The Equality California Mentorship Corps currently has mentors working with kids at Desert Hot Springs High School, Raymond Cree Middle School, Nellie Coffman Middle School, Desert Springs Middle School, and Painted Hills Middle School.

Big thanks go out to Sarah Aguirre for sharing these updates on the work being done at Painted Hills MS and Desert Springs MS!

Sarah writes:

Painted Hills Middle School, similarly to the other schools discussed, has an AmeriCorps Equality California mentor. Unfortunately, they joined quite late, only starting after winter break. However, the school itself already has a high priority on the issues the mentor would focus on. In regards to mental health, the counselors there also do monthly Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons in their physical education classes. In terms of academics, they have recently implemented a schedule change on Wednesdays. They call it academic success day and it places the students in classes based on their core-class grades. If a student has no Fs they have engagement classes consisting of fun activities (like movies, board games, or other activities). Those with Fs are in intervention classes where they only work on their missing assignments. All students also attend a class focused on SEL as well as their regular elective and PE classes. In terms of LGBTQ+ student needs, the school GSA club already has a very dedicated faculty member who aided the club learners and found external LGBTQ+ events for the students. Due to their involvement, both the support staff and the GSA faculty member knew which students would benefit from an EQCA mentorship and what support they would need. As such, the EQCA mentor placed would base their weekly meetings on their mentee’s interest. If nothing came to mind, the conversation would be based on the aforementioned staff advice to keep it relevant & productive for that specific student.

At Desert Springs Middle School, the Equality California Mentor became well-connected with the school staff. Just like all other mentors, they met with their mentees weekly and each meeting was based on what the student wanted that week. They would work as their educational tutor, an advocate for their faculty and administration issues, and a listening ear for their problems. Depending on the severity of these problems, they would work alongside the other support staff and administration to discuss alternative solutions. However, in this school, the site supervisor of the mentor was one of the school counselors. As such, they spent the majority of their time within the wellness center. The wellness center is a large room where all the counselors can be found. It had their desks at different corners of the room with a lounge area taking up the rest. There was also a small calm-down room & meeting room attached for the students who needed extra space. So, in addition to their caseload, they also would supervise and attend to other students in the center. Similar to their mentees, the EQCA mentor would aid these students in whatever their immediate support need was albeit only for the brief moment when they met. In some cases, these kids just wanted a place to rest and reset so they were granted that space without question. Being within the wellness center also enabled them to attend peer mediation sessions as well as support and general staff meetings. These meetings are what allowed them the previously mentioned staff connections for discussing students with severe needs.

If you would like your school's event or GSA meeting dates added to the calendar, email the PSUSD LGBTQ Alliance at lgbtq@psusd.us.

All are welcome to attend the LGBTQ+ Parent Advisory Committee meetings to offer input and learn about supports and services offered in PSUSD.