Above is the mission statement created and written by the staff at Triumph Academy four years ago. What a scene it was to have 35 staff in a room together, shouting out their hopes, their dreams, their reasons for being in this line of work, and watching this statement arise from the masses. Each voice was honored, each word was captured. It is with this collaboration and fluidity that the staff of Triumph continue to serve our 297 students and families day in and day out. While I agree with and am behind Triumph's mission statement, I have bolded the specific words/sentences that as a clinician I find to be incredibly inspiring in our line of work. The dedication to social justice, to seeing and meeting needs of our students and families, and creating and fostering a space where we honor the community, culture and background of each student is awe-inspiring and very much in line with my professional and personal beliefs as a social worker and a human being.
Currently, Seneca is supporting Triumph in the clinical realm, with two full time clinicians on site. We are integrated in the Tier 1, 2 and 3 workings of the school, supporting and facilitating individual, group and family work, as well as providing on site trainings to teachers and staff. We offer trauma informed services, including a Bounce Back CBITS group (Cognitive Behavior Intervention for Trauma in Schools) where we identified students via a class wide trauma screener. This year we are also part of at team providing 3 hours of clinical support per day to two students who qualified for this additional level of intervention. Recently, we have had an increase of students and families immigrating from Yemen and I am currently working with admin to ensure we are providing the utmost welcoming, safe and inclusive environment possible. It has been an honor and pleasure to work with this school and be a part of it's evolution.
Kate Sherwood, Clinical Intervention Specialist