I work in a suburban high school of about 1400 students in grades 10-12. My official title is Youth Assistant, a user-friendly name for a security guard in our district, but to “my kids," I am so much more than that. I am usually the first face they see as they walk through the door in the morning. My first post is as greeter, and I smile and say good morning to every student I can, even if they can’t hear me through their headphones. Throughout the day I am there: making sure they get to class on time, helping them find the right class, getting their lockers open, monitoring their lunchroom, escorting them to their administrators for possible discipline, or to the suspension room when that discipline has been handed out. I guide them to the nurse when they are ill, and I listen to them when they cry or are angry and need to be calmed. I know when to take them to counseling and when to let them “just be” until they can “get it together," never leaving them alone but giving them their space. At the end of the day, I make sure they reach their buses safely. Sometimes I have to intervene in altercations, verbally or physically, but that is never the crux of the job. They tell me when they have good news and bad, and are a valuable resource when something may be about to happen. They respect me and they trust me because I have earned their respect and trust, by always being there for them and letting them know I care. I am fair and I am consistent, and I am one constant in their lives. After twenty-eight years, my greatest reward is still when a former student comes back to visit. Sometimes they thank me and tell me they stayed in school because of me; sometimes they just hug me and smile and say, “You still here?” To which I always reply, “Where else would I be?”
(Karen Lee Arthmann is a Youth Assistant at Rush-Henrietta Senior High School and a member of Rush-Henrietta EA)