With the Goal of Supporting Student Success
Montini Catholic enthusiastically announced earlier this summer the addition of several new members to their newly titled Student Support Team (SST) (formerly known as their Human Services Committee). Under Principal Chris Tiritilli's leadership, the team is made up of a group of professional educators whose sole objective is to maximize student success by supporting their psychological, academic and social development.
"We meet weekly to review the needs of our students who may need additional support and interventions to promote their academic, social/emotional, attendance and disciplinary success," informed Mr. Tiritilli. "Our new Interim Assistant Principal for Student Services/Social Worker Ms. Rachel Weiss is uniquely equipped and skilled to lead this team forward and support their use of data-driven decision making and continual adoption of best practices to ensure we exhaust every resource and opportunity available to support our students."
Ms. Weiss is serving the students of Montini Catholic in a blended position - titled Interim Assistant Principal of Student Services/Social Worker. "Ms. Weiss brings a wide range of experiences with her to meet the diversity of this role," said Principal Tiritilli in his letter to the Montini community. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and earned her Masters Degree in Social Work from Aurora University with concentrations in child welfare and school social work. She later earned her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership & Administration from Concordia University. "She is a strong believer in working proactively with students, with a focus on strengthening “emotional intelligence” and social emotional learning (SEL) skills."
In addition to Ms. Weiss,
Mrs. Stephanie Holcomb will act as the college preparatory high school's General School Counselor and Counseling Department Chair. Mrs. Holcomb joined the Montini community during the 2022-2023 school year as a long-term substitute. "She quickly demonstrated that she shared our Lasallian values and did a wonderful job supporting our students in her role," said Principal Tiritilli. "We are happy and excited to bring Mrs. Holcomb on board as a full time General School Counselor, where she will continue to support our students, staff and school." Mrs. Holcomb will utilize her years of experience as a high school counselor while providing leadership and direction to Montini's Counseling Department as the Department Chair.
Also new to the Student Support Team this year is
Ms. Kaitlin Aylward, who is serving as Montini's General School Counselor. Ms. Aylward formerly served as assistant to the President and has also passionately devoted her time to Montini as an assistant Girls’ Basketball coach for the past several years. She will be completing her counseling internship and earning her Master’s Degree at the conclusion of the school year.
Rounding out the team is Mr. Kevin Bab who has served as Montini's college counselor since 2018.
In addition to this core Student Support Team, Montini's deans, Resource Coordinator and Signum Fidei Director will also assist in ensuring a healthy and successful year for Montini Catholic students.
"We are confident and excited about the forward progress of this important support team under the leadership of Ms. Weiss," says Principal Tiritilli. "Ultimately, our students will be the greatest benefactor of this group and their efforts!"
Image above: Montini Catholic's Student Support Team l to r: Kaitlyn Aylward, Rachel Weiss, Stephanie Holcomb and Kevin Bab
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