My Goals for 2022 as a School Counselor

A brand new year is here and with it comes endless possibilities. While most people make New Year resolutions, I've always preferred to set goals instead. To me, a resolution seems too rigid, a to-do or not-to-do checklist of sorts. A goal, on the other hand, is not merely an aim for a desired result but if it is a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) goal, it is one that comes with a viable action plan as well.

Even though I'm not working at a school this year, I aim to stay as relevant and caught up on school counseling research and trends as possible so I can continue to help as many counselors, and in turn students, with my podcast, blog, and resources.
Over the years I have spent so much time helping my students to set goals for themselves, I feel it is imperative for me to set some for myself too, professionally and personally.

My 2022 goals as a School Counselor are:

Step up my data collection game

If there is one aspect of my job that I'm constantly striving to be the best at, data collection has to be it! I've been pretty efficient and consistent for a few years now, but the pandemic and virtual learning reinforced the need to collect more data and base my program on the changing needs of students. Check out my favorite data collection tools here.

Strengthen my counselor connections

Through the Bright Futures School Counseling community on Facebook, my monthly membership program IMPACT, my Stress Free School Counseling program, my School Counseling Simplified podcast, my TPT store, and my Instagram account, I have had the opportunity to meet, although mostly virtually, school counselors from around the world.

While I've had great conversations with so many of you, shared resources, answered questions, and supported you as much as I could with my knowledge and experience in the field, I hope to build a stronger community where everyone of us feels strengthened and supported individually and collectively. Whether it's through creating resources that many of you have been requesting for or even sharing counseling tips and tricks via my blogs and on my podcast, I am looking forward to making this circle a tightly knit one!

Set aside time for self care

As school counselors, we're so used to constantly attending to the needs of others that every so often, we ignore our own. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go on well deserved vacations with my sweet little family last year, but holidays aside, I think it's important to not carry work home, to try and enjoy a sit-down lunch at school at least a couple of times each week, to catch up with colleagues not necessarily to discuss behavior plans or IEPs, to have my coffee when it's still hot, and to take a personal day without hesitation, if that's something I need to do!

What are your goals as a school counselor this year? Let me know in the comments!

Here's wishing you a fulfilling 2022! You've got this!