LaToya Branch Site Coordinator at Thomas Jefferson High School, Communities In Schools of Richmond
Location:
Richmond,
VA United States Joined:
Oct 17th, 2007
As a first-generation college student, from a low-income background, I understand the importance of encouragement, support, and guidance in the lives of young people. While some students lack the necessary support system in the home that encourage educational attainment, providing necessary resources at the school and community level can assist at-risk students in achieving educational goals. As a teenager, I had a strong determination to attend college and help others like myself achieve academic success. One of the most salient factors that encouraged me to work with youth in educational pursuits is the number of highly qualified minority students who fail to continue their education beyond high school. I have encountered numerous individuals who fit this profile, but were not encouraged to seek a higher education. Witnessing so many talented youth prematurely terminate their educational career has driven my interest in researching those factors which lead students to pursue a higher education and assisting students in preparing for college achievement.
While a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, I co-facilitated a program aimed at increasing the educational attainment of young women at-risk for academic failure. I facilitated college preparatory workshops, conducted college tours, and assisted students in applying for various college preparatory programs. My co-workers and I diligently worked with a group of young ladies, of which 90% ultimately attended a community college or 4-year university upon completion of high school.
Professionally, I have worked within the higher education field for over six years. As a program coordinator, lab manager, instructor and academic advisor. I have three years of program management and administration experience in addition to two years of teaching and advising experience at the community college level. Additionally, I have two years of experience at a 4-year-university including acting as a member of the college admissions committee. The skills I have acquired during these opportunities include academic counseling, program management, facilitation, and assessment. I am grateful for these experiences, as they have allowed me the opportunity to work with individuals from a range of backgrounds including variations in race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and academic field of interest.
I also have over four years experience providing clinical case management for at-risk youth including individual and group counseling for clients with mental health diagnoses. Working with clients from both urban and suburban backgrounds, I provide therapeutic guidance, treatment planning, service coordination and referral preparation to community partners and social service agencies. As a clinician, I also acted in a supervisory role providing individual supervision with case managers, program evaluation, and compliance assessments.
Currently, I am a site coordinator with Communities in Schools of Richmond (CISR). I work at an inner-city high school with students from a wide range of backgrounds. My focus is to provide students with a variety of enrichment activities and community connections to prevent academic disengagement and prepare high school students with marketable skills to use upon graduation. Students who participate CISR activities learning to financial budgeting, resume building, social skills, interpersonal relationship skills, interviewing skills, and earning service learning credits through mentoring younger students, volunteering with local Special Olympics events among other volunteer opportunities.
Currently, I am a full-time site coordinator with Communities in Schools of Richmond (CISR) at Thomas Jefferson High School, an inner-city high school with students from a wide range of backgrounds. My goal is to provide students with a variety of enrichment activities and community connections to prevent academic disengagement, dropouts, and prepare high school students with marketable skills to use upon graduation. Students who participate CISR activities learning to financial budgeting, resume building, social skills, interpersonal relationship skills, interviewing skills, and earning service learning credits through mentoring younger students, volunteering with local Special Olympics events among other volunteer opportunities.
Secondly, I work as an adjunct faculty member at a local community college teaching psychology courses (and assisting college students with volunteering as mentors for my high school students).
Thirdly, I am a program coordinator for a substance abuse program at a local university hospital in which we allow substance abuse users to get a behind the scenes look at one's progression through the hospital when admitted as a result of a traumatic accident (highlighting consequences associated with drug and alcohol use and abuse as well as distracted driving).
Lastly, I provide mental health support services within the community for individuals who need assistance with adult living skills.
I am a certified:
-Distance Learning Instructor with Virginia Community College System
-CPR and First Aid administrator
-Certified mental health pre-screener
