Carol Hinrichs, counselor, Kirkland Junior High
Kudos to Carol Hinrichs, Lake Washington School District’s “Staff Star” for December 2010.
Carol Hinrichs, a counselor at Kirkland Junior High, makes everyone, not just students, feel valued at school. Carol is always willing to give her time, energy and even her money to help students and staff members at her school. The Homework Lunch program is just one of the ways that Carol shows that she cares about students. She started this program during the 2008-09 school year to help students who are not getting their homework done, many of them because their home life is less than conducive to academics. Carol volunteers at both lunches, as well as countless hours contacting parents and giving support to many of our struggling students.
How the Homework Lunch program works is that teachers submit students for the program. Carol then helps to track outstanding assignments and helps students organize their workload. The program is available to students in all grade levels and at both lunch periods. Carol takes the time to work with students one-on-one. During that time, she checks in on assignments that are due and their progress. The philosophy behind the program is that students should be held responsible. They need to learn life skills, responsibility and success. Accountability helps them to be successful.
Carol says that she likes working with students at the junior high level. She enjoys investing her time in them in getting to know the students well. She likes watching the transition that occurs with this age group, coming from the elementary school and preparing for high school. The Homework Lunch program allows her to get to know students and families. She enjoys being able to sit down and talk to kids and help parents and students with the transition to junior high life.
Some students that were involved in Homework Lunch at the beginning still come each day, even without pressing homework to be done. Many just enjoy the time to quietly be able to work ahead on projects, knowing that Carol is there to support them if they need it.
In addition to the Homework Lunch program, Carol is also the co-leader of the Peer Mentor Program. In this program, they train eighth and ninth grade students to mentor seventh grade students. These older students then meet with the seventh graders once per month and help to bridge the gap between older and younger students.
In addition to these responsibilities with students, as a counselor, Carol also works with student scheduling, making sure that each student has a full schedule. She is also a trusted adult who can be someone for the kids to talk to about issues in their lives.
At the beginning of each school year, Carol helps to gather school supplies for students encountering difficult financial situations. At the end of the school year, ninth grade student have a party on a boat. Carol helps to pay for and purchases new clothes for students who otherwise would not have been able to go to the event. These are just two more examples of how Carol shows students that she cares.
Carol also cares about the success of staff members. She serves as a mentor for new teachers. In this role, she works as part of a support system. One of her recent new teacher mentees said, “As a new teacher, Carol was there to support me personally with late night help, encouraging pep talks, and help strategizing the difficulties of the first few years of teaching. Carol always has a smile on her face and everyone in our building knows how much she cares and values the students and staff.”