February 2023
News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
Amira Went from Dreading School to Loving It! 
When we looked for students to join our new community outreach Street Team, Amira G. was at the top of the list. As a paid Street Team member, Amira learned professional skills like speaking, event planning and representing our schools throughout the community. After graduation, she wants to go to college to be a psychologist and even start a nonprofit organization that helps people in need.
 
She overcame many challenges to get to this point. She came with her family to the U.S. from Guatemala in 2012, and had a rough time adjusting, dealt with an unpleasant home environment and had a lot of anxiety about attending high school. She is smart and always got good grades, but was intimidated and dreaded going to class every day. 
Should Business Management Classes Start in High School? 
While occasionally working for his father’s landscaping business, high school student Hector D. realized that protection against sharp tools, thorny shrubs, biting insects and brutal heat could be improved with better gear.
 
He had the idea for a technical vest that would protect workers that he is calling Arbolero – combining the Spanish word for tree and a bolero vest. Now his teachers in the business management Career Technical Education (CTE) program are helping him develop his idea into a viable business.
 
He is learning how to create a business marketing plan and understand the finances involved in starting a business. Hector has done a SWOT analysis, developed a marketing plan, designed a logo and built a website for Arbolero. 
America Needs School Counselors Now More than Ever  
What was once a role focused on getting students out the classroom and into careers, school counselors are now responsible for so much more. They must focus on the mental health, behavioral health, emotional wellbeing and psychosocial development of the students they serve. High-profile headlines of mass shootings, unjustified brutality, fentanyl overdoses and hate speech on social media can trigger emotions of past traumas for young people and create a school environment of acting out, withdrawal and falling behind on academics.

So how can school counselors help mitigate the mental health crisis occurring among our nation’s children?

“School counselors play a significant role in promoting student success, fostering emotional health and shaping the leaders of tomorrow,” said Jaspreet Kaur, school counselor coordinator.