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One of the highlights in Illinois is the opportunity to honor our colleagues for their contributions to school counseling in our state. Hopefully you are thinking of those colleagues you work with daily who go above and beyond in their role to help students and promote our profession. Please consider nominating these people for an ISCA Award. Help us to let them know that their efforts are seen, acknowledged, and appreciated. 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ISCA office.

Click here to see ISCA Past Award Winners

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE

SCHOOL COUNSELOR OF THE YEAR
(SCOY) AWARDS

Nominate an outstanding school counselor for the
K-8 School Counselor of the Year or the Ray Piagentini High School Counselor of the Year

All nominees will be honored at the annual ISCA Conference and will have the opportunity to apply for the Illinois School Counselor of the Year Award. The winner will be the Illinois representative for the ASCA 2026 School Counselor of the Year. 

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE

Nominations for School Counselor of the Year
close on February 10th, 2025.


CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE

ISCA IMPACT AWARDS

Nominate outstanding individuals for an ISCA Impact Award in the following categories:

School Counselor Internship Supervisor

Rising Star

Dr. Toni Tollerud School Counselor Educator

School Administrator

School Counselor Advocate

Graduate Student

Legislator

School Counseling Program

Key Contributor

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE

Nominations for ISCA Impact Awards
closes on February 10th, 2025.


 Awards  Eligiblity for Consideration
K-8 School Counselor of the Year & Ray Piagentini High School Counselor of the Year
  • The nominee must be currently employed as a full-time counselor and have completed three consecutive years of school counseling service at the grade level of nomination.
  • The nominee must be a current member of the Illinois School Counselor Association. Letters of support do not need to be from a member of the Illinois School Counselor Association.
  • The nominee must hold a master's degree or equivalent in school counseling, counseling, or a related degree and be certified as a counselor by the state.
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable in an exceptional school counselor.
  • The nominee must have been responsible for innovations in the school counseling program, for providing leadership in the further development of existing services, for demonstrating leadership in professional school counseling associations, and/or for performing an outstanding service to the school or community.
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place in the past three years prior to the date of the nomination.
School Counselor Internship Supervisor
  • The internship supervisor nominee must currently be employed full time or part time at a public or private school in Illinois. 
  • The internship supervisor should have a minimum of three years of experience as an internship supervisor and should be have an ISBE Professional Educator License.
  • The internship supervisor nominee must be a current member of the Illinois School Counselor Association.
  • The internship supervisor nominee must hold at least a master’s or doctoral degree in Counseling. The nominee must have at least two years experience. 
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable of a supervisor of school counselor interns.
  • The school counselor internship supervisor should be responsible for directly supervising at least one Masters-in-training during the internship experience. Nominee should be innovative in promoting the profession of school counseling, mentor, teach, and support the intern, support and advocate for school counseling using the state standards and the national model of ASCA, and demonstrate leadership and participation in professional school counseling associations.
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place within three years prior to the date of presentation. 
 Rising Star (1st or 2nd year School Counselor)
  • The nominee must be currently employed as a full-time counselor.
  • The nominee must be a current member of the Illinois School Counselor Association. 
  • The nominee must hold a master's degree or equivalent in school counseling, counseling, or a related degree and be certified as a counselor by the state.
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable in an exceptional school counselor.
  • The nominee must have been responsible for innovations in the school counseling program, for providing leadership in the further development of existing services, for demonstrating leadership in professional school counseling associations, and/or for performing an outstanding service to the school or community.
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place during the first and/or second year of employment as a school counselor.
 Key Contributor
  •  Nominee has served in a capacity that supports the work of Illinois School Counselors.
  • Nominee does not need to be an ISCA member but the nominator does need to be an ISCA member
Dr. Toni Tollerud School Counselor Educator
  • The counselor educator nominee must currently be employed full time or part time at a public or private school in an Illinois School Counseling program. 
  • The counselor educator should have a minimum of three years of experience as a counselor educator.
  • The counselor educator nominee and the nominator must be current members of the Illinois School Counselor Association. 
  • The counselor educator nominee must hold at least a master’s degree in Counseling or a doctoral degree. The nominee must have experience teaching classes that directly impact students in a master’s program who are preparing to become school counselors. The nominee must have at least two years experience.The nominee must have been responsible for teaching their counseling programs and working closely with students desiring to become school counselors. 
  • The nominee must provide innovation in furthering the profession of school counseling, demonstrate leadership and participation in school counseling associations in the state, support and advocate for school counseling using the ISCA standards and national model of ASCA (American School Counselor Association), and bridge the gap between classroom learning and the developmental model in existing school counseling programs.
School Counseling Program-NEW (Outstanding School Counseling Teams)
  • At least 50% of the School Counseling Team must be ISCA Members.
  • Nominators do not need to be members of the Illinois School Counselor Association. 
 School Administrator
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable in an outstanding administrator.
  • The nominee must have been responsible for supporting professional school counselors and counseling programs, advocating for the developmental model, and/or providing leadership in the further development of an exceptional school counseling program.
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place within three years prior to the date of presentation.
School Counselor Advocate
  • The nominee must be currently employed in an educational or professional setting that involves the work of professional school counselors for a minimum of three consecutive years. Nominees do not have to be members of the Illinois School Counselor Association.
  • Nominees can be Professional School Counselors, Counselor Educators, or other professionals who have been outstanding advocates for School Counselor in Illinois in ways that have supported school counseling policy and promoted the profession.
  • While the nominee does not need to be a member of the Illinois School Counselor Association, the nominator does need to be a current member.
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable in an outstanding leader and advocate for the profession.
  • The nominee must have demonstrated successful outcomes that have led to changing existing policies, professional practices, and/or learning environments for professional school counselors in Illinois. Their work must demonstrate outstanding service to the profession with a strong emphasis on social justice and advocacy for all stakeholders including professional counselors, students, teachers, administrators, and parents
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place within the last three years.
Graduate Student
  • The nominee must currently be a graduate student who is a full time or part time student at a public or private school in Illinois. 
  • The graduate student should have completed at least one year in their program. 
  • The nominee may not have graduated prior to the nomination of this award.
  • The graduate student nominee must be a current member of the Illinois School Counselor Association.
  • A graduate student may be nominated by a degreed school counselor, counselor educator, or fellow graduate student. The nominator must be a member of the Illinois School Counselor Association at the time of the nomination.
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable of an emerging leader in the field of school counseling.
  • The nominee for this award shall have demonstrated outstanding service or contribution to the School Counseling Profession in Illinois.
 Legislator
  • Nominees must be members of the State or National Legislature
  • Nominees do not need to be members of the Illinois School Counselor Association..
  • While the nominee does not need to be a member of the Illinois School Counselor Association, the nominator does need to be a current member.
  • The nominee should possess the personal qualities thought to be desirable of an outstanding legislator.
  • The nominee must have demonstrated involvement in legislation that has positively impacted the role of Professional School Counselors in the State of Illinois or at a national level.
  • The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place within the last three years.


ILLINOIS SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 734  Downers Grove, IL  60515     (312) 600-0075

 assistance@ilschoolcounselor

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