Hey there!

I just wrapped a conversation with Phylicia Littleton, and I couldn't wait to share it with you.

Phylicia is a National Certified Counselor and career consultant at Pearson Virtual Schools. She believes that helping students set just ONE meaningful goal could completely change their future trajectory.

As a fellow school counselor, I was nodding along the entire time because so much of what she shared resonated with my own experience working with students—and honestly, with my own parenting too.

Don't Ask This Question

Instead of asking kids "What do you want to be when you grow up?" (when they honestly only know about 1% of the jobs that exist), Phylicia asks: "What problem in the world do you want to solve?"

Isn't that beautiful? It gives them their "why" and helps them think about how they want to serve the world.

Real Talk About Goals

We dove into SMART goals, but not in that dry, corporate way. Phylicia's approach is refreshingly realistic—if a student is failing five classes, you don't create five different goals. You pick ONE and focus there first.

Even bringing up a failing grade from 30% to 50%? That's still progress worth celebrating!

Meeting Kids Where They Are

We also talked about working with Gen Alpha students who were born with phones in their hands. Instead of forcing our old-school methods, why not ask them what apps they already use and help them leverage those for success?

Whether you're a school counselor, a parent, or both (like me!), this conversation reminded me that we don't need to overwhelm our kids with massive life plans. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is help them focus on one meaningful goal and actually achieve it.

The confidence they gain from that success? That's what changes everything.

I hope you'll give this episode a listen. Phylicia's insights are practical, hopeful, and exactly what I needed to hear.

Talk soon,

Cynthia

Watch the full episode now!

Phylicia Littleton's Bio and Links:

As a National Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional School Counselor in Virginia, Phylicia Littleton is a Counseling & Career Consultant at Pearson Virtual Schools where she provides support and oversight to virtual school counseling leaders to implement a comprehensive school counseling program at public and private virtual schools across the country.

Prior to this position, she was a school counseling director at a local Title I school. She holds a Master of Education in Counseling with a concentration in School Counseling from The College of William & Mary and is currently a doctoral student in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program at Regent University. Phylicia is an ASCA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist and 2023 Michelle Dowdy Emerging Leader through the Virginia Counselors Association. Her professional interests include supervision in school counseling, school counseling leadership, and advocacy in counseling.

Check out her contact info below. ⬇️

This picture is me student teaching in 1991. I was 22 years old and I was ready to get started on this amazing journey of teaching youth. I am still a teacher. I teach young people every day about anxiety and I also teach their parents! I love teaching and I want to do more of it, so here is the deal...

Every month, I am going to offer a different workshop where I am going to teach different topics around anxiety. I will always have a blurb about it at the end of my Monday newsletter. This is just FYI for those that are interested. I will also have promotional emails specifically about that workshop. If you are not interested in getting those workshop promotions, please just click the button below.

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