Simply put, if students don’t feel safe emotionally and socially as well as physically, learning cannot happen. So it’s one of our highest priorities that each student feels seen and heard by adults who care about them and help them leverage their unique strengths, that they feel able to advocate for themselves and one another, and that they have the tools to manage their emotions when things get tough. These "social emotional learning" (SEL) skills will serve students well both in and out of the classroom and for the rest of their lives.
What is SEL? Why is student mental health a priority?
Students are people with identities that are much bigger than the classroom, and we need to get to know them outside of academics first, if we expect them to be successful.”
Angelica Posadas
GHS Director of Counseling
Students having that sense of joy and belonging is absolutely paramount to our work of building a more equitable school community.”
Ken Angelo
GMS School Counselor
Our main goal is to create a space where students can express their point of view and feel fully heard, and then advocate for the best path forward for them."
Amanda Rodriguez
GHS Student Interventionist
SEL and Mental Health @ GHS
At GHS:
- All students have access to the Student Support Office before, during and after school, which is fully staffed by mental health professionals who are prepared to assist with challenges and conflicts both large and small.
- All incoming freshmen are enrolled in Ninth Grade Seminar, a course that teaches students how to discover their own learning styles, practice good decision-making skills, develop healthy relationships with others, and weather the ups and downs of teenage life.
- All students have access to both formal and informal counseling services through school staff who are well connected to additional mental health providers and resources throughout the city.
SEL and Mental Health @ GMS
At GMS:
- All students are assigned to a small advisory cohort that meets regularly with one another and the same teacher all three years of middle school. This not only creates strong relationships among the cohort and with the staff advisor, but advisory time is used to explicitly teach age-appropriate SEL skills like collaboration and self-advocacy.
- Rising eighth graders have the opportunity to become WEB leaders who not only plan a day of fun activities for incoming sixth graders at GMS orientation day, but commit to being role models and peer mentors for younger students all year long.
- All students have access to both formal and informal counseling services through school staff who are well connected to additional mental health providers and resources throughout the city.
Stories About Student Well-Being
“Their Identities are Much Bigger than the Classroom:” Meet GHS’ Director of Counseling
