I’ve been there.

Maria was originally referred to CIS by the school counselor for family conflict, low self-esteem, and academic issues. She had been a virtual student since the beginning of the school year but was returning since she was recently placed in foster care. She struggled so much with keeping up with her virtual learning that she was failing every subject. All of the struggles that were going on at home made it hard for her to concentrate and complete her school work.  

The CIS Student Support Specialist met with Maria. Maria explained that she has trouble sometimes with controlling her emotions. She expressed a sense of fear about what had happened to her and now how it is affecting her school work. Over the next few months, the Student Support Specialist and Maria worked on coping strategies to allow her to get a better hold on how she can overcome her past traumas. Together they worked on breathing exercises, focusing on the positives, maintain her mindfulness, and setting up goals when it came to her academics.

For example, the Student Support Specialist set the goal that Maria was to do so many homework corrections and make time for studying every week. For each passing grade that she received she would get a reward. The Student Support Specialist also set up an agreement with Maria that if she was having a bad day then she could go to the CIS office to decompress. Maria’s teachers were receptive to this and have utilized it quite a few times. Maria eventually got to the point where she was surpassing her goals and started becoming a leader on campus. 

One day Maria came into the CIS office and a classmate of hers happened to be in there meeting with the Student Support Specialist. The two started talking and found out that the student was having troubles similar to hers. Maria began to provide that student with support and shared some of the strategies that she learned from CIS. She really showed how much of a leader she was being by encouraging a fellow classmate to utilize the coping strategies. The two have on occasion came in together to talk and decompress.   

Maria has grown so much since she first started working with CIS. She has not only excelled in her academics, but also with her self-esteem and behavior. She has become a real leader at school and is kind to everyone she meets. She went from failing every single one of her subjects to now being a straight-A student. CIS continues to monitor her progress as the school year continues.