“I started doing some home visits and walk and talks with students this month. One of these home visits helped us determine that a family in transitional housing had moved, and we were able to visit them in their new housing. We had not been able to contact this family since school closed last year and because of this home visit we were able to talk to the parent and student face to face. This student really wanted to be in school, so I’m grateful we were able to connect with the parent and address their concerns while advocating for the student to have access to remote learning.”
“When I had my first check-in with one of the 8th-grade students, it felt really good to not only connect, but to hear the students say they wanted more times to meet virtually. We have met weekly for a month now and have conversations around what they are like with their friends and family, their feelings on their future, and the current state they are in with remote learning.”
“This month’s success story is helping one of my caseload students get out of their comfort zone and speak up more. This student has amazing art skills and enjoys writing short stories! They were very shy when I first met them back in November, but they have come a long way since then. This student also participates in an afterschool program that I support. During each session, my caseload student is building their social skills by engaging with others and feeling more comfortable while doing so. This student struggles to open up to others but once they do you can see the amazing change in them.”
“In the past week, I started getting responses from a parent who I’ve been trying to engage since last March. They shared the desire for her child to be more physically active and engage in activities besides being on the computer. I’m in the process of trying to refer them to a day program with Parks & Rec where the student can get support navigating their classes during the day and have the opportunity to play in the gym or outside during breaks. This is only the beginning of building trust with the family, but it’s an opportunity to connect the family to services that might increase the student’s attendance and engagement.”