THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 The Boston Globe The Region A
social work, he said.)
Walker said he would love to
make college advising a full-
time staff position, but he has
competing budget constraints,
such as whether to hire a class-
room teacher instead.
“When your budget is tight,
you have to choose between
two things that our kids need,’’
he said.
In June, the Boston task
force released its findings,
which new Superintendent
Brenda Cassellius said would
provide “useful insight” to the
district. Among the recommen-
dations: a clear vision on school
counseling from the district;
professional development spe-
cifically for school counselors; a
single job description for any-
one in the school counselor
role; and a “lead counselor” at
every school.
W
hat is consistent
across schools in
Boston and be-
yond is a feeling of
frustration among counselors
that they can’t reach all their
students, especially those need-
ing help with college decisions.
“I often find myself having
really short meetings with kids,
because they catch me as I am
running to the bathroom,” said
one Boston counselor, who
wasn’t authorized to speak to
the media and asked to remain
anonymous. “I always joke
around and say I do my best
work in the hallway.”
In Lynn, Eva Muraga, a na-
tive of Kenya who graduated
from Lynn English High School
in May, said she was lucky to
connect early in high school
with La Vida Scholars, a non-
profit that prepares high-
achieving, low-income students
for college. But she felt the
school’s own guidance counsel-
ing program prioritized stu-
dents who either had top
grades or were reeling at the
bottom.
“I felt I was working all by
myself,” said Muraga, a first-
generation college student at
St. John’s University in New
York, whose high school grades
were somewhere in the middle.
“It’s unfair for students to have
to advocate for themselves.”
Lynn English High has more
than 1,800 students and six
guidance counselors, in a city
where fewer than 20 percent of
residents 25 and older have a
bachelor’s degree.
By comparison, Newton
North High School has more
Continued from preceding page
than a dozen counselors serv-
ing over 2,100 students, in a
city where 77 percent of resi-
dents over 25 have a bachelor’s
degree.
“It’s like, how can we be as
successful as them when we
don’t have the same support
personnel?’’ said Wilkins, of
Lynn English, whose neatly or-
ganized desk is adorned with
affirming such messages as, “Be
the change you wish to see in
this world.’’
“The system is focused on
teachers in classrooms,” said
state Representative Daniel Ca-hill, Democrat of Lynn, who
proposed a bill to add an addi-
tional counselor in every school
in Lynn and other Gateway cit-
ies. “But not enough of it is fo-
cused on supports like guid-
ance counseling.”
The bill remains in the Leg-
islature.
At East Boston High, a teen-
age girl tried to pass Indrisano
in the hallway. Indrisano
stopped her and leaned in
close, forehead to forehead.
“Come see me,’’ she said.
“Your dad is very worried aboutyou.”
At Eastie, an open-enroll-
ment school where 80 percent
of students are English lan-
guage learners, many have
known hardship. Headmaster
Phillip R. Brangiforte estab-
lished Eastie’s Freshman Acad-
emy six years ago to keep the
school’s youngest students on
track.
“The [school counseling] job
has changed a lot,” said Brangi-
forte, who lives and breathes
Eastie High; 45 members of his
family,includingfourofhisfive
children, have gone here. “Stu-
dents today have a lot of trau-
ma. And there is no cure for
trauma.”
Eastie’s half-dozen school
counselors spend 60 percent of
their time helping students
with personal and emotional
problems, school officials esti-
mate. At least five other people
from outside groups — includ-
ing nonprofits — provide full-
time academic, career, and col-
lege-counseling support, the
school department said.
One afternoon this spring,
Indrisano, whose formal job ti-
tle is school development coun-
selor, was coaxing 16-year-old
Arianna Troville back from the
brink of ending a cherished
friendship. Indrisano gently
urged her to reconsider the
breakup and the girl eventually
relented.
At another point in the day,
15-year-old Sean Whynegrant
was trying hard to explain away
his repeated tardiness. (His
alarm didn’t go off.) Indrisano
checked her computer to see
whether Whynegrant was in
academic jeopardy. A smile
filled her face.
“Do you know you made the
honor roll?’’ she asked.
Whynegrant closed his eyes
in sweet disbelief.
“My first time this year,’’ he
said.
“I’m very proud of you,’’ In-
drisano said, beaming.
Toward the end of the day,
Indrisano was meeting behind
closed doors with a parent who
made an impromptu visit, al-
leging that the school had not
been notifying her about her
daughter’s absenteeism. (The
school had been sending the
notices, but the mother, whoworks second shift, hadn’t been
getting them.)
Voices clashed inside the
room, before Indrisano
emerged, looking flushed. On
such days, the 38-year-old
mother of two young girls feels
like curling up and going to
sleep. But she presses on.
During the Globe’s visit to
the school, she said she did not
often get overwhelmed with
her caseload. Help and support
from other staff members are
only a text or call away. But two
days later, she acknowledged
the toll.
“It’s a lot,’’ she said. “I’d be
lying if I said it wasn’t.”Todd Wallack of the Globe staff
contributed to this report.
Meghan E. Irons can be reached
at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter
@meghanirons.Indrisano arrives early many mornings at East Boston High School. She said she gets help
from coworkers when the workload becomes overwhelming.‘SomedaysIcomeinthinkingI’m
goingtogettoallthesekids.I’mgoing
totalkwiththemabouttheirgrades,
theirextracurricularactivities,their
futureplans.AndIjusthavetoput
thoseasidebecauseastudentcrisishas
enteredmyoffice.’
MATT WILKINS, guidance counselor at Lynn English High School
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