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Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

October 28, 2021
WHEN A HIGH SCHOOL NEEDED HELP, PESA HEEDED THE CALL
Hundreds of students without teachers for a day? PESA helps avert a crisis
Just a few weeks ago, Northridge Academy High School had some trouble. Good trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

The school, which encompasses about 1,080 students across grades 9-12, needed to administer a critical SAT practice exam to grades 10-12, but doing so required all faculty hands on deck. The choice was either to be shorthanded for the testing or leave the freshmen—some 250 of them in 5 separate classrooms—in the lurch. Clearly, the latter couldn’t happen, so administrators reached out to PESA for help. Having a solid working relationship with the CBO, they asked if PESA could develop a day of educational programming for the 9th-graders—and provide staff to administer it. Despite having only one week to pull it off, PESA stepped up, creating an interactive, discussion-based program, drawing from several existing educational presentations.

"It was a little hectic given the short deadline,” says Dr. Michael Johnson, Director of Counseling/Intern Coordinator of PESA. “But with the deep well of educational programming we've already developed, we weren't starting from scratch, it was more a matter of tailoring a meaningful day of learning for the students."

That programming Johnson is referring to is a suite of presentations on subjects that PESA deems critical to an informed community but which students aren’t necessarily exposed to through their normal curriculum. Topics range from social issues (tolerance, understanding disabilities, the importance of community service) to health and well being (body image, coping skills, peer pressure) to contemporary matters (climate change, history of 9/11, world hunger), and all are available to educators and their students upon request. 
The day at Northridge Academy also marked a homecoming of sorts, as it was the first time since schools closed down at the start of the pandemic that some PESA representatives re-entered the classroom in person rather than present via Zoom. “I felt like my heart was going to explode,” says PESA Community Representative Rosie Avetisyan. “I loved seeing the kids in person, interacting with them, laughing with them, getting serious with them and seeing their faces and body language.”

PESA planners decided on “Inclusion” as the theme of the day. Students were first asked to introduce themselves with an icebreaker: “If you knew me, you would know…” Then, PESA staff and interns hosted multiple presentations on issues such as intolerance, bullying and hate in which students were encouraged to volunteer their thoughts, opinions and experiences.

“Even through a screen, you could just feel the energy in the room,” says Nataly Kemdjian, one of the virtual presenters. “The students were so engaged with each other.”

Northridge Academy faculty concurred. “The ‘What If ...’ presentation [in which students are presented hypothetical scenarios to consider their own responses] gave students a chance to reflect on what happens when you make poor choices and find yourself in the judicial system,” says Parent Center Director Raquel Avila. “They were engaged and asked plenty of questions. The presentation covered the topic of being a responsible citizen in society. The program is valuable, and it serves as early intervention in preventing teens from committing a crime or thinking twice before they do something.”

“The presentations were thoughtful and engaging,” says Resource Specialist Linda Severino. “I appreciated how they used the four-hour block of time to address a wide variety of topics for the 2021 teenager. The social-emotional sections were much needed, and the “What If…” case scenarios were fun and thought-provoking. I am grateful that PESA accepted the challenge of entertaining our squirrelly 9th graders. They did not skip a beat."

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.