ISCA Visit the Hill Day Highlights - March 7, 2016

The Iowa ACAC and ISCA Visit the Hill Day was another complete success!  Folks from all over the state came to Des Moines to learn more about advocacy skills in the morning session.  In the afternoon, we headed to the capital to visit with senators and representatives!  We had school counselors, grad students, teachers, college admissions folks, retired educators, AEA representatives and a lot of students attend this year!  It was very exciting and educational for the students and adults.   

ISCA would like to thank Iowa ACAC for their generous support and invitation to participate in Visit the Hill Day.  We are very fortunate to collaborate and partner with this group of professional and dedicated college admissions folks!   

The day started with a keynote address by Dr. Pradeep Kotamraju.  Dr. Kotamraju is the Bureau Chief of the Career and Technical Education and Division of Community Colleges from the Iowa Department of Education. We were excited to hear the updates and recommendations from the Career and Technical Education committee.  Dr. Kotamraju's opening address was very informative, and it started the day with great information to use when advocating for our students!  Thank you, Dr. Kotamraju!  We appreciate your time and support for Iowa students, school counselors, and college admissions counselors. 

Dr, Pradeep Kotamraju, Iowa Department of Education

CTE Committee District Plan

Pradeep with Findley Elementary students and School Counselor Jaclyn Dehner.

Cedar Falls Junior High School Counselor Becky Lins and UNI grad students attended VTH for the first time!

School Counselors from Cedar Falls High School and Peet Junior High.
Erin Gardner, Susan Langan, and Becky Lins

It is always good to see school counselors friends from across the state attend VTH day.
Erin Garder, Aaron Cretin, Susan Langan

The agenda for the morning was spectacular. Thanks to all of our presenters.  

• Early FAFSA & Prior-Prior Year by Erick Danielson, Iowa College Access Network
• Speaking Up With Authority: Making Students the Key Issue in School Counselor Advocacy Efforts by Susan Langan, Cedar Falls High School
• Condition of Higher Education in Iowa byHeather Doe, Iowa College Student Aid Commission
•     Advocacy Training by Jos Linn, RESULTS, Inc. 
• Build Your Advocacy Toolkit: Learning from ASCA’s School Counselor of the Year Finalists by Matthew J. Beck, Doctoral Student, University of Iowa andErin Lane, Doctoral Student, University of Iowa 
•  Career & College Planning by Erick Danielson, Iowa College Access Network
• Why Should You Get Involved? High School Student Advocacy Makes a Difference! by Cedar Falls High School Students

The best part is always the visit to the beautiful Iowa Capital.  We had a gorgeous day, so our group ended up walking.  It was one of the best VTH Days ever! 

As we were going upstairs, one of our students, Michael Flanscha saw Governor Branstad, eating lunch in the cafeteria.  Being the great student advocate that he is, he approached him, and we got a picture together! 

Michael Flanscha, Alex Mong, Tyler Campbell, Governor Terry Branstad, Olivia Habinck, Justin Gray, Rita Tewolde

Visit the Hill Day is has been much more meaningful and impactful because of The Capital Group, ISCA's Lobbyist group.  Thank you to Jim Obradovich, Pete McRoberts, and Bob Mulqueen for giving us guidance on advocating for our students!

Visiting the legislators is always the highlight of Visit the Hill Day.  Our senators and representatives got to visit with and hear our stories, and we made a difference!  We want to make a special shout out to Des Moines School Counselors, Jaclyn Dehner and Nyla Mowery for bringing their elementary students.  We look forward to a blog post from Jaclyn sharing her insights from the day!

Senator Jeff Danielson and representatives from Cedar Falls Community Schools.

Representative Ruth Gaines and the Findley Elementary students.

Findley Elementary students are sharing their stories with Senator Dick Dearden.

It was a FANTASTIC day!  We learned a lot, we talked and advocated a lot, and we also had a lot of FUN!  We can't wait until next year!!