Help is a Click Away at Wenatchee High School

Jackie (not her real name) was living with an alcoholic mother, and early in her senior year she decided it would be healthier to move out. “I only had the clothes on my back and an old iPod,” she says. 

Jackie found the help she needed when she mentioned to her school counselor Will White, the circumstances of her leaving home. “The school was able to get my stuff back for me, at least my school stuff, and then they provided me clothes and whatever I needed.”

“She's a great kid,” said White. “I'm glad we were able to help.”

The school helped Jackie get the clothes she needed through Panther House. Panther house is a community-supported space at the high school that offers clothing, hygiene products and food, and other items that can be picked up during by appointment. It’s also open to students and families on Tuesday evenings from 6:00-8:00PM.  

Students can also talk to staff about specific items they need that might not be stocked in the Panther House. “We might have a student that needs new shoes for track,” explains assistant principal Donna Moser. “We have funds through the Panther House that we can use to buy the exact size, the exact style of shoe they need for track.”

Whether it’s a new sweatshirt or clothes for P.E., the Panther House is a place students can get the supplies they need in a confidential setting.

The school also provides food for kids in need. In Jackie’s case she was able to eat some meals at school for free or reduced cost, and take free food home for the weekend. Dinners are even available from the high school kitchen for kids to pick up after school to take home, no charge, thanks to community volunteer donations and leadership.

“When I lived with [my mom], we didn't have much, “ Jackie recalls. “We just had like Ramen noodles, and you get tired of eating the same thing every day. So, I didn't even eat much. But when school offered that kind of option, you go for it.”

A team of high school staff works together to help students get what they need so they’re better able to concentrate on learning. Principals, deans, counselors and other staff look at each contact and decide how best to fill the need.

“Our goal is to make the high school a caring and safe place for students,” says Moser, “where they feel like some of the burden is taken off their shoulders, and we ease the way for them to focus more in their education.” 

Along with clothing and food, students and their families are also able to express concerns, either for themselves or others they know.  The team has received concerns from a friend of a student who's not coming to school because they're not passing their classes, and they don’t think coming to school is going to help. Other students have self-reported about a conflict between themselves and another student that they think will require help to resolve. In those cases counselors can meet with the students and their families, if necessary, to help work out the problem.

“We want to allow students to ask for help without having to walk into an office and be assertive enough to share something personal for them,” says Moser. “The website links allow for them to contact us when they feel safe, then we can call them in at a time when we can be confidential.”

Jackie needed some help, and thanks to school resources and community donations, she has what she needs to concentrate on school. Her plans for the future are to major in psychology at college, or join the military. She’s discovered other services the school offers that help students, like the Mentor program that helps students apply for college and scholarships. “They provide programs like the mentor and mentee meetings. I love that,” Jackie says.

“Our vision is to strive to eliminate any barrier that's causing a student not to be able to be here and be successful,” says Donna Moser.  “We want students to feel like they are at their best to learn, so we want to remove as much stress as possible.”

Moser says this support team wouldn’t be possible without support from the community. “I really want to thank the community,” says Moser. “We have some strong supporters of our Panther House. We have many community members that helped the during the holidays season and blessed over a 100 of our students with new donations. We are a community that takes care of our kids.”

Interested community members can donate time or funds. “I want thank the community to make sure they know that their donations go to good use, and to keep it coming.” 

Here’s a simple way to get help at Wenatchee High School:
1. Go to the high school’s web page http://www.wenatcheeschools.org/whs
2. Find the purple block just to the right of the large photo with three links:

• Student Concern Report Form
• Student Need Request Form
• 2017-2018 Daily Class Schedule

3. Click on the “Concern” or the “Need Request” form. Fill out a short form, and within a week you'll be contacted in a confidential setting to talk with a member of the Support Team. 

At Wenatchee High School, help is just a click away