Student Program Facilitator position created at BVH

As of November 2018, football coach Sam Kirkland was hired as the new student program facilitator. Having previously worked in many schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District, Kirkland’s new position with BVH’s Intervention Team allows him to facilitate communication with teachers and help students who are struggling academically by informing them of their options and monitoring their progress.

“[My position requires] scheduling a number of activities, meetings, and/or events; gathering, collating, and/or classifying data; and using basic, job-related equipment. Flexibility is required to independently work with others in a wide variety of circumstances.” Kirkland said.

Whether students are in ASB, football or the IB program, Kirkland believes BVH’s academics separate it from the rest, but that individual academic achievement depends on the student’s willingness and motivation to succeed.

The new student program facilitator position responsibilities vary from case to case. Kirkland used the example of helping an English learner reach their fullest potential to become proficient. To him, showing students their individual progress they are making motivates them to reach full proficiency.

“I’ll sit with them in their first meeting and ask them about progress reports and show them the process of getting reclassified if necessary. You address their classes, their attendance, their record and background that can help them. You show them the good and you show them the bad so that they can see their progress and the things they are struggling with,” Kirkland said.

Kirkland’s new position works in accordance with the TEAM tutoring program. In many cases, this tutoring after school allows students to get the help they need depending on their courses.

“I would assign the TEAM tutoring session and be more specific for the subject. This would hopefully improve their grade. I inform the teacher of the student’s tutoring assignment and show them that we’ve been working very diligently towards it and inform them on the progress. The teacher will help as well, hopefully leading to the student’s reclassification. It’s all about progress and making sure that student is doing better than they were before,”  Kirkland said.

After his help, Kirkland works towards letting the student become independent in their academics. While he acknowledges that it can be hard to motivate students who are falling behind, Kirkland believes that eventually students will realize their mistake and seek help.

“If it were someone that I knew was capable of much more and they weren’t putting in the effort, then I’d be pretty disappointed for obvious reasons. If it is someone who struggles to follow through and there is communication issues then it would be a little bit different. I think it goes case by case. Eventually, the student will become self-sufficient after being open to so many resources. ‘I got this,’ is often a response I get after working with students for a while. This way they can manage their academics and know help is right around the corner. They’ll remember and they know they can do it, and that is the goal.” Kirkland said.

Kirkland has high hopes for the future of Bonita under his new position.

“I think we can create a culture where we’re getting the results we want. We work really hard and a lot of kids here are very humble but very hardworking. We have academically challenging programs but everybody seems to handle it very well. I thrive in these kinds of environments and know that because the workload, consistency, and dedication that students put towards their goals I’m sure we can all relate to in a way,” Kirkland said.