DPSCD Experts Champion Students’ Emotional, Mental and Social Needs
“Push past your own discomfort to be able to give your best and address your students’ needs,” said Rakiba Mitchell, a DPSCD school counselor at Southeastern High School. Along with her colleague Stacey Hickman-Jackson, a counselor at the District’s Nolan Elementary and Middle School, the pair are walking the walk by adding to their counseling expertise in order to provide wise and forthright guidance to the DPSCD students and families they serve.
Stacey and Rakiba were recently chosen to be part of a select group of school counselors participating in the School Counselor Fellows Program, a continuing education partnership between the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) and San Diego State University. In fact, the duo were the lone selections from an urban school district of the 13 school counselors statewide tabbed to be part of the two-year program which focuses on urgent issues impacting school counselor practice for postsecondary planning. “I am grateful to be selected,” said Stacey. “I am excited about this opportunity and am hoping to learn as much as I can and share it with my students.”
Underway since the fall, the Fellows are investigating how the pandemic, mental health and wellness and equity driven practices influence college and career readiness as well as postsecondary planning. During monthly meetings and through homework assignments and their own research, the group is developing action plans to best support students and have them ready to navigate their postsecondary path, a challenge given the pandemic and social unrest of the moment. Once completed, the goal is to have the action plans rolled out nationally.
The groups’ next online meeting is slated for January 26, 2021.
For Rakiba, her journey to being a school counselor has roots from when she was a DPSCD student at Martin Luther King Jr. High School. Her time as a student, replete with its own equity challenges, helped form her philosophy for working with students of this era. She affectionately calls it the SMILE method. “I like to Support, Mediate, Inform, Listen and Empower,” said Rakiba. “My charge is to address any social, emotional or academic issues that can prevent a student’s clear path to graduation.”
Stacey, meanwhile, brings to her students a deep array of experiences. She has worked in private, parochial, public, career tech and adult education environments during her career. She incorporates what she calls the Triangle, supporting her students personal and academic goals as well as socio-emotional needs. “We work to have a plan,” said Stacey, referring to postsecondary life for her students. “All three sides are equal and have to work together in their plan.”
DPSCD congratulates its exceptional school counselors on their placement in the School Counselor Fellows Program. We look forward to reporting their future accomplishments as they continue to serve our students.
Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Hickman-Jackson are two of thousands of DPSCD educators and staff passionate about serving and supporting students’ needs. If you’re looking for a school district with staff and teachers to take care of your students learning needs, we welcome you. Learn more about DPSCD’s schools, programs and services at detroitk12.org/enrollnow.