaboration, and cross-cultural awareness abound. Run in conjunction with the annual WACAC Conference, the IDEA Institute is on Tuesday May 24th from 8:00am -1:15pm.

Barnhart Schultz Scholarships Available
This scholarship has been named in honor of two of our most dedicated and talented members, Carolyn Barnhart and Barbara Schultz.

The scholarship is awarded annually to two public high school counselors and one community college counselor in California or Nevada to provide financial support to attend the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The scholarship will cover registration for the conference, transportation, hotel in double occupancy, and meals, according to WACAC Fiscal Policies. Please note:  WACAC will provide reimbursements for all expenses upon receipt of the expense forms and credit card and cash receipts.

To apply for this scholarship, candidates may not have attended a prior NACAC conference and must have the support of their supervisors. They must also be members of WACAC.

The completed application must be received by April 10th. Winners will be announced at the WACAC Annual Conference.
Scholarship application is available at www.wacac.org (under Announcements and Events, lower left of homepage).

Diversity, Equity and Access Scholarships and Grants Available
The WACAC Diversity, Equity and Access (DEA) Committee is excited to offer financial assistance to WACAC members working with underserved and underrepresented student populations.  Applicants can either apply to receive a Professional Development Grant or a Special Project Grant.

These grants can provide funding (partial, full, or startup) to WACAC members who might not be able to attend professional development programs or who may need funds to create and implement innovative programs for their high school, university or community based program.

An online application is available and must be submitted to the DEA committee no later than Tuesday, March 1, 2011.  After a thorough review of each grant proposal, the DEA Grant Review Committee will select the 2011 Grant recipients by March 11, 2011.  For more information or for the grant application please go to the DEA website at www.wacac.org/deacomm.   For more information please contact Edgar Montes at emontes@collegeboard.org or Belinda Sandoval at bmsandoval@usfca.edu.

WACAC Spring College Fairs 2011: Early-Bird Registration (1-5 Fairs) Northern California

Date: 3 April 2011, Sunday
Attention:  Use this registration if you plan to register for 1 to 5 fairs.  If you are registering for more than 5 fairs, please use our discounted registration.

WACAC is pleased to offer eight Northern California College Fairs this spring which will be conducted in conjunction with the NACAC College Fairs taking place in Southern California and in San Francisco.  The fairs will be held at:
University of the Pacific (UOP) - April 3 (1:00 - 4:00 p.m.)
CSU Stanislaus - April 4 (9:00 a.m. - noon)
Sonoma State - April 5 (5:30 - 8:30 p.m.)Dominican University of California - April 6 (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)Mission College - April 7 (9:30 a.m. - noon and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)
CSU, East Bay - April 8 (9:30 a.m. - noon and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)Saint Mary's College of California - April 9 (1:00- 4:30 p.m.)
Mira Loma High School - April 10 (1:00 - 4:00 p.m.)

For information about  the NACAC fairs, please visit their web site at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.nacacnet.org" claiming to be http://www.nacacnet.org.
If you have specific questions regarding the 2011 Northern California College Fairs, please contact the site chair at each location. You may also contact Rose Greeff at rose.greeff@csueastbay.edu or Nichelle Passanisi at nichelle.passanisi@dominican.edu.

University of the Pacific
Alex G. Spanos Center
3601 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, CA 95211
http://web.pacific.edu/x5096.xml
SITE CHAIR: Keith Sanpei, ksanpei@pacific.edu

CSU Stanislaus
One University Circle
Turlock, California 95382
http://www.csustan.edu/Directories/Maps/
SITE CHAIR: C.J. Chaney, cchaney@csustan.edu

Sonoma State
Gymnasium
1801 E. Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
http://www.sonoma.edu/university/images/artistic_map1.pdf
SITE CHAIR: Gina Geck, gina.geck@sonoma.edu

Dominican University of California
Conlan Recreation Center
50 Acacia Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
www.dominican.edu
SITE CHAIR: Eileen Burns Caparoso, eileen.burnscaparoso@dominican.edu

Mission College
Gym (Next to Tennis Courts)
3000 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
www.missioncollege.org
SITE CHAIR: Susan Monahan, susan_monahan@wvm.edu

CSU East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.
Hayward, CA 94542
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/events/college-fair/
SITE CHAIR: Rose Greeff, rose.greeff@csueastbay.edu

Saint Mary’s College of California
1928 Saint Mary’s Road
Moraga, CA 94556
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/community-and-visitors/docs/campus_map.pdf
SITE CHAIR: Omar Zazueta, ozazueta@stmarys-ca.edu

Mira Loma High School
4000 Edison Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821
www.sanjuan.edu/miraloma.cfm
SITE CHAIR: Joan Adams, jadams@sanjuan.edu

More information and online registration: WACAC Spring College Fairs 2011: Early-Bird Registration (1-5 Fairs)

Best regards,
Western Association for College Admission Counseling

WACAC Spring College Fairs 2011: Early-Bird Registration (6-8 Fairs) Northern California

Date: 3 April 2011, Sunday
Attention:  Use this registration if you plan to register for 6 to 8 fairs.  If you are registering for less than 6 fairs, please use our regular registration.

WACAC is pleased to offer eight Northern California College Fairs this spring which will be conducted in conjunction with the NACAC College Fairs taking place in Southern California and in San Francisco.  The fairs will be held at:
University of the Pacific (UOP) - April 3 (1:00 - 4:00 p.m.)
CSU Stanislaus - April 4 (9:00 a.m. - noon)
Sonoma State - April 5 (5:30 - 8:30 p.m.)Dominican University of California - April 6 (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)Mission College - April 7 (9:30 a.m. - noon and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)
CSU, East Bay - April 8 (9:30 a.m. - noon and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)Saint Mary's College of California - April 9 (1:00- 4:30 p.m.)
Mira Loma High School - April 10 (1:00 - 4:00 p.m.)
In order to use this registration form and receive the discounted rate of $155/fair, you must register for six (6) or more fairs.

For information about  the NACAC fairs, please visit their web site at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.nacacnet.org" claiming to be http://www.nacacnet.org.
If you have specific questions regarding the 2011 Northern California College Fairs, please contact the site chair at each location. You may also contact Rose Greeff at rose.greeff@csueastbay.edu or Nichelle Passanisi at nichelle.passanisi@dominican.edu.

University of the Pacific
Alex G. Spanos Center
3601 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, CA 95211
http://web.pacific.edu/x5096.xml
SITE CHAIR: Keith Sanpei, ksanpei@pacific.edu

CSU Stanislaus
One University Circle
Turlock, California 95382
http://www.csustan.edu/Directories/Maps/
SITE CHAIR: C.J. Chaney, cchaney@csustan.edu

Sonoma State
Gymnasium
1801 E. Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
http://www.sonoma.edu/university/images/artistic_map1.pdf
SITE CHAIR: Gina Geck, gina.geck@sonoma.edu

Dominican University of California
Conlan Recreation Center
50 Acacia Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
www.dominican.edu
SITE CHAIR: Eileen Burns Caparoso, eileen.burnscaparoso@dominican.edu

Mission College
Gym (Next to Tennis Courts)
3000 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
www.missioncollege.org
SITE CHAIR: Susan Monahan, susan_monahan@wvm.edu

CSU East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.
Hayward, CA 94542
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/events/college-fair/
SITE CHAIR: Rose Greeff, rose.greeff@csueastbay.edu

Saint Mary’s College of California
1928 Saint Mary’s Road
Moraga, CA 94556
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/community-and-visitors/docs/campus_map.pdf
SITE CHAIR: Omar Zazueta, ozazueta@stmarys-ca.edu

Mira Loma High School
4000 Edison Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821
www.sanjuan.edu/miraloma.cfm
SITE CHAIR: Joan Adams, jadams@sanjuan.edu

More information and online registration: WACAC Spring College Fairs 2011: Early-Bird Registration (6-8 Fairs)

Best regards,
Western Association for College Admission Counseling

How to Use the Member Directory - www.wacac.org

Hey all!

Here's a quick (sorry there is no audio) video that demonstrates how to use the member directory portion of the new WACAC website.



Best wishes,
-DM

The Diversity, Equity and Access Committee has grants and scholarship funds for you. Apply Today!

The WACAC Diversity, Equity and Access (DEA) Committee is excited to offer financial assistance to WACAC members working with underserved and underrepresented student populations.  Applicants can either apply to receive a Professional Development Grant or a Special Project Grant.

These grants can provide funding (partial, full, or startup) to WACAC members who might not be able to attend professional development programs or who may need funds to create and implement innovative programs for their high school, university or community based program.

An online application is available and must be submitted to the DEA committee no later than Tuesday, March 1, 2011.  After a thorough review of each grant proposal, the DEA Grant Review Committee will select the 2011 Grant recipients by March 11, 2011.  For more information or for the grant application please go to the DEA website at www.wacac.org/deacomm.   For more information please contact Edgar Montes at emontes@collegeboard.org or Belinda Sandoval at bmsandoval@usfca.edu.

WACAC Is Off to A Great Start in 2011!

Legislative Conference

The WACAC Legislative Conference is February 2nd and 3rd, and it’s not too late to attend this exciting event. Come to Sacramento for advocacy training, up to the minute information on educational legislation and a chance for actual conversations with our legislators. Registration is free for WACAC members, and we encourage you to be a part of this critical work. Registration is online at the WACAC website, and you can contact Jeff Morrow at jmorrow@oakschristian.org with questions.

IDEA Institute for WACAC Conference 2011 at LMU

The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Institute is designed to assist educational professionals at all levels who work with students from underrepresented populations by providing them with solutions to the issues they have in serving this population. All innovative high school guidance personnel, energetic enrollment management, admission, outreach and recruitment staffs are welcome to attend this exciting institute where dialogue, collaboration, and cross-cultural awareness abound. Run in conjunction with the annual WACAC Conference, the IDEA Institute is on Tuesday May 24th from 8:00am-1:15pm.

Share, Learn & Connect (SLC)

Share, Learn & Connect (SLC) is a one-day workshop offered in five regions across California: Sacramento, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. SLC offers educational sessions designed to meet the needs of all counselors who work with high school and community college students transitioning to college.

• San Diego: Thursday, February 10, 2011, at University of San Diego
• Los Angeles: Friday, February 11, 2011, at Pepperdine University
• Orange County: Friday, March 4, 2011, at Concordia University
• Bay Area: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at Santa Clara University
• Sacramento: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, at University of the Pacific

For registration and scholarship information, please visit http://www.wacac.org/SLC.

Membership

Please remember to renew your NACAC membership by January 31st! Please help us better represent the students in California and Nevada as they seek post-secondary education in these trying economic times. THANK YOU!

WACAC Spring College Fairs

• University of the Pacific - Sunday, April 3
• CSU Stanislaus - Monday, April 4
• Sonoma State - Tuesday, April 5
• Dominican University of California - Wednesday, April 6
• Mission College - Thursday, April 7
• CSU East Bay - Friday, April 8
• Saint Mary’s College of California - Saturday, April 9
• Mira Loma High School - Sunday, April 10

The Early Bird Registration period ends February 11, so college and university representatives need to register soon in order to take advantage of discounted pricing options.

WACAC Conference

Registration for this year's annual WACAC Conference will open on February 15, 2011. This year's conference will be at Loyola Marymount University from Tuesday, May 24 th through Thursday, May 26 th. A conference invitation brochure will be mailed out in the coming weeks and will also be available on the WACAC website.

Southern CA Share Learn and Connect Registration Now Open

We are pleased to announce that registration is NOW OPEN for the 2011 Share, Learn and Connect Series in Southern California.

Share, Learn and Connect: San Diego 2011 - University of San Diego -

Thursday, February 10

Share, Learn and Connect: Los Angeles Area 2011 - Pepperdine University -

Friday, February 11

Share, Learn and Connect: Orange County 2011 - Concordia University -

Friday, March 4

Each workshop begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m. The Member Registration fee is $55, and the Non-Member Registration fee is $75. Online registration closes one week before each event. If there is space available, registation then increases by $15 ($70/$90).

Please reserve your space now at www.wacac.org. Registration is on the left side of the homepage as well as on the Events page. The Northern California series is coming soon!

P.S. If you have not already visited our new website, you will need to login using this email address and then request a temporary password before registering at the member rate.

Northern CA Early Bird College Fair Registration is now open

WACAC is pleased to announce that Early Bird Registration is now open for our 2011 WACAC Spring College Fairs in Northern California.

There are TWO registration forms this year during the Early Bird Registration timeframe, so please choose wisely when registering for the fairs.

Early Registration (through February 11): 1–5 fairs, $170/fair or 6–8 fairs, $155/fair

Regular Registration (February 12 through March 25): 1 – 8 fairs, $220/fair

Late/On-Site Registration (March 26 on): 1 - 8 fairs, $270/fair

(Scanners are $40/site during Early and Regular Registration and $50/site during Late/On-Site Registration)

Click on www.wacac.org to register for the fairs!

P.S. If you have not already visited our new website, you will need to login using this email address and then request a temporary password before registering to attend the fairs. Please note that this is a MEMBERS ONLY event for College/University Professionals. High School Counselors and Independent Counselors who are bringing their students to the fairs do not need to register.