This St. Francis High School staff member who works with at-risk kids has become an 'invaluable resource'
Invaluable is just one of several words that can be used to describe the work St. Francis High School intervention specialist Eric Gyland does with at-risk students every day.
Exhibit A: a student who arrived from Albania after the school year had started. Neither the student nor his family spoke English, according to Katy Holahan, a school counselor at the high school.
Holahan said Gyland took the student under his wing immediately. He made flashcards with common sayings that the student might use in the classroom and distributed them to teachers, used Google Translate to communicate with the student, and purchased a device with his own money for the student to download different language apps on.
Holahan also said Gyland found a student who spoke Albanian at a different high school and set them up to meet so the student had someone else to speak Albanian with, and even helped the student enroll in driver's education and get translation support to help the student get his driver's license.
Gyland said his interactions with students are about asking what he can do to help.
"A lot of the kids, when they figure out that you're not trying to butt in their business — they figure out that you're really just there trying to help to do whatever it is they're willing to accept, they really open up and I really don't have to do a whole lot," Gyland said. "They come to me."
Holahan noted that the Albanian student actually finished on a high honor roll and handled challenging math and science courses.
"I think with [Gyland's] support, he was able to showcase his full academic support," Holahan said.
Students with all kinds of difficulties know they have support
Yet another example of Gyland's important work with students is a study hall he runs that supports at-risk students who struggle academically or struggle in a traditional classroom setting.
Gyland is very compassionate with students, Holahan said.
"He is the most caring, kind, understanding, non-judgmental, easy-to-talk-to staff member, so he really is ... a trusted adult in the building, somebody that students can count on, somebody that students are comfortable talking to about difficulties at home or other situations that they're in," Holahan said.
The other part of what makes him special, according to Holahan, is his ability to support students with their schoolwork. She said he manages up to 75 students throughout the day each semester. Holahan said Gyland knows what classes the students are taking, the graduation requirements they need, what credit recovery they're working on, as well as due dates and deadlines for those students' projects and assignments. He also supports special education students or those who need accommodations and helps with testing and homework.
Holahan even noted Gyland's ability to teach himself different subjects so he can then help his students, as well as his ability to help students stay organized and get challenging work done when they aren't feeling motivated.
Holahan also saw Gyland's passion extend when the school was in virtual learning due to the pandemic, as he conducted study groups for students outside school hours over Zoom.
"Taking his own time in the evening to support students because he's so dedicated to seeing these kids succeed," she said.
What led Gyland to his current job?
Gyland grew up with teachers for parents. He said his interest in helping kids came from volunteering at his two sons' schools when they were growing up. Then he heard about the intervention specialist position at St. Francis High School.
"It sounded like it would be a good fit. I wasn't sure that it would work, but I applied and came in and interviewed. It started off as a part-time thing, and it's just sort of kept going from there," Gyland said.
Gyland has now been at the school for 10 years and works full-time.
"It's honestly the kids and the staff," he said about what's kept him there. "The people I work with are fantastic. At this point, I've got little brothers and little sisters and cousins and nephews of people that I've known for years. It really does feel like family here," Gyland said.
Gyland won an award from the Wisconsin School Counselor Association
Gyland's work isn't only being recognized by his colleagues. In November, the Wisconsin School Counselor Association awarded Gyland the Friends of School Counseling Award Nov. 12 at its annual conference.
The award recognizes parents, volunteers or other educators "who through leadership, acts or support have made contributions to the school counseling profession," according to the Wisconsin School Counselor Association website.
For Gyland, the award was an unexpected honor.
"Honestly I was kind of shocked. I wasn't even sure what it was. I spoke to the guidance counselors in the office and they explained it to me. It was pretty exciting," Gyland said.
"It's just well-deserved," said St. Francis High School Principal Michael Lewandowski. "He's one of those guys that comes to work and works with our students that are non-traditional kids and they just flock to him and he works really hard. It's an award that for somebody that generally in our business doesn't get recognized, so it's really cool and fulfilling to see somebody like that get recognized like that for what he was."
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: St. Francis High School specialist honored for work with at-risk kids
