On behalf of our board, I welcome your interest in the California Association of School Counselors. Our board consists of dedicated volunteers who strive to promote excellence within the school counseling profession. This mission is partially accomplished through regular professional development activities, such as our annual conference and regional workshops, The California School Counselor magazine which features current, relevant issues for school counselors and advocacy efforts at the local, state and national level.

I say “partially accomplished” because this is a work in progress.

We still have a long way to go for the education community and state legislators to recognize the vital role played by school counselors. It is essential that school counseling be part of the school reform discussion. Our association has been working with state legislators and state department officials to move this agenda forward. Fortunately, some of the recent research on dropout prevention, college access, and post-secondary planning point to the importance of school counselors. Perhaps most importantly, school counselors are uniquely positioned and trained to provide guidance and assistance to students who have been disenfranchised or marginalized by the public education system.

We rely upon our members to accomplish this work. When you decide to become a member of CASC, we hope that you are also deciding to become an active participant. Your membership fees directly support the work of the association and help keep alive the mission of CASC. I am emboldened by the hard work, the desire and the compassion I see amongst those in our profession. We have made a difference and we will continue to make a difference in the lives of the students of California. Join us and help us insure that each student in our state has the opportunity to achieve success!

Dean Lesicko
President, 2009-10