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
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