UNCONDITIONAL EDUCATION
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Our Model
    • Our Leadership Team
    • Press
    • Contact Us
  • News + Resources
    • News You Can Use
    • Resources
  • Unconditional Education Book

Welcome

​Please scroll down to read our Unconditional Education blog posts.

​You can click the button below to learn more about our Unconditional Education and School Based Services!

OUR UE MODEL AND SERVICES

School Highlight: Summit Sierra

10/23/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
I arrived early to our partner school, Summit Sierra, located in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District for an appointment with Deshika Venezio-Perera, Seneca Washington’s school based Lead Clinician. As I checked in, I was led to Deshika’s office, where I promptly settled into a cushy armchair, picked up a fidget toy, and enjoyed the pictures, plants, and grinning faces on the staff bios posted in the office window. In the first 5 minutes with the light on and the door open, I was visited by a teacher who popped in to tell Deshika about her weekend, another staff member who wanted to share about a recent success with a student after consulting with Deshika, and a youth who was set to meet our clinical intern for the first time. They were surprised to see me sitting in the office and shared that they had come by because they were feeling nervous and were hoping Deshika could walk them to the neighboring therapy room; I assured them that while I wasn’t Deshika, we worked very closely together. At this, their shoulders relaxed and they said, “Well, if you're Deshika’s friend…” as we walked to the appointment together. 

All it takes is a few minutes to observe the warmth and trust fostered in the relationships at Summit Sierra, which isn’t to say that the school hasn’t seen their fair share of challenges posed by the pandemic and the mental/behavioral health needs thematic across our high schools in WA state. Recognized by the Washington School Recognition Program in 2020 for growth and excellence in student achievement, Sierra students spend their days solving real-world problems and building the skills of self-direction, collaboration and reflection.

As Deshika has begun her second year at Sierra, she has celebrated a number of firsts with her school community:
  • Deshika has successfully piloted services delivered by Seneca Washington’s first school based clinical intern, paving the way for future programming.
  • Alongside Sierra’s Expeditions model, Deshika co-designed and piloted a socio-emotional curriculum called Leaders in Wellness, where students adapted SEL lessons to bring back to and teach in their own classrooms.
  • She represented both Seneca and Sierra communities as a speaker during the 2023 WA Charter Schools Conference.
  • In addition to her visionary work listed above, Deshika built out a full client caseload for the first time in Seneca’s partnership with Sierra, which speaks to Deshika and Sierra’s collaboration to identify and equitably serve youth.

Our partnership with Sierra continues to be a shining example of the innovation and heart that can inspire impactful change; which is wholly due to the individuals committed each and every day to this work. Thank you Deshika and Sierra for your service!

Picture
Blog post written by: Katrina Carleton, Director of School Partnerships
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Authors:

    School Program Partnerships

    We're Hiring!

    Interested in joining our School Program Partnerships' Team​? Check out our open positions below!
    Teachers
    School Therapists
    Classroom Counselors

    Categories:

    All
    Academic Strand Updates
    All In! Snapshots
    Behavioral Strand Updates
    Clinical Strand Updates
    Program Highlights
    School Highlights
    Staff Guest Posts
    Staff Highlights

    Archives

    October 2024
    September 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly