Reyna Smith

Ms. Reyna Smith is the Middle School counselor at Francis W. Parker School. She works to help students with friendships and social misunderstandings. She helps around 20 kids a week, getting them to express their feelings by working with them. Ms. Smith does not remember having a school counselor at her own school while she was growing up, but there was one guidance counselor. Ms. Smith's kindergarten teacher, Ms. McKenzie, was not surprised to find out Ms. Smith has become a counselor. She noticed the young Ms. Smith reaching out to help her classmates.

Ms. Smith is both a counselor and mom. She has a 6 year old named Theo, and a 1 and a half year old named Naomi. She says that she likes to stay active with her family. Dancing, Zumba, and any physical exercises are some of Ms. Smith’s hobbies, as she says that they put a smile on her face. Another hobby of hers is creating custom hula-hoops, and hula-hooping.

Before Ms. Smith became a middle school counselor, she was a camp counselor in Wisconsin for ten years. When Ms. Smith was growing up, she did not know what she wanted to do long term, but she always hoped to work with kids. While she was a camper, her counselors would tell her that she was amazing at helping kids and comforting them. This gave Ms. Smith reason to pursue a job with kids. She worked with an Outward Bound Wilderness Instruction program. That work inspired her to learn more about helping people in schools, as many of the participants shared stories about the kind of support they needed during the school year. Ms. Smith went back to school and earned a Master's degree in social work. She decided to work with middle schoolers specifically because they are not too young or too old; they understand her humor, connect with her personality, and she feels it is easiest to talk with them.

One of the things Ms. Smith loves most about her job is introducing new students to the school. It makes her feel important, as she knows that it is one of the biggest jobs. She enjoys knowing that she has helped a child. Even if he or she does not acknowledge Ms. Smith’s help directly or at the time, she feels proud of herself. Ms. Smith told us that she appreciates the kind notes she receives, but feels particularly glad when she notices a student feeling better.

Ms. Smith also consoles kids who have lost a family member. She feels that there is no way to completely fix it, but she says that comforting grieving students helps the most. Asked when students tend to seek advice, Ms. Smith said she has sometimes noticed that she sees more 7th and 8th grade students early in the school year, and 6th grade students later in the year (in part because they have gotten to know her better), but there is nothing set about that.

“One thing that is difficult [for students] is the loss of a family member.”

Before each day, Ms. Smith makes a checklist of things to complete while at work. A productive day for her is having completed half of her checklist. But, she says that she is always flexible with her schedule. In fact, she described her schedule to us as "flexibility." During the day, Ms. Smith could be talking and eating lunch with students, or having meetings. She thinks her room is almost like a rent-it-out, talk-it-out space. Many teachers have expressed their admiration for the way Ms. Smith is always willing to help anyone in need. As one teacher notes, "Ms. Smith is always fully present and thoughtful in her work. We are truly lucky to have her very helpful advice, support and encouragement. Ms. Smith is right there for you."

Ms. Smith is a valued member of the Parker community as she helps middle school students so actively and in so many ways. She is also really calm: Our interview with Ms. Smith took place both before and after a lockdown drill.