Kizoa Launches International Education Program ‘Kizoa for Schools’

Online Movie Editing Company to Provide Educators, Students and Faculty Across the Globe Free Access to its Application

PARIS, France – October 20, 2016 – Kizoa, an online movie editing application, today announced the launch of its international school program, Kizoa for Schools. According to a report published by Campaign for America’s Future and the National Education Association, most state legislatures have passed new state budgets that have a huge negative effect on public education, leading to extreme budget cuts in specialized programs, such as band and sports as well as academic offerings in science, foreign language, technology, and advanced placement subjects. In an effort to make resources for students and teachers more accessible and affordable, Kizoa is now offering students, teachers and faculty from around the world free lifetime access to its Premium Video membership.

“At Kizoa, we believe technology is an essential key to learning and should be accessible to everyone,” says Yanaï Guedj, CEO of Kizoa. “Our platform is an incredibly powerful tool, allowing both students and teachers to express creativity and imagination freely.”

Kizoa for Schools gives teachers, professors and students at all grade levels an easy and creative way to make movie presentations and collages. As a Kizoa for Schools member, anyone with an email address tied to an educational institution will receive a FREE lifetime subscription to its Premium Video membership (valued at $29.99), and will have access to: 10 GB in storage space, be able to download movies in standard resolution of 10 minutes or less, share projects via social media, as well as embed onto websites and blogs. Based on the number of educational emails currently registered with Kizoa, the tech company expects to donate upward of $2 million in services towards the cause of affordable technology in schools.

“It’s been over twenty years since I’ve graduated, and the cost of education has increased tremendously,” explains Guedj. “Something so valuable, like one’s education, should be free. Kizoa for Schools is our contribution towards this mission.”

With premium access, Kizoa for Schools members can leverage the technology for all of their movie-making needs. Project creativity is endless, but can include:

•          Honoring a student or teacher of the month

•          Enhancing school projects by creating an easy-to-share, multi-media project

•          Classroom activity slideshows

•          End-of-the-year highlights

•          Sport highlight reels

•          Capturing school and university milestones

•          Shareable, multi-media photo albums and yearbooks

Kizoa is one of the only platforms that give users complete control of their creations. With over 2000 features, members have a wide variety of effects, movie and collage templates, animations, and music for any occasion to incorporate in their projects. For more information on Kizoa for Schools or to sign up, please visit www.kizoa.com/School.

About Kizoa

Kizoa is an online movie maker application for photos and videos that developed from a digital picture frame venture and morphed into one of the world’s top leading, online movie editing platforms. Launched in 2007 and headquartered in France, Kizoa features 80 different video templates in seven unique formats for consumers to create and capture lifetime memories.  Available in eight languages with 15 million users around the world, up to 10,000 movies are created per day on the application. For more information on Kizoa and its features, please visit http://www.kizoa.com/.

For High School Students with ADHD, is College the Best Next Step?

By April Gower-Getz, Chief Operating Officer, CHADD

The transition from high school to college can be challenging for any student. It can be particularly stressful for students affected by Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The good news is that students with ADHD are attending college in record numbers and achieving success. How do you help determine whether college is the next best step?

For students with ADHD, a great deal of planning must take place during junior and senior year of high school, taking into account both the student’s desires for college and career as well as his or her needs for academic support. High school guidance counselors and parents must keep several things in mind when helping to create a plan for any student with ADHD.

Higher education (including community college, four-year college, or university) may not be right for every student—at least not right after high school. What should students, parents, and guidance counselors consider when discussing the transition to college? Possibilities to explore can include attending college, a trade school, or joining the armed services. Students and their parents might consider waiting a year or more (called a “gap year”) before pursuing higher education, allowing students more time to develop the necessary life skills or maturity.

Meeting new people, participating in extracurricular opportunities, and the chance to have more flexibility in learning can make higher education an exciting adventure. But for students affected by ADHD, these circumstances can also make adjusting extremely difficult. The increased demands of college life, professors who have differing teaching styles and grading procedures, and decreased access to academic accommodations and supports, can result in more stress and greater academic difficulty for students with ADHD.

There are important things for students, parents and counselors to consider when planning for the transition from high school. Give careful consideration to whether or not the student is ready for higher education. Does the student have:

• A personal desire or reasons for pursuing higher education?
• Acceptance and understanding of ADHD and how it uniquely affects him or her?
• Time management and planning skills he or she uses consistently?
• Experience managing academics independently?
• Other co-occurring conditions that might become worse by being away from home?
• Good grades, with limited supervision and support from parents and teachers?
• A preference for a traditional classroom learning environment or a hands-on learning experience?

If the student or parents answer yes to most of these questions, that student is ready for the college experience. If the answer is no to most of these questions, students and parents should consider a gap year to grow and mature, while participating in meaningful work or volunteer activities. Students may want to work with an ADHD coach or other professional during the gap year to decrease their dependence on parents and/or to grow important academic, self-determination, and self-management skills. Some students may want to take one or two courses at a community college to get a feel for the expectations of college study.

Finding the Right School

When students, their parents, and guidance counselors consider any postsecondary school, think carefully about whether or not the student can learn in that educational environment and what academic support programs it offers for students with ADHD. Determine whether the available coursework and majors align with the subject area or areas the student wants to study.

Succeeding in Higher Education

Students affected by ADHD will have more success setting goals, creating effective action plans, and mastering coping strategies if they proactively begin practicing readiness skills and utilizing supports and accommodations before leaving home. Students with greater access to learning services and academic support to help manage ADHD issues tend to experience lower levels of stress and frustration and achieve greater academic success. Working with an academic coach for ADHD or other professionals can be critical to boosting both academic and social success. When students are aware of and involved in addressing ADHD issues, they are better able to deal with the academic and social pressures of higher education.

Resources for Students and Parents

The following two directories may be helpful in locating the right college for a student with ADHD. Both can be found in school or public libraries.

• Peterson’s Colleges with Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders, sixth edition. An online directory can be found at www.petersons.com.
• The K&W Guide to Colleges: For Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder

Online resources include:

• College Board https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities Find information on seeking accommodations for tests administered through the College Board, including SAT, SAT Subject Tests, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and Advanced Placement® Exams.
• Educational Testing Service Disability Documentation Policies http://www.ets.org/disabilities/documentation ETS administers the GRE and related graduate level exams.
• Heath Resource Center https://heath.gwu.edu The Heath Resource Center at The George Washington University is the national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities.
• The National Resource Center on ADHD: A Program of CHADD. For more information, visit http://help4adhd.org/ or call 1-800-233-4050.

Summer 2016 -- see you in the Fall

Every June our inbox get filled with returned emails.  "XYZ School Counseling Office is Closed until August 23rd, blah blah..."

So, we can take a hint.  We will start publishing again in Mid August.

There is news that does happen, we will recap the summers big news when we return.  Also when a big story hits we'll be  updating our web site with news so you can check for updates http://www.hscounselorweek.com/. We also will be tweeting over the summer. You can follow us on our twitter page: http://twitter.com/hscounselorweek.  So we’ll see you in August and we will do our best to have a great summer. You do the same

The 2016 SC|CS Scholarship Application is now open for submissions

I recently received this email"

Hey Gene,

Would love to have this included in the school counselor portion if you think it worthy. I put on a scholarship for school counselors to attend ASCA that is funded by the school counselor community and we are going to be paying for 7 registrations this year. It's a great opportunity for school counselors.

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Applicants will be eligible to receive a SC|CS 2016 scholarship to cover ASCA 2016 registration costs at their member rate (no more than $369).

Thank you to the 49 contributors who helped us raise $2,805 ($305 above our goal) which will fund 7 and a half full scholarships this year. Amazing!

Please read the entire instructions and fine print on the application form and please submit by Feb. 20th to be considered. Only completed applications will be considered.

Please note: this is only open to practicing school counselors and school counseling graduate students.


Apply here: http://www.thecounselinggeek.com/sccs-scholarship