The Indian Country School Counselors Institute (ICSCI)

The Indian Country School Counselors Institute (ICSCI) is an 8-month professional development institute for School Counselors to grow their capacity and effectiveness in working with Indigenous students. Members of the ICSCI cohort will build their capacity to support student wellbeing and success in sustaining and culturally responsive ways. The program will culminate with each cohort member writing a guidance curriculum unit on a topic of their choosing, which they can use in their schools and which will be published online as a resource for others.

School Counselors who are ICSCI Fellows participate in an 8-month Fellowship that will increase their:

  • Content knowledge
  • Curriculum-development skills
  • Capacity to deliver culturally responsive lessons
  • Leadership ability
  • Writing capacity

School counselors participate in a seminar group that is led by University faculty who are content experts. School counselors learn the seminar material through reading, discussion, and independent research. Each school counselor writes a unique guidance curriculum unit for use in their school. Curriculum units are then published online so other educators and professionals can access, adapt, and use them in their own school setting.

Benefits of program participation Accordion Closed
  • Certificate of completion with seat hours noted for professional development
  • A stipend provided upon completion
  • Self-authored guidance curriculum unit is published on INE website
  • Connected to a diverse community of school counselors with a shared commitment to culturally responsive best practices with/in Indigenous communities
  • Graduate course credit available, for a fee

How can I participate in the ICSCI? Accordion Closed

We are no longer accepting applications for our 2024 ICSCI seminar cohort. If you are interested in INE’s 2025 professional development seminars, please fill out this form and we will contact you when 2025 applications are available.

Participants in the ICSCI are motivated, intellectually curious school counselors who want to improve their content knowledge and have high expectations for their students.

Eligibility criteria
  • Employed full-time as a School Counselor in a school in the Southwestern U.S serving over 25% Native students
  • Employed in a publicly-funded or tribally-funded school
  • Access to reliable internet and a computer with video conferencing capability
  • Ability to attend ALL virtual and in person meetings ICSCI schedule 2024
Expectations of accepted applicants
  • Attend all virtual and in person meetings, including the final Showcase and Open House on December 7, 2024, in Flagstaff  ICSCI schedule 2024
  • Submit all writing assignments on time, including the final complete curriculum unit that meets program specifications
  • Maintain regular communication via email and/or phone with the program staff
  • Improve content knowledge in the relevant area
  • Grow capacity to engage students using the principles of cultural responsiveness
Application process
Step 1: Get your principal’s support.

You will need to confirm that your principal supports your application. Please discuss this with your principal before you apply. 

Step 2: Confirm your eligibility

Please carefully read the “Eligibility criteria” and “Expectations of accepted applicants” sections to confirm your eligibility. This includes ensuring that you can attend ALL in-person and virtual meetings. 

Step 3: Submit your application

The application is completed via Google forms, which requires you to complete and submit the entire application at one time. Please be sure you allow sufficient time to do this; we recommend approximately one hour. 

The application includes one question that should be answered in 150-300 words. The question is, “Please tell us why you are interested in joining the Indian Country School Counselors Institute. What do you hope to learn or gain through this program? What strengths or assets will you bring to this program?”

It may be helpful to draft your response in a Word/Google Document (or something similar) then copy and paste your response into the application when you are ready to submit. 

Step 4: Notification of acceptance

The Institute for Native-serving Educators will inform you of your application status by April 1, 2024. 

Ready to get started?

Apply to ICSCI!

Click the link above or scan the QR Code below with your mobile device to be taken to the application page.

Current program information for the ICSCI Accordion Closed
ICSCI schedule 2024
Download the ICSCI schedule 2024
Counselor resources

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