In this article three individuals from the Lincoln Northeast High school counselors office were chosen to be interviewed to gain insight on the status of LNE social work with students and improvements that could be made. The three individuals chosen were Mandy Berlin-Coyle and Tana Down, two social workers who aid students throughout the school day and year for an insight on the more emotional struggles of the everyday student along with Kelsy Dady, a counselor chosen for more diverse insight into various student struggles in relation to basic school activities.

For the general stressors and advice through all grades the two social workers, Berlin-Coyle and Downs, gave general answers which differed slightly. For Berlin-Coyle stressors of students’ outside life often bleeds into school and acts as more so an overarching problem that impacts how they operate within the school environment. She also gave students advice to jump on every opportunity there is and that high school should be a time for one to enjoy their teenage years to the fullest. And while Downs gave a similar sentiment that everyone has general life stressors she also highlighted that there are some things within the school that can cause students to stress. For freshmen this is the transition from middle school to high school and the new workload that comes along with it, and for seniors the prospect of leaving high school and transitioning to college. Her advice was that everything would be alright and that change is hard, but as long as one navigates it well they will be able to get better. For the counselor Dady there were shared stressors among each level. For Freshmen and Sophomores it was finding the necessary tools to handle the transition period and for Juniors and Seniors it was the prospect of going beyond their current level. Dady gave advice to Berlin-Coyle, while putting more emphasis on joining and building the community of LNE.

In the next line of questions we went over what could be improved about LNE and the counseling system. When considering if LNE is a significant safe space for students and what it needs to improve on there was a variation of answers. Berlin-Coyle said while the school has made significant strides in diversity and inclusion there are many places it could improve, such as more diverse staff representation among teachers and deeper evaluation of what school policies disproportionately impact students of color. Downs and Dady shared a similar sentiment with each other considering LNE safe space to many students, but emphasizing the need for intensive accommodation of individuals needs as they come. Asking a similar question about the councilor system in general and what could change, Downs and Dady agreed with one another that there needed to be more social workers in the building to cover workload and address all student troubles if possible, while Berlin-Coyle specifically stressed acutely that councilors and school in general needed to focus less on college-prep and more on general life skills.