Kevin Garcia's Portfolio Homepage

Welcome to my project portfolio. I am a 5th year counselor in PLI Cohort 13. I hope you enjoy my work.

Student Bio/Information

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Family and Consumer Sciences, which an emphasis in Child Development and Family Studies, from California State University Long Beach in May of 2006. Growing up, I was always a good student and I enjoyed being in school, but it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. I knew I had an interest in some sort of helping profession and, once I started to take child development classes at Cal State Long Beach, I found that I really liked them and stayed the course. Throughout my undergraduate studies I considered career options as a therapist or counselor, however I was really interested in helping students within the school context, but not necessarily as a teacher. Towards the end of my undergraduate studies I started to explore different options and ended up shadowing a couple of guidance counselors from the high school where I graduated. I really took a liking to the work and ended up applying for graduate school.

In May of 2008 I graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Science degree in Education, with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology, along with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential, which authorizes me to perform school counseling duties in grades K-12. While I was attending USC, I also took two Spanish classes at Cerritos College to brush up more on my Spanish, which I was never formally taught.

USC Graduation - Autobio

I have worked many jobs, which have taught me how to work directly with people, to work hard, and to value my education. Non-education related jobs have ranged from grocery store courtesy clerk, to bank teller, to warehouse shipping and receiving worker. I mention these jobs because I have held a job since I was sixteen and have valued the ability to work and balance school and a personal life, while continuously striving and further educating myself to find a job that I really enjoyed and could make a lasting difference on others. My professional experience related to education started while I was in college and an undergraduate and I worked for the Los Angeles County Office of Education as an assistant in the office of accounting and budget development for special programming. Although I did not work directly as an educator, the job allowed to me learn about the funding sources and policies behind public educational programs. I then started to volunteer as part of my major as a pre-school teacher at the child development center at Cal State Long Beach. I also volunteered as a Child Life Specialist at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach. In both of those jobs I worked directly with children and families and delivered direct instructional programs. Immediately upon graduating I started working as a Behavioral Therapist for an agency that provided services for children with Autism. This job taught me how truly challenging it can be to work with students with special needs. Shortly after starting graduate school for school counseling, I started working as an elementary school intern counselor. Throughout the second year of graduate school I worked as a substitute teacher and immediately after being granted my credential I took a job working as a high school counselor for Green Dot Public Schools, which is a Los Angeles-based Charter Management Organization.

SeniorPrankOffice

I have been a counselor at Animo Venice Charter High School for the past five years and am on my way to completing my fifth year with the organization. As a counselor at a new charter school I have been forced to learn many new things and take on many responsibilities with limited guidance and mentoring. In addition to providing academic, social-emotional, and mental health counseling to students, I have been an integral part of creating a college going culture at my school. I also serve as, or have served as, coordinator of several special unique school activities/programs, such as: AP Program, SAT Testing, UC Course Submissions, District-wide College and Career Fair, Southern California and East Coast College Tours, and Clinical Mental Health Services. I have been a head soccer coach for three of the five years that I have been at the school and have participated in many committees and special student support groups such as the Student Attendance and Review Team, the Student Success Team, and the Discipline Review Board, just to name a few.

My career goal is to work in a student support services position with more administrative responsibilities and ability to influence change in a school. I have considered several positions. I have considered being a Dean of Discipline where I could help to transform traditional punitive disciplinary practices into restorative justice approaches. I have also considered working as a Guidance Administrator where I could help shape the curriculum and programming for underserved and marginalized students. Schools and districts vary in how they use administrators, however I feel as though I am at a point in my career where I would like to be more actively engaged in shaping the culture of a school and carrying out the mission.

I want to pursue a career in education because I have always valued education and feel as though educators are integral members of society, which help to provide opportunities and social capital to marginalized students and families. Although I grew up in a very supportive family environment that valued education and have been lucky enough to pursue my own educational interests, I know that many of my friends and family who had similar upbringings did not have the same opportunities that I had because they were not exposed to some of the same things that I was. Interestingly enough, I grew in suburbia and am well aware that marginalization of students is much more prevalent in inner-city schools.

School Information

Ánimo Venice Charter High School is a college preparatory high school located in Venice, California. It serves students grades 9-12 living in and near the Oakwood community of Venice as well as Santa Monica, Culver City, and Mar Vista. The school also attracts many students from Inglewood and South Los Angeles. The school serves families from a wide cross-section of the racial, cultural, and socioeconomic spectrum. The charter was approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District and the school currently has 564 students enrolled from grades 9 through 12. “Ánimo” is a Spanish word with great significance; it means vigor, mind, spirit, valor, and the courage to overcome odds. The school was founded in the fall of 2004 by Steve Barr and operates under the charter management organization  Green Dot Public Schools. Green Dot Public Schools is committed to opening quality, high performing high schools in Los Angeles. They operate eighteen schools in the highest-need areas of the city; fourteen high schools and four middle schools. Almost half of these are Turnaround schools. The mission of all of the schools is to prepare students for college, leadership, and life.

The student body does not mirror that of the surrounding Venice community. The ethnic make up of the student body is as follows: 82% Latino/Hispanic, 6% African American, and the remaining is a mix of White, Asian, and Multi-ethnic. However, the surrounding community of Venice is 21.9% Latino/Hispanic, 5.9% African American, 64.1% White, 4.0% Asian, and 3.0% multi-racial. The median income of Venice is $49,000 but 78% of its students receive free or reduced lunch. (For a family of four to qualify for reduced lunch, the family can make a maximum of $37,000.)

Ánimo Venice Charter High School offers a college preparatory curriculum for all students based on the University of California/California State University A-G requirements. Ánimo Venice graduates must complete 160 credit units of A-G requirements along with 80 Ánimo Venice electives. Students must also complete 40 community service hours, pass both sections of the California High School Exit Exam, apply to three 4-year universities or colleges, and their parents must complete 140 parent service hours.

In June of 2008, Ánimo Venice Charter High School was approved for accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges for a 6-year term. At its midterm review in 2011 the school received favorable feedback regarding the progress it has made. Ánimo Venice had a 2012 API score of 784, which was 8 points up from 2011, however, not all student groups met their targets, including Black or African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students. The graduating class of 2012 was the largest in school history with more students being accepted to an attending four year colleges and universities. In June 2012 Newsweek ranked Ánimo Venice 86th in the state of California.