About 45 minutes south of bustling Seattle is the 3rd largest city in Washington: Tacoma – the City of Destiny. Tacoma is also home to Summit Olympus, a 9th – 12th grade public charter school. Summit Olympus is currently Tacoma’s only charter school. It is currently in its 6th school year of operation and has partnered with Seneca for all 6 consecutive years.
Historically, Seneca has provided special education and mental health services on an as-needed basis. This year, with support from the Gates Foundation, we have been able to partner with Olympus to provide a full-time Clinical Intervention Specialist and Unconditional Education (UE) Coach for the first time ever. We continue to provide special education services as needed, with our two full-time staff being fully integrated into the Olympus community. In partnership meetings with Olympus administrators, they have mentioned on how they sometimes forget that our Clinician and UE Coach are actually Seneca staff – a huge compliment and a true testament to the hard work and dedication from our team.
Some notable ways our staff partner with the school to build a stronger community and school culture include:
- Participation in School Activities: Our Clinician and UE Coach attend school activities, and volunteer for special assignments. Some examples include helping with computer distribution, delivering food to families, and supporting in the Black Student Union group.
- Professional Development: Our staff regularly provide school-wide professional development workshops, including Trauma-Informed Education, PBIS and MTSS. This year, our UE Coach and Clinician have teamed up to facilitate monthly Mental Health Matters trainings and have discussed topics such as anxiety in the classroom and self-care for educators.
- Seneca/School Relationships: Our staff regularly attend staff meetings during school hours, which helps keep them in the know about school trends, celebrations, challenges and overall Summit updates. They have built strong relationships with school staff by attending staff virtual hangouts and other team building activities. Our UE Coach and Clinician also regularly attend Olympus Leadership Team meetings.
- Seneca Team Communication: The entire Seneca team that works at Olympus (UE Coach, Clinical, Occupational Therapist, Speech & Language Pathologist, School Psychologist and Partnership Manager) come together two times per month to meet and share information, celebrate victories, and problem-solve around challenging situations or students. The information-sharing has benefited every team member, especially during the time of virtual school when there is no staff lounge, office, or hallway where you normally might share information in-person.
We are thrilled to have our first ever full-time UE Coach and Clinical Intervention Specialist working at Summit Olympus to help build and sustain systems in the academic, behavioral, and emotional strands. Working together with the Specialist team and Olympus staff, we are excited to see the progress and impact that a collaborative team approach can have on the school community.
Blog Post Written By: Gini Sanders, Manager of Education Services
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