The door to Dr. DeTeso’s office.

Photo Credit: Teddy, 11th grade.

Although the student support system is constantly being used, stress levels among GCDS Upper School students are still alarmingly high according to student support staff.

Similarly, Mrs. Kraus commented, “Coming off of multiple years of unpredictability and anxiety related to the pandemic, stress levels are skyrocketing. I think this is an issue that will be around for a while, so the more strategies we learn to manage stress, the better.”

There are various tactics in place to aid students academically and mentally in their daily routines. Advisory before classes gives students a safe space to express themselves and their potential concerns. Dr. DeTeso is available for one-on-one meetings. Mrs. Kraus says, “[GCDS’] academic supports include in-class interventions and support, Production Lab classes, Math and Writing Labs, after-school Homework Lab, and individualized meetings to develop support plans.”

The student support system in the high school is brand new this year and is still developing. When asked about how the system could improve, he mentioned communication– or lack thereof. He noted, “I feel like we’ve had better or clearer lines of communication about students so we are more on top of it, so that we aren’t letting anything slip through our fingers.” 

He also mentioned, “we could use another student support person.” Student support has a lot of students that require support academically or socially, so Dr. DeTeso believes having another pair of hands on the student support team would be extremely helpful and would improve the team’s communication troubles as well.

Dr. DeTeso attributes most student stress to academics. He noted, “Right now with the interim grades, I say that we are experiencing more stress than normal.” Workload and the navigation of project-based learning is another factor that is taken into account. He says, “we’re still working on balancing project-based learning with tests and quizzes, and papers. And so because that balance is still trying to be worked out, I think there’s more stress than normal.”

There are many resources available for students to reach out for help when they may need extra support. And during a stressful time in the year such as this one, it is essential that students take care of themselves, along with their academics and extracurricular activities.

However, Dr. DeTeso ended with a method that can help students realize that they may be struggling. He says to “start with the three basics. So you wanna start with getting enough sleep, getting enough exercise, and eating correctly… Those are three pieces you can’t overlook.” If a student identifies a lack of balance between the three, they can work on fixing it themselves. However, if a student feels they’re struggling despite maintaining the three basics, he recommends reaching out. 

Dr. DeTeso says student support in the high school is predominantly three people: himself, Mrs. Kraus, and Mrs. Thornton. He describes them as, “the three professionals in the building that run the production lab or provide accommodations.”

Dr. DeTeso also mentioned that he, along with Mrs. Kraus and Mrs. Thornton often attend meetings regarding student support. He described how these meetings go by saying, “teachers will bring up a name, the team will talk about them, and then we’ll try and see how we can support the kid.” However, the meetings aren’t called only when a certain student needs help. They gather to talk about new accommodations for different grade levels as well. 

When the situation of a student is more urgent there are additional measures that can be taken. This higher-level student support team consists of Dr. DeTeso, Dr. Winters, Mr. Columbo, Dr. Ruoss, Mrs. Waller, and Mrs. Kraus. Dr. DeTeso says a student goes to this team for help when the primary student support team has “kids with concern and put support in place and they’re still struggling… that team then can provide even more support and even more accommodations.”