by Joe Howard, Superintendent, Prescott Unified School District
I am very excited to represent the many great things the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) has to offer for our students. For the next few months, I will be working with some of our leaders and directors to describe the work we do in public schools these days that many may not know all about.
Contemporary public education is better than ever at teaching academic skills and basics for students to be ready for today’s challenges. But research and reality will show us that many issues in society have become schools’ responsibilities as we partner with our parents and community to help our students become productive and successful citizens
One issue schools in the country have all begun to take on over the last few years is social-emotional and mental-stability issues
Six years ago, PUSD began to train teachers and fund staffing to support students’ social-emotional needs. This past year, our district took that movement to another level by providing a director position to oversee the many programs and several staff dedicated to this cause.
I am excited to introduce you to our new Social Emotional Director Jessy Stickel.
In her words:
I’m so happy to get an opportunity to connect with all of you. I have been with PUSD for seven years now as an academic advisor, student success coach, and now as the social-emotional director.
What an honor to be with a district that values building social-emotional capacity. Together we are creating opportunities for our students, staff and families to increase their self and social awareness, providing tools for healthy relationships through positive engagement, and giving them the resources to make constructive choices that honor their goals.
To accomplish this I have chosen to focus on four main areas of delivery. Culture, which is our district’s beliefs, climate, what our practices are that we participate in daily, collaboration with our community organizations and resources, and lastly our onsite coaching and counseling services.
Additional information is available at www.sites.google.com/prescottschools.com/pusd-social-emotional-services/home
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein
A special thank you goes out to Guidance Helicopters, Inc. for sponsorship of the Education Section! Because of their generosity, we are able to bring you more information from our local schools.
