Latin School of Chicago

28 L AT I N M A G A Z I N E In the middle and upper schools, many of the social and academic challenges that students encounter become more intense. According to Pamela Buchanan Miller, Jenny Stevens and part-time upper school counselor Michael Bruner, technology and social media alone have created significant new issues for students that parents may not even know about. According to counselors, they see students who in many ways are less resilient than previous generations. In addition to working with students individually, they lead support groups and offer programming surrounding drug and alcohol education, peer mediation, social justice and other issues for students and parents. With the challenges today's students face and the increasing number of tools available to help them, Latin's strategic priorities are in order, according to counselors and learning specialists. To them, student support is another key component in the school's mission to achieve educational excellence. "Latin has the opportunity to set a precedent in caring for the whole child," said Buchanan Miller. "With a genuine commitment, we can give students the tools, relationships and the balance they need to realize their individual potential." n Sarah Everson, who focuses on Latin's youngest students, spends much of her time supporting parents, allaying their worries about their child and providing tools and strategies to deal with behavior and social issues. As the students become more verbal, students and counselors in the lower school work together on communication, negotiation, empathy and social literacy. "We give students tools to manage their own emotions," said lower school counselor Aveva Yufit. "We teach them to ask for help." Yufit has established a system where students seeking support can leave a note in her office mailbox under a code name; she responds and encourages them to come in and meet with her. "I let them know that this is a space where they can talk about their feelings so that they can free up their mind to go back into the classroom and learn," she said. e lower school program also has won national recognition for putting counselors in the classroom as a preventative mental health approach. Yufit and Everson visit classrooms at least once a week to talk about various topics and to observe children in their social and classroom environments. In collaboration with teachers, they focus roundtable discussions on social-emotional learning skills. Depending on need, they also run support groups for students whose families are dealing with divorce, illness or death as well. Like most children with learning differences, I was fully aware that I was different from many of my peers. But the difference between children who feel like they 'can't do something' and the conviction that they 'can do anything' is the people around them who highlight their strengths and provide them the tools to combat their weaknesses. Which is exactly what my learning resources teachers at Latin did for me. Because of their help, I fell in love with learning in a way that would not have been possible if I had been constantly struggling. Because of their support, I never felt like a failure, even when I didn't do so well on a test or paper. is is because I knew that with each passing day, I was becoming a better student. I learned "I first came to learning resources in sixth grade after I failed two of my biology tests. I was devastated. I had no idea what to do, but I did know that I needed some help. From that point on I received support from learning resources throughout middle school and from time to time in high school." — James Ruggiero '12 the power of hard work and determination and, most importantly, that it is okay to ask for help. As an educator now, I know how important it is to stress these qualities. I learned from my teachers at Latin that doing your best really means something, and I want my students to know that too. I know the benefits of one-on-one instruction, and I also know how important spending that extra five minutes with a student can be. I make sure my students understand that they can do anything. I am forever thankful for the teachers at Latin, and I am confident that my love of learning, and now teaching, is because of them and their remarkable dedication. Impact for a Lifetime Kathryn "Alex" O'Brien '07 Alex went on to earn her B.A. from Boston College and a master's in teaching from Brown University. She teaches kindergarten in Providence, RI, and runs her own academic services company where she works with children who have diverse learning profiles.

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