Angela You

Townsend Harris guidance team support students.

Attending Townsend Harris High School means keeping up with the academic rigor, being involved in after-school activities and participating in sports, and volunteering both in and outside of school. These are just a few of the responsibilities of a Townsend Harris student, and naturally with these responsibilities also comes a significant amount of stress. Students may have a hard time adjusting and learning to manage their various commitments. This can result in damage to their mental, emotional, and/or physical health.

Fortunately, Townsend Harris offers a variety of resources that are available with the intention to accommodate and tend to each and every student. These resources ensure that they always have someone to talk to, feel comfortable asking for help, have an outlet to destress, and have ways to enhance their mood during challenging times. Some of these resources include an amazing guidance department, stress management opportunities, and spending quality-time with animals.

The guidance department, located on the third floor, has guidance counselors who are dedicated to helping students thrive in every aspect of high school whether that be in regards to academics, writing college essays, social issues or mental and emotional well-being. 

Assistant Principal of Guidance Jessica Graf told me that it has fallen to guidance counselors in New York City public schools to be the advocates for students and their families. She encourages our counselors to go to professional learning opportunities in order to hear what the current best practices are. She thinks it’s important for educators and counselors to be continual learners so that they can bring the best practices back to Townsend Harris. 

The guidance department is also trying to prioritize getting students to interface with them throughout all four years of high school, and not just when college applications are due. Some of the opportunities they present to students in order to encourage them to be more open to seeking guidance is setting up small group meetings with counselors, re-opening the Zen Den this fall, hosting mental wellness activities and being involved in wellness initiatives brought to the student body. 

Additionally, the school offers many stress-relieving opportunities and resources. Every week, Mindful Mondays and Wellness Wednesdays are hosted in which students take a few minutes before their second band class during the loudspeaker announcements to take a breath and reflect. This allows students a few minutes to themselves before engaging in the academic rigor of the school day.  Emails are also sent out on Mondays and Wednesdays by guidance counselors Alison Harris and Sara Skoda, who guide and host these mental wellness mornings. These emails provide ways to de-stress, offer positive quotations, and share reminders to check-in with yourself and prioritize positive self-talk. Activities in the Zen Den, a room on the third floor specifically for students to de-stress in a more comfortable, intimate environment, are also hosted. These activities include vision boarding, guided meditations, and art projects.

One of my favorite student wellness resources that Townsend Harris offers is having the opportunity to spend quality time with a variety of animals at school. Assistant Principal Ellen Fee, a licensed animal rehabilitator for the state of New York, houses various pets in her office. These include the famous Mel/Bori, a paraplegic cat found outside the school last year on Melbourne Avenue, as well as a bearded dragon, fish, and a turtle named Bean. It is important to note that while these animals aren’t for the specific use of improving student wellness, positive interaction with these animals has proven to be beneficial to students. Students are welcome to visit and spend time with the animals whenever they like, and Ms. Fee agrees with me that it is a great way for them to boost dopamine levels, allowing them to decompress and take their minds off the stress of their academics. She notes that multiple students have come up to her and told her that spending time with Bori has made their school day. Studies show that animals in schools have improved student mental health and provided stress reduction. This study proved that interacting with animals such as dogs in school environments showed a release of oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin. We often correlate this with happiness and stress relief. 

One may argue that there are still various ways that Townsend Harris could improve on providing and prioritizing student wellness and health. Some may say that guidance counselors are often too busy with other students, or that they often feel overwhelmed and don’t feel that the school does enough to decrease levels of student stress. The guidance department recognizes this and is constantly trying to find ways to improve to be able to serve every student adequately. 

Nevertheless, their consistent efforts by providing a variety of unique wellness opportunities and activities must be recognized. One way they could continue to ensure that they are serving all students in productive and progressive ways is to conduct an annual, optional survey in which students answer questions about the quality in the guidance they receive. They could also reflect on the kind of opportunities they believe are available to them and what they’d like to see more of in terms of student support from the school administration.

While it may be hard for students to want to open up, THHS has done an incredible job of making the school environment more comfortable, and inclusive for students of all backgrounds, struggles and needs.