Rockwood School District: Rockwood Secondary School Counselors Hold Check-Ins With All Of Their Students

Press release from the Rockwood School District:

March 15, 2021

Since early February, Rockwood School District's 41 secondary school counselors have been holding individual meetings with each of the district's nearly 12,000 middle and high school students.These check-ins have been taking place in their offices at school as well as virtually over Zoom for students who are learning online. The counselors are going over the students' academic present and future – how they're doing in classes this year and what they're planning to take next year – as well as keeping tabs on whether their social-emotional needs are being met.Rockwood counselors perform these individual check-ins each spring, but the emphasis is a bit different this year."We are being more intentional this year because of the pandemic," said Todd Minichiello, Rockwood's school counseling coordinator. "We are making sure we're getting deeper and checking on our students. We want to make sure we really reach every student. Sometimes we spend a lot of time with a few students because they have those needs, but we want to make sure every student is heard, safe and listened to."Lafayette High counselors ​Nicole Buesse and Sarah Hicks each have around 350 students on their rolls in any given year. Buesse has students with last names that start with D-Hi, and Hicks has Sc-Z last names. This allows them – and all of Rockwood's high school counselors – to build relationships with families as students and their siblings make their way through high school.Buesse said the check-in conversations have been "heavier" than usual this year."Kids are carrying a lot more burdens than they would in a typical year," Buesse said. "They're concerned about more things, and there is a lot more uncertainty surrounding them. We're being purposeful with questions about how they have been and how we can help. We're encouraging them to reach out to us with any concerns they may have."With students learning through different formats, it has been more of a task for counselors to build on their connections this year. Still, school counselors want their students to know that their doors are always open ​– literally and virtually."Getting the chance to answer their questions and remind them we are here and we do more than just scheduling is important," Hicks said. "We are here for whatever you want to talk about, any issues that come up. It's good to remind them they're not alone. We're here for them."Minichiello said the entire Rockwood Student Services staff – including counselors, social workers and social-emotional behavior specialists – has been going above and beyond for students. This includes fulfilling their normal job duties as well as ensuring students' basic needs such as food, school supplies and reliable internet for online learning are being met.And they're doing it all without being able to draw on past experience."Nobody has ever been a school counselor in a pandemic before," Minichiello said. "Our counselors have been innovative, energetic and proactive in finding out what works best to make sure kids are safe, happy and healthy in an environment that is challenging. Our counselors are really working overtime to make sure kids are safe."Selvidge Middle counselor David Tabscott is in a unique position this spring. As the counselor for this year's eighth-graders, he is seeing his students off to high school. As the counselor for next year's sixth-graders, he is also starting to lay the groundwork with future Stallions from Ballwin, Ridge Meadows and Woerther elementary schools. As a thank-you, one of his students recently painted him a 4x4 tile of a landscape and a quote: "We may not remember what you told us, but we'll remember how you made us feel.""So many of the things we do are not seen or heard, but the connections that we make can be super powerful," Tabscott said. "The pandemic couldn't take that away. It may be different, but they're still happening."​

Since early February, Rockwood School District's 41 secondary school counselors have been holding individual meetings with each of the district's nearly 12,000 middle and high school students.These check-ins have been taking place in their offices at school as well as virtually over Zoom for students who are learning online. The counselors are going over the students' academic present and future – how they're doing in classes this year and what they're planning to take next year – as well as keeping tabs on whether their social-emotional needs are being met.Rockwood counselors perform these individual check-ins each spring, but the emphasis is a bit different this year."We are being more intentional this year because of the pandemic," said Todd Minichiello, Rockwood's school counseling coordinator. "We are making sure we're getting deeper and checking on our students. We want to make sure we really reach every student. Sometimes we spend a lot of time with a few students because they have those needs, but we want to make sure every student is heard, safe and listened to."Lafayette High counselors ​Nicole Buesse and Sarah Hicks each have around 350 students on their rolls in any given year. Buesse has students with last names that start with D-Hi, and Hicks has Sc-Z last names. This allows them – and all of Rockwood's high school counselors – to build relationships with families as students and their siblings make their way through high school.Buesse said the check-in conversations have been "heavier" than usual this year."Kids are carrying a lot more burdens than they would in a typical year," Buesse said. "They're concerned about more things, and there is a lot more uncertainty surrounding them. We're being purposeful with questions about how they have been and how we can help. We're encouraging them to reach out to us with any concerns they may have."With students learning through different formats, it has been more of a task for counselors to build on their connections this year. Still, school counselors want their students to know that their doors are always open ​– literally and virtually."Getting the chance to answer their questions and remind them we are here and we do more than just scheduling is important," Hicks said. "We are here for whatever you want to talk about, any issues that come up. It's good to remind them they're not alone. We're here for them."Minichiello said the entire Rockwood Student Services staff – including counselors, social workers and social-emotional behavior specialists – has been going above and beyond for students. This includes fulfilling their normal job duties as well as ensuring students' basic needs such as food, school supplies and reliable internet for online learning are being met.And they're doing it all without being able to draw on past experience."Nobody has ever been a school counselor in a pandemic before," Minichiello said. "Our counselors have been innovative, energetic and proactive in finding out what works best to make sure kids are safe, happy and healthy in an environment that is challenging. Our counselors are really working overtime to make sure kids are safe."Selvidge Middle counselor David Tabscott is in a unique position this spring. As the counselor for this year's eighth-graders, he is seeing his students off to high school. As the counselor for next year's sixth-graders, he is also starting to lay the groundwork with future Stallions from Ballwin, Ridge Meadows and Woerther elementary schools. As a thank-you, one of his students recently painted him a 4x4 tile of a landscape and a quote: "We may not remember what you told us, but we'll remember how you made us feel.""So many of the things we do are not seen or heard, but the connections that we make can be super powerful," Tabscott said. "The pandemic couldn't take that away. It may be different, but they're still happening."​

This press release was produced by the Rockwood School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.