An Exercise in Love
Oya Schooley, The Episcopal Academy
September 16th, 2026

Come August, I start working on my letters of recommendation. Starting early makes my fall more manageable. I'm able to be more present during school hours if I'm not trying to write rec letters with twenty-five interruptions in between. And I'm more present in my life outside of work, too—which by October always seems to have shrunk down to nothing. My family wants to do things like enjoy the fall weather, and I never have time to spare, especially after the NACAC Conference. Every year I hope that maybe this will be the year when I can actually go apple picking. Fall is a blur, but November is glorious, which is what keeps us going. Getting a good chunk of my letters sketched out in August helps the fall feel less tired and blurry, more memorable and enjoyable. 

Writing letters of recommendation is among my favorite parts of the job, because I get to stare into the souls of my students. I read their surveys and their writing. I read what teachers have said about them, what parents wanted to brag about their kids. Then I combine all of it with my own impressions of the student, built from actually getting to know them. I add in context—their impact on our community, where they're coming from, their hopes and dreams, their relationship to the school, the social forces they're living within. All of it, together, gives me something close to what the anthropologist Geertz called a "thick description" of a person. I think about my students more deeply than they'll ever know.

Meeting your students where they are: How social media can help
Bartley Sides, Associate Director of College Counseling at Christ Church Episcopal School

Working with teenagers means being up-to-date with social media trends that have caught their attention. From TikTok dances to meme trends, finding ways to meet students where they are is a great way to showcase a school’s college counseling program while also having fun with colleagues. 

Bartley Sides, Associate Director of College Counseling at Christ Church Episcopal School (CCES), has found the fun in teenage trends through their office Instagram account. See our Q + A with Bartley below:

The Integrated College Counseling and Social Emotional Counseling Model: Addressing the "Groundhog Day" of Admissions Anxiety in High-Pressure Schools
Nikki Magaziner Mills & Carrie G. Friend, St. Albans School

We don’t have to tell the counselors of ACCIS that in our high-achieving ecosystem of independent schools, the college admissions process is one fueled by emotion. Applying to college is and always has been a big life transition, a moment of growth and introspection, and an opportunity. But increasingly, in this ultra-competitive, changing, and uncertain admissions landscape, anxiety and self-doubt and expectation can shift a year-long rite of passage into a mult-year crisis of personal and family identity. 

Many years ago, we in the College Counseling Office and the Counseling Office at St. Albans School realized that our offices were having similar conversations about disappointment and stress with the same families. In a moment that has since enriched our work immeasurably, we decided to start collaborating to directly address the real and big emotions that are infused into every step of the process of applying and going to college. The practical and emotional coexist for the people going through this process, and we realized that addressing one without the other was only talking about half the story. 

RAFT Framework: How to Approach the End of Senior Year with Students and Parents
Catalina Guzmán, Executive Director of College Counseling, The Episcopal Academy
March 18th, 2026

Every spring, there is a moment when the energy of the senior class shifts. College decisions are mostly finalized, the urgency of applications fades, and what replaces it is something quieter and harder to name. Some of us may call this “senioritis,” that mix of relief, avoidance, nostalgia, anxiety, and a creeping sense that something important is ending. It seems like a natural part of the college application journey and one that is often met with resignation and trepidation. 

As college counselors, we spend months helping students get into college. We are deeply skilled at guiding families through the admissions process, translating institutional priorities, and managing expectations along the way. But once the destination is set, and many of us start to look toward the juniors, it is important not to forget what comes next for our senior class. Senior spring is not just a victory lap; it is a transition period that deserves as much intentionality as the admissions process itself.

While students are the ones making the leap, it is the adults who care for them who perhaps most need our support now. Parents and caregivers are uniquely positioned to help their children process what is coming to an end, what is changing, and what is beginning. At the same time, they are navigating their own transition, often quietly and without much guidance. When we focus solely on student readiness, we miss a critical piece of the puzzle: students cannot fully launch if the adults around them are not ready to let go.

Psychological Safety in Action
Ashley Armato, Associate Director of College Counseling, The Lovett School
February 18th, 2026

I’m writing this in the afterglow of the Bad Bunny halftime performance, still sitting with the pride it stirred in me as a Latina. I’m not Puerto Rican, but watching Benito center Puerto Rican culture—its language, rhythms, history, and political realities—on one of the world’s largest stages felt powerful and deeply familiar. The performance radiated joy and unapologetic authenticity. It wasn’t softened or translated for mass appeal; it was rooted, specific, and proud. I found myself thinking about the thousands of people who saw themselves reflected in that moment and felt a deeper sense of recognition. For many, it wasn’t just entertainment. It was dignity. It was the feeling of being seen without having to explain yourself first.

That feeling has stayed with me, especially as I think about the spaces we create for students every day.

Signals and Noise: Futures Thinking in College Admissions Counseling
Erin McCubbin, Executive Director of Student and Graduate Success, Mount Vernon School
Jared Colley, Chief Innovation Officer, Mount Vernon School
January 20, 2026

Futures thinking begins with a mindset shift: we are not in the business of prediction. 1 The lines of sophomore parents outside our offices may illustrate that parents wish we had a crystal ball, but that would be letting someone else control the premise of our purpose within this profession. The reality of futures thinking is deeply at odds with the college admissions landscape, which is often dominated by confident forecasts, tidy narratives, and the promise that there is a “right” path if you can just decode it.

As college counselors, we are immersed in that noise.

Jonathan Nicholson- Breck School 
November 19th, 2025

In an attempt to promote common language and to support employees, there has been a growing practice of using pocket sentences - short, helpful lines that can effectively capture a point. 

With November 1 still fresh in the rearview, I am exhausted. However, there is still work to be done, programs to plan, fires to put out. In short, the work is still there, and we are needed more now than ever before. Below is wisdom from people I admire, reconstituted as pocket sentences. Perhaps you may find them to be useful tools for meditation, reflection, inspiration, or survival. 

The days are long; the years are short. 
This wisdom was wasted on me in my early years of parenting as I was intently focused on survival and, on the good days, maintaining some form of professionalism. I would invest personal time into chores - cleaning the house, washing the car, you name it - feeling that the show of organization could make me feel in control. It never did. And the mess always returned. 

As parents, we’re never really in control.
We know the family because they’re always around - wanting explanations, asking for conversations, seeking this teacher or that class, pushing for the higher grade. This approach to parenting at independent schools can yield results. The child may very well end up in the higher level course, with the better grade, or in class with the teacher who grades easier or pens the better recommendation letter. The results can leave parents feeling that all will be well, and a student less prepared. 

From Practice to Presentation: Scaling Tools for Broader Impact 
Carolyn Siegel, Pinewood School 
October 15th, 2025

When I first began presenting at state-level conferences a decade ago, I realized that my passion for a topic was only part of the equation; equally important was considering the diverse educational contexts represented in the audience. In my first teaching presentation, public school teachers asked about state standards, which I hadn’t considered since they weren’t part of the curriculum design. This made me realize I needed to consider beyond independent schools for these presentations. As I prepare presentations, I draw on familiar tools and student stories I know well, presenting them so they resonate across broader contexts. 

I’ve come to see conference presentations as reflective processes by which I improve my own practice, translating individualized work into tools that empower a broader community of educators, such as my most recent presentation, Engage and Uplift: Strength-based Approaches in the College Process (NACAC 2025). As self-reflection and writing support are two of my core strengths, I often focus on these two areas when shaping a presentation proposal. I begin by identifying two to three students whose stories can anchor how I frame it. Next, I reflect on how I have guided them toward a stronger final personal or supplemental essay. I then think about: (1) What role did I play as that student’s college process unfolded? (2) What concrete steps, rooted in my strengths, helped them move forward? When a story clearly highlights my strengths in action, I record it in a brainstorming document to revisit later on.

As the semester progresses, I draw from books and professional development opportunities, periodically returning to my brainstorming document to add ideas and slowly refine my thinking. When I write my proposal, I think about what connects these stories. This year, the current political situation added a layer of complexity. I ended up revising my proposal’s DEI language so that I could present on content that uplifts students’ individual experiences and perspectives while ensuring public school counselors from certain states could still attend my session and get CE credits. Ultimately, I aim for a proposal that is sufficiently broad to allow for flexibility down the line. 

Hurricane Application is coming....are you ready? 
David Brunk, Severn School
September 17, 2025 

Hurricane Application has intensified overnight, and the consensus model indicates that Application will reach major hurricane status within two weeks. While there is considerable spread in terms of the precise track of the storm, most analysts agree that Application will be an impressively long-lived and potentially destructive cyclone.

A strained and slightly pessimistic metaphor, perhaps, but there are several similarities between the actual hurricane season and the work we do. Forecasters predict what will unfold on the macro level (think La Niña and the demographic cliff), and non-experts have a tendency to prognosticate about outcomes with individual applications and specific schools. (Consider this overheard gem: “This is a great year to apply to Brown because there are going to be fewer international students!”) Unfortunately, “strained and pessimistic” also describes many students’ relationships with the college process.

Application season is indeed upon us. As has seemingly been the case for the past several years, the season started earlier than ever as more students nationwide are applying to schools with October deadlines. Compressed application seasons lead to more stress for students, and we are tasked with helping students navigate the turbulent waters and find their way to safe harbor.