Edinburg – Over 200 school counselors and district personnel attended the Secondary Counselor Academy hosted by the Region One Education Service Center (ESC) Office of College, Career and Life Readiness. Held on October 6 at the Region One ESC Conference Center, the workshop educated counselors and school administrators on changes to financial aid documents, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA), ApplyTexas and other post-secondary education processes and portals.

“School counselors play a vital role and make a tremendous impact in helping students achieve success in their academic career and social-emotional development,” said Jennifer Avelar, Region One ESC Guidance and Counseling Lead Specialist. “Our goal is to continue to develop healthy learning communities across our region, so that students achieve success in our schools.”

In response to updates to the FAFSA application process, Region One ESC welcomed Raul Galvan of the U.S. Department of Education. Galvan provided step-by-step guidance to participants on the FAFSA application. He also offered advice to counselors on how to assist students when they apply for financial aid.

“Always encourage students to apply to colleges as early as possible,” Galvan said. “Some forms of financial aid are limited. Make sure students apply before priority deadlines to ensure they do not miss potential aid opportunities.”

The academy also explored streamlined functionalities and optimizations to ApplyTexas and its counselor portal.

Dr. Lauren Parish of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board explained the new improvements and enhanced options counselors have for data gathering and reporting via ApplyTexas.

“The streamlined options, such as a mobile-friendly website, that ApplyTexas has implemented facilitate reporting and ensure the student accessibility,” Dr. Parish said. “All students, no matter where they come from or where they are headed, should have a plan for success after high school.”

For more information about Region One ESC’s college and career support services, please visit esc1.net/occlr.

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