Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1259894
" Because we are such a small group, there is almost no attention being paid to what we do and how to support us." things are more difficult (or impossi- ble) via telehealth. What do you want your colleagues to know about life right now for school nurses? I think, like other professions, school nurses are struggling with some aspects of distance work, juggling family life and finding a silver lining in life during shelter in place. I think most of us worry about our most vulnerable students. We worry about the students in the moderate and severely handicapped classes whose parents get no respite and who are difficult to reach with Zoom and phone calls. We worry about the families of students who don't speak English, who are recent arrivals/ immigrants, and who don't qualify for any federal assistance. We worry about kids going hungry and living in dangerous environments. How does this crisis affect school nurses differently, since you are both educators and health care professionals? Because we are such a small group, there is almost no attention being paid to what we do and how to sup- port us. Most of us are doing the work that we know needs to get done with little guidance. GLENDA ORTEZ-GALÁN COUNSELOR, Sequoia District Teachers Association Describe your job in the age of COVID-19 in one word: Octopus. It feels like I have eight arms trying to navigate so many things at once. What's a "typical" day for you in the new environment? Our roles require us to interact with students, parents, care- givers, teachers, school staff, admin and community partners — imagine having to navigate communication with all of these individuals through a screen! Spring is a very busy time for school counselors as we are programming student schedules for the following school year, helping seniors make decisions for college. On some days, I have back-to-back video meetings with students, department members, teachers, administrators and district personnel. What kind of challenges does this pose for you and fellow school counselors? There are more ethical considerations that we need to keep in mind when counseling students remotely or online. School coun- selors work with students on their academic and personal/social challenges. There are times when I am holding a videoconfer- ence with a student who is in crisis and remind myself to provide the crisis line phone number in case we get disconnected. It is also a challenge to offer students support when they are unable to share what is currently going on in their lives if their family members are within close proximity. In a traditional counseling office, you can ensure confidentiality as it is just the counselor and the student(s). With online counseling, it is a completely different world. Not being able to offer a student a tissue when they are in tears is heartbreaking. How is your work going to be different next year and moving forward, and what are you doing to prepare for it? It's really tough to plan for next year because things are still up in the air. My colleagues and I are planning on Plan A: Return to the school building, Plan B: Continue distance learning or a hybrid version of both. Either way, returning in the fall will require several intervention meetings to help students "With online counseling it is a completely different world. Not being able to offer a student a tissue when they are in tears is heartbreaking." Continued on page 28 27 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0