Supporting students exactly where they are, with exactly what they need is an MTCS commitment. Recently two of our Secondary counselors had an opportunity to attend a conference for educators in Chicago to explore ways to support students.
Ms. Lane, MTS Secondary Counselor, and Ms. Ramsey, Banaadir Academy Counselor got so many great ideas at the conference, A Dream Deferred: The Future of African American Education. The conference focused on best practices, recent data and research, college readiness, and practical strategies to better serve students who identify as African American.
Topics at the conference spanned from parent engagement to suicide prevention, restorative justice, peer mentoring, and also gave participants the opportunity to network with fellow educators.
The two counselors were strategic and split up sessions they attended so they could share what they learned with each other and brainstorm how they could use the information to support students at their schools.
One session Ms. Ramsey found especially exciting was titled: A Districtwide Approach to Supporting African American Students and Families, which shared really practical strategies to engage families. “I am so excited to bring these ideas back to Banaadir.” She also shared about an implementation of an African American Advisory Council at the district level that got to be really creative in their approach to interventions. “This specific district increased the graduation rate of their African American students from 66% to 91% so it was really exciting to see the impact schools are having in the lives of their students.”
Ms. Lane shared about one California school who took the initiative to combat the potential negative impact the pandemic might have on students. They followed the MTSS (Multi-tiered system of support) model and created 3 separate classes that students and their parents would apply to participate in. The classes were called We Rise, Math Collaborative, and Student Leadership Academics. “I really liked hearing about the We Rise class as it focused on Respect, Integrity, Self-Worth, and Empowerment. They had repurposed the role of the dean to be an intervention specialist. Relationship building, social emotional learning and development, Mentorship, and Real Life Experiences through tours and field trips made this class a success.”
Ms. Lane also shared what an opportunity it was, and that she could“Enhance my knowledge and practice by learning what other schools are doing and what is working for them. I attended sessions that represented different high schools across the nation.”
It wasn’t all work, of course, a little Chicago deep dish pizza and downtown exploration happened. And as Ms. Ramsey shared, “Overall, it was super rejuvenating to be surrounded by amazing educators, including Rashel, that are making huge differences with their students. I’m excited to use the knowledge and strategies I gathered to better support my students at Banaadir!”
