Impact Story: Connect2Complete Member Supports Students at Buckman Elementary

with Paulina Jaeger-Rosete,
 C2C Member 2017-18
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Paulina Jaeger-Rosete served as a Student Engagement Specialist through the C2C program at Buckman Elementary in 2017-18. She ran several attendance initiatives, including the colorful Unicorn Attendance Academy, which she shaped alongside the school counselor, a fun reason for students with attendance below 90% to come in and say hi each morning, earn points, and be recognized at assemblies for their improvements. Paulina partnered with teachers to identify students to work with on reading and writing during the school day; and during after-school hours she helped run a homework club and prepare for STEAM education night. Paulina also attended Buckman’s monthly Family Equity Team meetings and served as a Spanish-English translator and liaison between SUN, Buckman, and the families. As a community service event, she organized a day camp called, “We are Neighbors, Outside and In,” which brought students, families, and community partners together for activities and service projects around homelessness and the housing crisis in Portland.
 
At Campus Compact we have invested deeply in our AmeriCorps recruitment process to place candidates at our sites that reflect the students they serve. Representation—racially, culturally, and linguistically—matters. Paulina experienced this first hand. “I see how I am valuable to the Spanish-speaking community at Buckman,” she reflects. “There are four mothers I speak with in Spanish when they come in. One in particular has told me that she appreciates me a lot because otherwise she's kept mostly to herself. When we see each other, we catch up and talk about her daughter. One student, from Cuba, has a lot of break-downs during SUN after school sessions. He speaks English really well, but when he's upset I tend to talk with him mostly in Spanish. I've seen it get through to him differently than English... like an immediate ally. The other day he was able to just talk really rapidly about his feelings in Spanish, and I felt good that he could do that with me and be understood.”

Connect2Complete members fill in the gaps at K12 schools and seek to provide the consistency, one-on-one attention, and restorative practices often missing for students of color or low-income students who are struggling with attendance and engagement in school. “I try to be really fair and gentle and consistent,” Paulina says of her approach with her students. “If I have to miss an appointment with a kid, I let them know and make sure they understand the situation. I do my best to make sure kids do not feel shuffled around or helpless around me. I think an important key to this is showing a lot of respect for the kids and their talents and ideas. And it's really honoring what IS good in them and connecting with them over their interests and skills.”
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Paulina says that Campus Compact’s supportive program, cohort structure, and trainings were key to her success. “I had never worked full-time in the school system before, although I had part-time and tutoring experience in middle and high schools. Campus Compact, from day one, let me know that they are here to listen should I need it, here to help answer any questions I might have, here to brainstorm with me, here to provide mediation for any difficult conversations, and here to connect me with resources and training opportunities around working with children, restorative justice, and racial equity.”

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