SHAKE IT OUT

If you’ve ever been to the Celebration Week fashion show in May, you may have noticed one particular student who was spunkier and smaller than the average secondary student. But that hasn’t stopped her from “strutting her stuff” on the runaway with a big smile on her face, garnering loud cheers from the audience.

This is grade 12 student, Eva-Marie Tipton, and her confidence and energy are infectious. How did she develop into a confident person both off and on the runway?

Seeing the Crucial Need

It all started four years ago when Eva started grade 9 and Jeralee Alexander became one of her educational assistants (EA). Jeralee had been working at ACS for only a few years at that point. “I learned quickly that with secondary students, there is a crucial need to take the time to build relationship,” Jeralee says.

This was a difficult change for her.

Before working at ACS, Jeralee ran a daycare for younger children. But she embraced the role of supporting Eva in building her independence and learning applicable life skills.

“Having a student-centred posture comes naturally to Jeralee,” says Amy Morrow, ACS Secondary learning support service coordinator. Jeralee has worked hard at creating a variety of new and different activities so that Eva could take ownership of her learning, especially in grade 12.

Knock, Knock, Room Service!

Among the many activities Eva and Jeralee do together, providing “room service” enhances Eva’s life skills. Room service is a fun way to brighten a secondary teacher’s day. Eva hangs a room service card on a few classroom doors each week, rotating through so every teacher gets room service twice each year. The card has a list of different items, such as treats, beverages, and baked goods that teachers can request to motivate or brighten their day. Eva collects the door hangers, then prepares and delivers these packages for the teachers. Through this, not only is she able to bless teachers, but Eva is learning how to prepare food, organize details, and interact with others. She also builds connections and support systems with the teachers she serves.

At first, Eva required Jeralee’s help preparing the orders and putting all the items together. “By the end of the school year,” says Jeralee,“she was pretty much able to do it all by herself, and I could just be there if she needed me.”

Eva also worked on cooking a whole meal for her family. She planned the menu, shopped for ingredients, and cooked the meal. Being able to practice these skills, Eva has become quite independent, a goal that she and Jeralee set out to accomplish. “Jeralee has a special way of supporting Eva, while giving her as much independence as possible,” says Amy. “Eva gets joy from her independence.”

With Jeralee’s help, Eva has found confidence and success in these activities. “They have a lot of fun together,” says Amy.

Help Is Here

But learning these new skills and doing this kind of service comes with its own set of difficulties.

Jeralee has helped Eva learn different ways to deal with various obstacles. Learning and reinforcing important routines are beneficial to Eva’s ability to take care of her everyday needs. She has learned, through some of Jeralee’s common reminders, that “sometimes it’s okay to take a deep breath when something is hard,” and that it’s important to take breaks and “shake it out.” Certain skills are hard to learn at first, but with practice and encouragement, Eva works through the obstacles in her way, knowing that Jeralee is there to help her.

“Seeing Eva’s capacity to grow and become confident in things that are hard is exciting to see,” says Jeralee. In textiles class, Jeralee supports Eva with preparing the project, choosing the fabric, and putting the clothing together. “Sometimes it’s hard, but she always perseveres. She tries her best,” Jeralee comments.

Being blessed with a complex job, Jeralee requires different ways of thinking about how to guide students in accomplishing their goals and learning life skills. She uses problem-solving strategies to best meet the needs of each individual student in a way that shows God’s love and care for them.

According to Jeralee, many of the students she is privileged to work with have unique needs that require diverse approaches and patience when learning to overcome the difficulties they face.
“As an EA, you need to be very flexible…sometimes you can feel like it is above your own abilities to support what they need, but I feel like here at ACS, we have a really good team that works together to love and support our students and help them feel safe.”