MSCA Awards and Recognition
Elementary Counselor of the Year
Elementary
Marie Atkinson-SmeinsLuVerne Elementary School
Dedication and steadfastness describes Marie. Her love for her job and the students and staff she works with is evident. She continually works to come up with new ideas to make learning fun and productive in her school and community. She looks for variety whether it be in organizing school wide "TV Turn Off Week" campaigns, mental health poster competitions where her students are very successful, or "Random Acts of Kindness" activities. She spearheads activities for her elementary students to promote safety and nonalcoholic participation in prom and graduation activities for juniors and seniors. She is creative, innovative and always ready to share.
Pat Jones
St. James Licensed School Counselor
Elementary School Counselor of the Year
Elementary
Nancy RaymondSouthwest School District #318 - Grand Rapids
Our district has been extremely fortunate to have Nancy as our elementary counselor; but more importantly, our elementary children have benefited the most from the every day life skills Nancy has given them through her individual, small group and classroom activities. She truly makes a positive difference for our elementay students.
Sue Mattson
Assistant Superintendent
It is rewarding to see the impact that one elementary counselor can have on a large system. I feel Nancy has made a significant difference in the lives of so many and continues to be an unbelievable asset to our educational world!
Sue Miskovich
Elementary Principal
Secondary/Multilevel School Counselor of the Year
Senior High
James NelsonGrand Rapids High School
Like Jimmy Stewart's chacter in "It's a Wonderful Life", Jim has made an enormous, positive difference in the GRHS community for over thirty years. Where would we be without him and his good work?
Jan Bilden
Grand Rapids Licensed School Counselor
Post-Secondary School Counselor of the Year
Post-Secondary
Lon A. LaagerMinnesota State Community & Technical College - Fergus Falls
Working with Lon as my counseling colleague these past eight years has been a joy. His kindred spirit is wonderfully refreshing to experience day in and day out. Lon is always very concerned about the well-being of others and takes time to make people a priority in his life. Whether it be a student, faculty or staff member who crosses his path he makes them feel appreciated and welcome in the first few minutes of an encounter. I firmly believe it is a worthy accomplishemnt to achieve such a high level of consistent caring throughout one's counseling profession. For we all know that there are plenty of days that tap our wells dry. However, Lon has a unique skill of being able to always share a smile and supportive word for others. It is truly an honor to work with my good friend Lon Laager and I wouldn't change it for the world!
Jennifer Parta Arno
MSCTC Licensed School Counselor
Administrator of the Year
Senior High
David BattagliaCarlton
Potential School Counselor Scholarship
Julia Harrison
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Julie Harrison comes as a future professional to the field of school counseling with a tremendous amount of natural talents and experiences. Ms. Harrison is a nontraditional student who has a wealth of knowledge with children and adolescents due to her employment as an educational assistant at a unique elementary school in the Mankato district known as Bridges Community School. This school-not a charter, but operated by the Mankato district-uses character education as the foundation for its curriculum. Because of the way the school is operated (it is a "community" in every sense of the word since everyone plays a role in student success), Ms. Harrison has been included in the implementation of the character education lessons throughout grades K-5. She is helping put into practice, through the school setting in which she works, a curriculum which can serve as the basis for most, if not all, of her future lessons as an elementary school counselor.
Ms. Harrison is a "student of life" in all senses of the phrase. Her background is in English and creative writing (two master's degrees) and she has put that knowledge to practice by working with students all across the educational spectrum. She has taught creative writing to elementary and secondary students identified as gifted. She has served as a special education paraprofessional. Utilizing judicious discipline, restorative justice, and conflict mediation approaches, she supervised an in-school suspension program at the elementary level. Though many teachers wanted to send students to in-school suspension as a punishment, Ms. Harrison saw such time as the best kind of learning opportunity for those students to explore the ways in which their decisions contributed to their suspensions. While serving as an academic advisor at a local business college, Julie crystallized her interest in the counseling profession. "Academic advising," it seems, had little to do with academic advising. She has seen first hand across the K-16 spectrum how personal issues impact students' abilities to learn and how what is learned (or not!) ultimately shapes the career decisions and opportunities that they have.
Minnesota State University, Mankato, is proud to have Ms. Harrison as a graduate of its Professional School Counseling Program and MSCA will be proud of the work that Ms. Harrison will do for the children and families with whom she serves.
MSCA-Wellstone Legacy Award
Brooke Magid Hart, Advisor
S.A.L.S.A. (Student Alliance for Leadership in Social Action)
The MSCA-Paul Wellstone Legacy Award was created by the MSCA Governing Board
in 2003 to honor the work of the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone.
Senator Wellstone was a champion of causes small and large. A tireless fighter
on behalf of those whose voices were often drowned out by the din of the
powerful, he spoke on behalf of many of the causes which are important to the
work of MSCA.
Paul Wellstone was our friend. He was one of the early cosponsors of
the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Act and in its reauthorizations.
He constantly reminded the federal government that it was not living up to its
promises to fund special education at its full measure. He called the NCAA to
task at MSCA's insistence to get them to stop their attempts at interfering with
high school coursework across the country. And he never, never failed to fight
the good fight-and make changes-in the way this country views our treatment
of those with mental health needs.
MSCA is proud to award the MSCA-Paul Wellstone Legacy Award to a group who
keeps the faith and walks the talk with the kinds of action in which Paul believed.
SALSA is an after-school, extracurricular club open to all students
interested in learning the skills of social-political action. It uses
those skills to encourage the type of changes that Paul Wellstone
personified. It strives to improve the conditions and situations which people live
and build awareness about issues important to the work of its members.
Specifically, SALSA has...
- Sponsored a Rock the Vote campaign to register new voters in 2004
- Sponsored voter registration drives to encourage all 18-year-old at Spring Lake High School to register and vote in the 2006 elections
- Researched the school lunch program and worked with the school district to offer healthy alternatives
- Raised funds for tsunami and Hurricane Katrina surviors
- Addressed the need to improve maintenance and upkeep of the high school restrooms
- Produced a film within the high school addressing racism on campus
SALSA receives no funding from the high school or the district. They
have no budget. The two advisors, Brooke Magid Hart and Lisa Marohn,
volunteer their time, materials, and hearts to keep the organization vibrant.
The organization is open to all students in grades 9-12 and, as you might
well expect, there is no membership criteria to join except a willingness
to work to make our world a better place.
MSCA proudly awards the 2006 Paul Wellstone Legacy Award to the
Student Alliance for Leadership in Social Action (SALSA) of Spring Lake Park
High School.
Web link: http://www.springlakeparkschools.org/athleticsandactivities/activities/salsa/default.htm