The Answer - A blog about Education, Preparation, and Commitment.

Any Given Monday: Student Support Counseling at YES Prep

February 21, 2011 by Hope Pacheco

On any given Monday, you will find a Student Support Counselor on every YES Prep campus. On some campuses, you may even find two, and if a campus is lucky, they might even have a social work intern. You will notice the SSC right away. They may be in the front office listening to an upset parent; they may be in the cafeteria talking to the students on RISE (our middle school discipline system); they may be in the hallway comforting a crying student; they may be making an announcement during morning meeting about Black History Month or Random Acts of Kindness Week.  They may be partnering with their Grade Level Chair about a student of concern or they just might be teaching a class. On any given Monday, there are twelve full-time Student Support Counselors walking the halls of YES Prep Public Schools. Each one, on a mission to ensure that every student feels supported, connected to school, and is prepared to enter the classroom ready for their own mission---to graduate from college!

Our Student Support Counselors are in unique positions to see the growth and development of our students at every stage. From the first day of summer school when the new 6th graders step foot on the campus, through the middle school years of break ups and friendships, the SSC is there to help the students navigate their way in the world. The high school years bring a mix of helping students define their identity and find their passion as they search for their place in this world. Some long-time SSCs also have the privilege of partnering with their College Counselors to continue to support our growing alumni community through life as a young adult. The SSC is there through the inevitable disappointments of life and shares in the joys of success like seeing their students walk across the stage at graduation to reveling in the joys of their first professional job.

As the Director of Student Support Counseling Services, I’m so fortunate to be able to work with Team SSC on a daily basis. I meet with each SSC individually to provide coaching and consultation and I meet with them as a content team to foster the legendary collaborative spirit that all YES Prep content teams demonstrate.  We’ve come a long way! Beginning with one social worker at the Southeast campus, our journey as a Student Support Counseling Team has been full of twist and turns. With the growth of new campuses and an increase in student population, we have brought on more Student Support Counselor’s to the team. There is camaraderie among our team that compares to no other. We rely on each other for professional and personal support. We are each other’s sounding board. We are a team that recognizes individual success and team success. Our collective team demonstrates one of the Core Values of YES Prep, Attract and Develop High-caliber People as THE Source of our Strength. I truly believe our team embodies this Core Value. I’m excited to see where the journey will continue to take our team as we collaborate with other teams across the system and as we seek out new ways to support our students and families to college graduation and beyond.
 

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