Counsel
Me, please.
‘I’m a middle school student at AMS and I want to talk
to someone. I need my schedule
changed. I wish I had Spanish. I’m afraid of leaving AMS and going to the
high school. I just started here as a 6th
grader and it’s really different from elementary school. I wish my parents would be nicer to me. My friends’ parents are nicer than my
parents. The friends I thought were my
friends aren’t acting like my friends anymore.
I’ve heard that someone on campus wants to hurt themselves. I’m tired all the time. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying.
I think I’m starting puberty. I don’t like the way my body looks. I’m not sure if I like boys or if I like
girls. I don’t think my teacher likes
me. I’m getting in trouble a lot at
school. I wish I were smarter and that I could get better grades. There are rumors about someone on campus. I don’t know what to do after school. Can I join the talent show? Will you be open at lunchtime? Can you call my mom for me? I want to talk to someone.’
Middle
school students often need someone special to talk to. It’s good for them to talk. It’s normal.
At Albany Middle School, Emma Chartrand and Don Etchegorry are the best
counselors anyone could ask for. They
help us create effective master schedules, coordinate STAR testing, host talent
shows, supervise hallways, facilitate parent-teacher conferences, return phone
calls from worried parents, worried teachers, worried principals. They meet with every new student to the
school. And they do so much more. Most importantly, they are here to talk to
our students about anything our students want to talk about.
We
have a bitter-sweet announcement to make:
Ms. Chartrand and Mr. Etchegorry won’t be with us next year. We will miss them greatly. It’s OK to feel
sad for us. It’s OK to feel happy for
them. But, please don’t worry. At AMS, we worked very hard to find the best counselors
possible. We had over NINETY applicants
and I screened every one carefully.
TWENTY-FIVE rose to the surface, so I sent them a writing assignment to
complete for homework. We interviewed
ELEVEN and we found fantastic new people.
Emma and Don cannot be “replaced”
but the Bay Area is a great place to search for candidates and Albany USD is a
great school community.
No
names can be announced yet. There are
fingerprints to run, background checks to finish, and credentials to clear. For now, please feel secure in knowing a few
things: We have counselors people can
talk to. We will continue to have
counselors people can talk to. And soon,
we will introduce two outstanding people who are well-prepared, sincere,
dynamic, and eager to meet all of you.
‘I’m a middle school student at Albany Middle
School. I feel so much better because I
had someone to talk to.’
Sincerely,
Peter I. Parenti, Principal