FloridaShines: Shining a Light on College & Career Planning
Discover FloridaShines, Florida’s free, state-funded resource for college and career readiness. Designed to support high school counselors and students, FloridaShines offers tools for career exploration, postsecondary planning, academic success, and workforce pathway discovery. Join us to learn about both existing and new offerings, especially the new online Career Interest Activity and the new College Readiness campaign!
Kelly Aycock
RAMPing up your School Counseling Program
In this session, you will learn some practical ways to RAMP up your school counseling program. School Counselors who have achieved RAMP designation will guide you through the process.
Janell Leatherman
Swing Into Success: Simple Game-Changing Tech Tips
What’s in your golf bag? Elevate, promote and organize your school counseling program with all the tech tools you probably already have and use. You won't believe how easy it is to use basic Google tools to keep you organized, visible, accessible, and keep all students engaged in your standards-based school counseling program. Tee up and get ready to reboot your game.
Dr. Randi Schietz
Building Resilience Thru Belonging: Counseling EBPs
Disconnectedness at school contributes to students’ anxiety, depression, absenteeism, and decreases academic achievement. In this webinar, we will review the latest research on adolescent belongingness and discuss evidence-based school counseling interventions you can use to help build connection and resilience. Learn specific interventions and activities, group counseling approaches, peer mentoring programs, and how to use data to measure outcomes and positively impact school climate.
Jolan Shafir Lobb
Brainwashed: Cortisol, Conflict, and the Keys to Calm
Kids today face a cortisol crisis—stress hormones hijacking their brains, from playground meltdowns to TikTok spirals. Understand cortisol’s role in child development and unpack five practical SEL keys—Capable, Confident, Construct, Connect, and Contribute—to transform stress into resilience. Drawing from real stories and accessible brain science, we’ll explore how cortisol drives fight-flight-freeze reactions and how chronic stress impacts learning, behavior, and identity.
Steph Jensen
Screenshots, Secrets, and School Drama
From group chat conflicts to social media stress, today’s students navigate complex digital dynamics that impact their mental health and school behavior. This session equips school counselors with practical strategies to address peer conflict, digital boundaries, and emotional regulation, using real scenarios, role-play, and ready-to-use intervention tools.
Vernetia Cowart
Notice, Communicate, Document, Act: A Practical Framework for Supporting Students Before Crisis Escalates
School counselors and student support teams often recognize concerns but struggle with communication, documentation, escalation, and coordinated intervention practices. This session introduces a practical prevention-focused framework designed to strengthen early intervention, interdisciplinary collaboration, student connectedness, and response systems before concerns escalate into crisis. Participants will leave with actionable strategies immediately applicable within school settings.
Wendy Eckenrod-Green
Addiction-Proofing Our Students in an Addictive World
Students are facing earlier exposure to addictive behaviors, from substances to screens, threatening wellness, safety and healthy development. This session translates prevention research into a practical 6-part model for helping students build addiction-resistance, and navigate growing risks with resilience and an “inner compass.” Leave with strategies for staff/parent collaboration and ready-to-use materials for individual, group, or classroom settings.
Kriya Lendzion
Championing Wellness: Creating a Culture of Care
School counselors play a critical role in championing student wellness. This session explores practical, school-based strategies for fostering a culture of care that promotes mental health, resilience, and belonging. Participants will gain actionable tools to support students and staff, strengthen relationships, and create environments where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered to thrive.
Gwendolyn Martin
Advocacy in Action: A Legislative Victory
For 13 years, FSCA pursued legislation to strengthen and define the school counseling profession in Florida. This session explores the advocacy journey behind HB 753, the relationships, strategy, and persistence that led to unanimous passage, and how the law removes certification barriers and aligns evaluations with professional standards. Participants will also learn how the same advocacy strategies used to influence state policy can be applied within schools and districts to promote the profession, strengthen role clarity, and support student success statewide.
Carmen Larson
One School, One Voice: Powering Peer Counseling in a One School Culture
In a PK–12 setting, Peer Counselors serve as a vital bridge across all grade levels. This session explores how a coordinated High School Peer Counseling Program empowers students to become compassionate leaders. Learn how peer-to-peer connections inspire younger students to speak up, advocate for others, and foster a school-wide culture where every voice is heard and every student feels supported.
Ana I Molina
From Referrals to Leadership: Using Leader in Me to Reduce Behavior Concerns
This session explores how school counselors can use leadership-based strategies, Tier 1 counseling lessons, and schoolwide recognition systems to reduce behavior concerns and improve school climate. Participants will learn practical, data-informed approaches to increasing student accountability, strengthening social-emotional skills, and supporting MTSS through leadership development and positive behavior supports in elementary schools.
Sara Krin
The Big, Bad "B" Word
Tired of the angry emails and phone calls? Tired of parents and schools being at odds? Tired of all of the social division creeping into schools without a way to handle it? Tired of EVERYTHING being called "bullying"? Tired of the "same old same old" not working? Chris will show you the simple, fun, laugh-out-loud methods to help unite schools and parents, and help students achieve unbelievable growth in social skills and resilience!
Chris Scheufele
One Bite at a Time: Driving Your Comprehensive Counseling Plan Forward
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This session highlights key components of the ASCA Model 5th Edition: Data Priorities, Achievement Gap Plan, Use-of-Time, Standards Delivery Plan, Annual Calendar, and Annual Administrator Conference. Learn how these elements build your program, align with Florida’s HB 753 and SB 1036 school counselor evaluations, and improve outcomes for students.
Donna Williams Lyons
Stand on the Standards: Evidence That Counts
Florida school counselors are now evaluated using the Florida School Counseling Standards. Learn how to collect meaningful artifacts, document highly effective practice, navigate non-school counseling duties, and use standards-based evidence to advocate for appropriate roles, responsibilities, and comprehensive school counseling programs.
Carmen Larson
From Conflict to Connection
This presentation explores integrating Restorative Practices at Tier 1 and Tier 2 to create meaningful, systemic change in behavior management. Participants will learn how to embed restorative principles into schoolwide frameworks, use disaggregated discipline data to guide equitable interventions, and support student success. Aligned with ASCA competencies B-PF 9 and B-PF 6, the session highlights school counselors’ role in fostering inclusive, connected, and supportive school environments.
Cassie L. D'Addeo
Legislative Updates 2026
Updates from the legislative 2026 regular session that relate to school counselors. This information will come from the Student Support Services at FDOE.
Jessica O'Neal
Leveraging Screening Tool Data: A Counselor's Toolkit for Student and Program Advocacy
This session will provide school counselors and school mental health professionals with practical strategies for utilizing universal screening tools (academic, behavioral, and social-emotional) to systematically identify student needs, inform targeted interventions, and advocate effectively for students and the comprehensive school counseling program. Participants will learn how to simply administer screeners, analyze the data to reveal systemic barriers and suggest interventions, and demonstrate and advocate for program effectiveness.
Genvieve Stephenson
Supporting LGBTQ Students in Florida: What You Need to Know
School counselors play a critical role in creating safe, supportive learning environments for all students while navigating Florida's evolving educational landscape. This session will provide an overview of current legal and policy considerations impacting LGBTQ students, confidentiality, mental health, and student support. Participants will leave with practical, legally sound strategies they can implement immediately to support student well-being and foster inclusive school communities.
Alex Quinto
The Silent Struggle of School Counselors
School counselors often support everyone else while quietly struggling with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. This session explores common contributors to imposter syndrome in school counseling and its impact on professional confidence and counselor identity. Participants will learn practical strategies for strengthening self-awareness, building authentic professional support, and developing a healthier professional mindset.
Jennifer Barrow
Financial Aid Resources for Postsecondary Education for ALL Florida Students
This informative and engaging presentation provides FSCA attendees with a comprehensive overview of financial aid resources available to support postsecondary education opportunities throughout the State of Florida. Participants will gain valuable insight into the financial aid application process, eligibility requirements, scholarship opportunities, and state and federal funding programs designed to increase college accessibility and affordability. By the conclusion of the presentation, attendees will leave with increased knowledge of Florida’s financial aid landscape, enhanced confidence in supporting postsecondary planning efforts, and access to valuable state and community resources that promote student success and educational advancement.
Pedro "Pete" Hernandez
From Defiance to Understanding: Widening the Lens on Student Behaviors
School counselors are often asked to make sense of challenging student behaviors. This interactive session introduces the Micro-to-Macro Lens Framework, a practical approach for understanding disruptive, impulsive, and concerning behaviors through developmental, environmental, communication, and systems perspectives. Participants will explore strategies for improving behavioral interpretation, intervention planning, collaboration, and student outcomes while reducing the risk of misidentification and disciplinary escalation.
Taurean Wilson, LMHC, CFMHE
Crisis to Confidence: A Practice-Based Study of ASIST for School Counselors
School counselors often serve as frontline responders to student suicide risk but report gaps in training and real-time decision-making. This session presents Project STRIVE, a practice-based study of ASIST implementation with graduate trainees and practitioners. Participants will explore digital tracking, fidelity, and MTSS integration, and leave with actionable strategies to strengthen data-informed, trauma-responsive suicide intervention in school settings.
Melissa Mariani, Ph.D.
Par for the Course! School Counselors Championing Digital Wellness and AI awareness
Social media and AI are reshaping how youth learn, socialize, and experience mental health. This session equips school counselors with evidence-based strategies to support digital wellness, recognize emerging risks, and foster healthy technology habits. Participants will explore practical interventions, collaboration strategies with parents and teachers, and tools to help students critically navigate AI-driven and social media environments.
Anna Owens, Ph.D., LMHC
