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The Third Place: Creating a safe space for Students and Counselors at YES Prep
March 07, 2011 by Jeremy Tatum
Relationships are the key element to making a difference in the lives of young people at YES. This sets us apart from the rest. It is the foundation of our effectiveness. Some might allude to the SSC role as “The Great Mystery”. Like many at YES, a Student Support Counselor at YES Prep wears many hats. So, how do you build strong, lasting relationships with students when you may not see them each day in a classroom setting and you often interact with them in particularly difficult and unpredictable circumstances with one of you and hundreds of them?
The non-instructional lifestyle of a Student Support Counselor is sometimes difficult, hectic, and unpredictable. Each moment with a student is valuable beyond measure. One must maximize each miniscule moment with students to build a fortress of rapport before and after school, in the hallways, and at lunch. Reliability and understanding are the crucial components for building an environment that ensures students not only know they are supported, but that they feel and believe they are supported.
A SSC is intentional about the space we create to foster a sense of support. I love coffee. I could not live without it. I recall the years when I worked at Starbucks Coffee Company. CEO Howard Shultz referred to his stores as “The Third Place” – not home, not the workplace, but the middle ground where life unravels organically and comfortably. It worked. People could discuss their lives over a secure, predictable cup of coffee. Much like this successful coffee chain, the Student Support Counseling office is the Third Place at YES Prep. Our vehicle for perpetuating powerful relationships is not coffee. Rather, it is moments that recognize and reassure the uniqueness and strengths of individual students. SSCs provide the comforting relief that helps students navigate through some unimaginably difficult circumstances.
Stop by your SSCs office and visit your student’s Third Place. There might even be a cup of coffee waiting for you.
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