At Longwood Elementary in Hayward, CA, the Counseling Enriched Classroom (CEC) has been a cornerstone of Hayward Unified School District’s (HUSD) special education offerings for over 18 years. Serving 3rd–6th grade students, this classroom provides a deeply supportive environment that integrates academic learning with social-emotional growth. At the heart of the program is Ms. Alvarez, a dedicated educator and former Seneca mental health counselor, who has spent more than a decade teaching in this setting. Her background in both education and mental health allows her to create a classroom that is structured, nurturing, and attuned to the complex needs of each student.

The CEC’s strength lies in its exceptional multidisciplinary team, including therapist Becky Raeta and four skilled Mental Health Counselors—Hafsa Desai, Kristine Guzman, Kristal Mejia Perez, and Karo Amanian. Together, they form a collaborative and compassionate unit that ensures each child receives individualized care. Some of their extensive work includes providing 1:1 continuous support for students with higher needs, offering weekly family therapy outside of school hours, and coordinating field trips and community outings that extend learning beyond the classroom. This holistic approach supports students’ growth not only academically, but also socially and emotionally, helping them build the tools needed for long-term success.
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A standout feature of the Longwood CEC is its robust partnership with general education teachers, allowing for meaningful and sustained mainstreaming opportunities. With careful planning and staff support, several students spend large portions of their day learning alongside their general education peers—building confidence, friendships, and academic skills in inclusive settings. This thoughtful integration highlights the CEC team’s commitment to equity, belonging, and the belief that all students can thrive when provided with the right support. The Longwood CEC stands as a model of what is possible when a school community works together to ensure every child is seen, supported, and celebrated.

Blog By: Alexandra Rutherford, Assistant Director of School Partnerships

​In the fall of 2024, we launched a new partnership with Alliance Smidt Tech High School, in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Bilingual Wellness Coach Jaz Ponce is the Seneca staff who has led the Compass Care program there ever since. From the outset, Jaz has been deeply integrated as part of the team at Smidt Tech, and she has been continuously appreciative of and thankful for the alignment she has with the compassionate, courageous, committed school staff team. Early in the partnership, Assistant Principal Oliver Aguirre commented that Jaz had become such an integral part of the school team that at times he forgot she worked for an ‘outside agency.’ Jaz has stepped up in many ways at the school. She goes above and beyond in the support she provides to the students and families on her caseload. But beyond that, she leans in to find unique ways to complete the school at large and plays a central role in school-wide initiatives. For example, when the school cheer squad needed a coach last winter, Jaz stepped up. She has coordinated multiple celebratory events to lift up student excellence and honor their cultures. More recently, she stepped up to co-design and co-lead an initiative to promote student belonging, build stronger relationships among students, and strengthen positive school culture. All these are examples of the way our Unconditional Education continuum of programs strive to ‘maximize secondary benefit’ through our school partnership programs. And when it comes to the central focus and key deliverable in her role (improving school attendance for students who’ve been chronically absent in the past), Jaz’s results speak for themselves. Here’s the amazing impact she had in her first cycle of this school year:

Recently Jaz, along with Project Manager Kenosha Collins, and Director of School Partnerships Sean Murphy presented about the Compass Care model to reduce chronic absenteeism at the Wellness Together Conference in San Diego. We’re proud and grateful to have talented, passionate individuals such as Jaz, Kenosha, and Sean out there sharing our work and inspiring others in the field to adopt holistic, relationship-based, action-oriented approaches to supporting students and families. Excited to continue witnessing and celebrating the positive transformations Jaz is bringing about at Smidt Tech on both the individual and school-wide levels. ​

Blog By: Jason Keppe, Director of School Partnerships

​Position: Wellness Coach for the LA CrUE team

What led you to your current position? I began my career in a field-based intensive mental health program centered around children in foster care. After five years of working closely with these youth, I realized there was an immense need for support within school systems. Seneca has presented me with the opportunity to provide students with support, consistency, and the necessary tools to build the life they deserve.

 What inspires you to do this work? I am forever inspired by the students and children I work with. I have the privilege of witnessing their resilience, curiosity, intelligence, and kindness. Additionally, being surrounded by other professionals who choose to lead with love and curiosity inspires me to show up authentically and meet students where they are at.

What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? A highlight that I have experienced is seeing students overcome personal situations that felt impossible for them, seeing them build healthier connections, and seeing them invest in themselves and their future.

Share your life motto or something unique about yourself. A quote I often refer back to is "Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach". I find this helpful both in professional and personal situations, as it helps me stay true to myself.

When we talk about healing in the context of school-based mental health, we often focus on what we can do to help students and families. But what if true healing starts with what people can do for themselves — and how we, as providers, make space for that power to emerge? That’s where the concept of agency becomes essential. Within a healing-centered engagement (HCE) framework, agency means recognizing and restoring a person’s power to shape their own healing journey. It’s the belief that everyone, regardless of circumstance, holds the capacity to lead their own growth and transformation.
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What We Mean by “Agency”
Agency is the ability to make choices, influence outcomes, and shape one’s own story. Within a healing-centered engagement (HCE) framework, agency reminds us that everyone — students, caregivers, and staff alike — holds the wisdom and capacity to lead their own healing journey. Our role is not to “fix” people but to walk beside them as they reconnect with their own strengths.

From Trauma-Informed to Healing-Centered
Dr. Shawn Ginwright, who developed HCE, invites us to move beyond the question “What happened to you?” and toward “What’s right with you?” This shift reframes healing from an individual recovery process to a collective one that honors identity, culture, and community. When we center agency, we acknowledge that the people we serve are not defined by trauma but by possibility.

What Agency Looks Like in Practice
In our partnerships with schools, centering agency might mean involving students in setting their own wellness goals, collaborating with caregivers on culturally grounded strategies, or empowering teachers to use restorative approaches in their classrooms. It’s about co-creation — not compliance — and about creating spaces where every voice has value.
Many of the young people and families we serve have experienced systems that disempowered them or made them feel unseen. By centering agency, we acknowledge their lived experiences as sources of wisdom rather than deficits. When clients feel a sense of choice and ownership, engagement deepens and trust grows.

For Staff, Too
Agency isn’t just for the students and families we serve. It’s for us as professionals, too. Healing-centered work invites us to reflect on how we show up — to notice when we are leading with curiosity, humility, and openness, and when we might unintentionally take control of someone else’s process. Building a culture of agency within our organization means fostering spaces where staff voice is valued, creativity is encouraged, and wellness is prioritized. 
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In a field that can easily lean into burnout or over-responsibility, reclaiming our own agency also means noticing when we’re holding too much, or when we need to pause and listen. It also means having the freedom and trust to bring our creativity and cultural wisdom into the work.

Pause and Reflect
Ultimately, centering agency reminds us that healing is not something we deliver; it’s something we cultivate with others. When we trust in the strengths of our clients, our partners, and ourselves, we create environments where true healing — and lasting change — can take root.
 
Some Questions for Thought:
How are you currently fostering agency — in yourself, your clients, or your colleagues?
And just as importantly: Where might you step back, so that someone else can step forward?

Blog By: Joline Castaneda, Manager of Operations

We are thrilled to highlight our Walters CEC Middle School classroom located in Fremont. This classroom is currently serving students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade and is one of the 2 schools that we serve in the Fremont Unified School District. Our amazing former Seneca teacher Vina Collantes has created a safe and fun environment for our students to learn and navigate some of the challenges that come with middle school.

Our clinician Sierra Kindle provides one on one counseling, parent counseling, group counseling, and classroom support. Sierra’s groups are a combination of fun activities and social skills lessons that the students have responded very well to. I had the pleasure of sitting in some of those groups and I am thrilled to see the community that Sierra has created with the students.
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Sam is our amazing classroom counselor that has been doing a great job at holding it down as we are currently hiring a second counselor for this site. Sam is a great support to the students and has been able to continue the fun incentives and activities for the students with the support of the rest of the team. The classroom has been able to support students in mainstreaming to some core subjects and is constantly encouraging students in engaging in other school activities such as trying out for the talent show or attending school dances.
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We have received positive feedback from the school program specialist on how well our team works with our clients and the engaging environment that the team has created. In Constellation we are thankful to have such a strong and creative team. 

Blog By: Mariana Aranda, Assistant Director of School Partnerships

Position: School Psychologist

What led you to your current position? After working as an MHC, I knew I wanted to support students in the school setting and advocate for the most vulnerable students with specific needs. After shadowing my cousin who is also a school psychologist, I knew this role was perfect for me!

What inspires you to do this work? The relationships I create with students and families through the psychoeducation and advocacy I provide inspires me to do this work.

What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? A recent highlight I've experienced in my work is being invited by a student to his school soccer game after improving his behavior and finally earning a spot on the team! Go Cobras!

Share your life motto or something unique about yourself. My favorite quote that I have adopted as my life motto is "Everything negative -- pressure, challenges -- is all an opportunity for me to rise."- Kobe Bryant

Beep Beep Beep calling all our BIPOC folks! Have you gone to trainings or conferences craving more focus on centering our lived experiences?  Well look no further, Reclaiming Identity for Collective Liberation may be the answer for you. This conference was intentionally created by Dr. Sandra Leon-Villa, from Las Vegas, Nevada. It was designed with us in mind, our healing, our stories, and our communities. Past workshops included:

• Integrating a Holistic and Culturally-Sensitive Approach to Improve Health and Wellness
• Therapy in the Borderlands: Strength-based and Feminist approaches
• Combating the Erasure of Asian Americans as an Act of Decolonization
• Death of the “Blank Slate”: Acknowledging our Lived Experiences and Spirit when in the Therapeutic Space
• The Pain We Carry: Healing the Soul Wounds of Legacy Burdens

 just to name a few!
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One of our clinicians has shared that she has been fortunate to attend this conference for the last three years, and I says it has been nothing short of “life-changing”. She reports feeling seen, not just as a professional, but as a whole person bringing gifts to this field. She has shared that she felt heard, safe, and deeply connected. There’s a unique kind of healing that happens when in a space where your story is not the exception, but the norm. One of the most meaningful experiences during the conference is the opportunity to participate in an indigenous ritual from the host country (oh, did we mention it’s in a different country every year?) which ground us in cultural reverence and collective healing. Our clinician has built connections and relationships with others in the mental health field which has afforded her an opportunity to grow her knowledge and experiences. If you are looking for space where the speakers look like you, the stories resonate with you, and the community uplifts you, we invite you to explore Reclaiming Identity for Collective Liberation. It might just be what you’ve been waiting for.

Blog By: Mosaic and Pathways Team

Blog by: Devina Brooks, Director of School Partnerships

​At Longfellow Middle School, we're thrilled to spotlight an innovative initiative at one of our partner schools. Under the leadership of therapist Jennifer Valdivia, we've launched "Mental Health Mondays" to foster a supportive environment for students. This was Jennifer’s idea she brought forward to me in supervision after seeing a need for a larger school impact on destigmatizing mental health. We took her idea to the principal who loved it and held a meeting with us and the rest of her administration team to work out the logistics to launch it this 2025-2026 school year. Jennifer felt empowered to share her idea and came prepared with her own thoughts and plans for implementation. Each month holds a theme that she has scoped and sequenced with a lead counselor at Longfellow.

​Together they set-up the table, bring in resources and engage students during lunch once a month. Her idea aims to destigmatize mental health by offering all the students access to resources, educational materials, and calming tools like fidgets to take away to help students manage anxiety in the classroom. Jennifer's monthly Mental Health Monday sessions have been met with enthusiasm and positive feedback from students and staff alike. We're excited to continue this journey and look forward to seeing the lasting impact on the school community and extending this idea to our other school sites. 

Blog By: Eidit Choochage, Director of School Partnerships

What led you to your current position? I began my journey with Seneca as a Mental Health Counselor at a CEC while completing my master’s program. As I approached my internship year, my supervisor, Julie Kim at the time, supported me in finding an internship placement at New School in San Francisco. After completing my hours and obtaining my associate number, I transitioned into my current clinician role. Prior to joining Seneca, I worked as an ABA therapist for three years, which deepened my commitment to supporting children and families.

What inspires you to do this work? Middle school was a major transitional period in my life. My Mom faced many challenges navigating a new environment, especially since she primarily spoke Spanish, and there was little support available. I remember feeling safe with one of my teachers, but beyond academics, I didn’t have anyone to talk to. Later, in college, I met a counselor who profoundly impacted my journey. His guidance helped me stay in school and transfer to a four-year university. That experience showed me the power of meaningful support, and it’s what drives my passion for school-based mental health work today.

What is a recent highlight or lesson you’ve learned in this role? A recent highlight has been launching Mental Health Mondays; an idea I developed last year that came to life this school year. It’s been inspiring to see how well it’s been received by students and staff. I love that it promotes mental wellness across the entire school community, creating space for conversations and care that reach beyond individual sessions.
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Share your life motto or something unique about yourself. My life motto is: “Everything happens for you, not to you.” Embracing this perspective has allowed me to grow through challenges and view each experience as an opportunity for learning and transformation.