The Art and Architecture of Student Support

Darrell Sampson, Executive Director, Office of Student Services, Arlington Public School

Darrell Sampson is the Executive Director of Student Services at Arlington Public Schools, where he leads initiatives that strengthen student wellbeing, engagement, and equity through collaborative partnerships, data-driven programs, and a holistic approach to supporting every learner’s academic and emotional growth.

Translating Musical Harmony into Team Leadership

I find myself constantly referencing my experiences with music and performing arts in my journey to leadership. One the one hand, it is the skills that one learns in the arts, such as time management, working over a period of time towards a goal, being flexible as nothing ever goes exactly as you planned, and the ability to work collectively with others to create something beautiful.

More than this, though, as someone who conducted choirs for a number of years, I learned that I needed to look at myself as the leader first if a project was not going the way I had expected. When you are conducting, if the choir does not sound the way you believe they should, it is important to ask yourself, “what am I not showing them through my hands and gestures?” versus faulting the group.

This is similar to leading in Student Services, where when something goes off track, I first ask myself if I was unclear in my communication or did not provide the necessary support to help my team meet a specific goal. Finally, in the arts and Student Services, we are working with whole individuals and must be mindful of people’s emotions, behaviors, understandings, and context, and how they may influence every interaction.

Preparing Every Student for Life Beyond School

There are several outcomes of importance. Absenteeism is one that remains of critical importance, knowing that students who are chronically absent have lower performance and are more likely to drop out of high school. Partnerships are critical here, both in terms of insuring that we have solid data tools to monitor progress, but also in assisting with messaging and communication, as well as helping to integrate positive attendance into school and community cultures.

Additionally, we are monitoring how students are learning social-emotional learning competencies as a way of building their toolkits to better manage life’s inevitable stressors, meet their goals, and be able to engage with those who may be different from themselves in productive ways. We have student survey tools that we use for this and are always looking for additional opportunities to meaningfully measure student progress in this area. When there are gaps, we work with the schools to focus their programming on specific SEL competencies during the year to help increase student perceptions of their skills in that area.

“When designing programs and looking at potential changes, we have to balance our expertise in education with what the students are telling us that they need.”

Finally, we are always working to ensure that students have postsecondary plans and opportunities. We use a variety of technology tools that combine career interests and exploration with postsecondary planning and work-based learning opportunities. As we discover gaps, we work to look, student by student, and see what possibilities there may be for them and ensure they have access and opportunity.

Co-Creating Services with Students in Mind

Student feedback is critical, and we always need to be mindful as educational leaders that they are whom we ultimately serve. When designing programs and looking at potential changes, we have to balance our expertise in education with what the students are telling us that they need. We do this in a variety of ways, whether through focus groups, seeking feedback from student advisory groups, or through student surveys on everything from academics to social-emotional needs to postsecondary planning.

With that information, we can then make changes that stand a reasonable chance of working for students. For example, if students are saying that they need more opportunities to connect with medical services, we need to understand more specifically what that means to them in terms of the specific services as well as how would they see themselves accessing them. If they are more specifically wanting access to telehealth and we build a program focused on face-to-face, then we will have missed the mark and still have unmet needs.

Integrating Technology and Human Touch in Student Support

We are already seeing the use of artificial intelligence impact the field of youth mental health. While there are certainly uses for this tool in helping students gain access to resources or community connections, it is vital that we proceed with caution given that in some instances, the lives of students are at stake. We must determine the appropriate role for this technology in the space of student mental health and well-being and then ensure there are substantial fail safes and protections when students indicate significant mental health distress.

I believe that in large part we still focus on student wellbeing as something that is the domain of school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers, and then mainly from an intervention standpoint. Yet, we know that students who are struggling are often not in the space where they can best learn and attend to their academics.

In Arlington, schools and Student Services have worked hard to create a culture where instruction in social-emotional wellness is universal, taught and reinforced by teachers, with additional supports for students who need it provided through counselors, psychologists, and social workers. If everyone in a school can focus on creating that safe, welcoming environment, and putting wellness on the same plane as academic progress and then take collective responsibility for this work, we can then create greater resilience in our students and make them more available for learning in the classroom.

Cultivating a Holistic Understanding of Education Systems in Student Services Leadership

For those seeking additional opportunities in Student Services leadership, I would encourage individuals to seek global projects and initiatives. So much of the work in Student Services leadership is done with other departments and offices, as we fit, in some way, into every initiative that may come from a school division. As a student services leader, you have to have knowledge of academic content, facilities, technology, transportation, human resources, and finance in order to see these critical connections and then be able to work with colleagues in these spaces to move work forward.

For someone starting out, this can look like volunteering for a district committee looking to support global wellness initiatives, a school-community group that focuses on postsecondary opportunities, or a curriculum writing project on digital citizenship. Get to know not just the individual components of student services, but also all the other areas within education.