A Letter from Lauren Estebanell, Director of Student Support

Dear Oliverian Parents,

The beginning of the 2009-2010 school year is approaching and I wanted to take this opportunity to share my excitement, while explaining a new program at The Oliverian School called Student Support.

The Student Support program falls under the Oliverian Pillar “Caring Culture” and provides the solid foundation that supports the School overall. With Lauren Estebanell leading the group as Director of Student Support, the team encompasses a strong group of faculty: Dean of Students, Dean of Academics, Dean of Residential Life, Director of Health Services, our four counselors, and our Assistant Director of Admissions. We have included such a large group to make sure that all facets of our students’ life are covered in an effort to fill our students needs as best as possible.

Even though my job title has change, I will still be overseeing the Advising and Counseling Program at Oliverian. As many of you know, the Advising Program has been an integral part of Oliverian since the school opened. The Advising Program is an opportunity for every student at The Oliverian School to have a mentor—someone they can go to if they are struggling with anything academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally. Almost all of the Oliverian staff are student advisors, which fortunately gives me more options when choosing an advisor for your son or daughter. Some students really take advantage of the program and go to their advisor for any additional on-campus support they may need. For those students who are more involved in the Advising Program, the relationship between advisor/advisee becomes much stronger and more valuable.

Below are some key points that outline what the advisor relationship should look like with your son or daughter and with you as the parent:

• The advisor should meet with their advisee at least once a week. This could be a formal meeting or an informal check-in. With the check-ins, the advisor should get a good idea of how the student is doing academically and emotionally.
• The advisor should have contact with you, the parent, either via phone or email. Meetings may include a status report on academics, emotional, behavioral, and social progress, including possible information about their dorm life. **Whatever form of weekly communication you and your child’s advisor decide to do, it is important that this is discussed and decided within the first couple of weeks of the school year. If at any time during the year, the advisor has missed two or more phone calls or weekly updates, please let me know so I can quickly follow up with the advisor so we can get back on track.
• If the form of contact is via phone, please try and limit calls to a maximum of 30 minutes; Oliverian faculty (advisors) work many hours and are usually on-duty during that time, so it is important that they get back to the students. If necessary, the advisor can send an email before the phone call to make parents are aware of what the discussion will entail, so phone calls can be more efficient and effective. **Please keep in mind that an advisor may not have the answers to all your questions. If this is the case the advisor should write down any unanswered questions and they should get back to you either via email or phone in a timely manner with your answers. If not, they should be able to direct you to a more appropriate faculty member that can answer your specific question(s).
• Phone calls should be focused on the student and their needs.
• Advisors should manage and support advisee’s academic and emotional pathway through Oliverian with assistance from the Head of the Advising Program, Director of Counseling, and/or the Dean and Assistant Dean of Academics.
• All advisors will fill out an ESP (Educational Support Plan) with their advisees during the first few weeks of school. The ESP forms are a good way to connect with an advisee and learn what goals the student has and where the student envisions them by the end of the year. If the Advisor and student feel that this is a good tool to keep the student on top of their short term and long term goals, updates of the ESP forms will be completed.
• One of the biggest roles of an advisor is to help set the stage for their advisee to be successful at The Oliverian School; the ESP could help guide this process.

The Advising Program is a powerful tool here at Oliverian and students take it seriously. I have begun to match students with the most appropriate Faculty members; there are sometimes switches that occur during the first couple of weeks, but I think that is just an indicator of how important this program is to our students and parents. Our students should be aware, prior to arriving on campus, that their advisor is an extra support put in place to nurture their success and growth—which makes the process that much more exciting.

Every student at Oliverian has a team which includes: The Dean of Students, their Dorm Parent, their Advisor, and their Counselor. Along with an Advisor, every student is assigned a counselor. The student is not required to see their counselor on a regular basis, but the student should know that their counselor is there to support them with any emotional struggles they may endure throughout the year. The counselor should be a strong advocate of the student, and it is important that the student feels comfortable with their counselor match. Both the Advising Program and Counseling Program are just two of the many support systems we have in place for our students.

Thank you all very much for your time, and I look forward to a successful year with our students.

Sincerely,



Lauren Estebanell
Director of Student Support
Head of Advising
The Oliverian School
P.O. Box 98
Pike, NH 03780