Hello DATA Families,
We hope you’re doing well! We’d like to take a moment to have our newest counselor introduce himself to our DATA families:
My name is Zac Craig and I started as the 7th – 9th grade school counselor in January. This is my 8th year as a school counselor, my 4th in Albuquerque working with Middle Schoolers. Most recently, I was at Jefferson Middle School. Before I moved to Albuquerque, I worked at Thoreau High School. A fun fact about me is that my first name is my initials – Zachary Allen Craig – Zac!
For February, we celebrate National School Counseling Week and Black History Month. I believe these two go hand in hand as school counselors use evidence-based practices to close opportunity gaps. Below is a picture I took from a mural in Selma, Alabama. It is my “why” for working in education; I believe that education can and should be a tool for justice and social mobility.
Mental Health:
The counseling team also wants to take a moment to provide some resources for mental health support. We know the winter, particularly immediately following the holidays, can be hard for many people. If you have any concerns for your child or student, don’t hesitate to ask directly about their feelings! Even if your teen just grunts back at you, you’re showing that you care about them and how they’re feeling.
If you have concerns that maybe your child is experiencing something more serious than normal teenage emotions and changes, below are links to resources on suicide prevention and self-harm. This is a video from the Mayo Clinic for parents to learn more about teen suicide prevention. This is a document Mr. Craig often uses working with students and families on self-harm. It breaks down coping strategies based on the feelings triggering the urges to self-harm; for instance, if you’re feeling angry, you could try squeezing ice. If you’re stressed about an assignment and trying to focus, you could try eating something with a lot of texture and taste, like a raisin or grape, and try to notice every sensation as you slowly eat. That document comes from this site from Cornell University with a lot of good information and resources about mental health and self-harm. If you have any concerns about your child’s safety, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of us. If your concern is an emergency, you can also use the following numbers:
- 988 (the new suicide prevention hotline)
- 911 if it is a life-threatening emergency
- 1-855-NMCRISIS (662-7474) – New Mexico Crisis and Access Hotline (they also have an app called NM Connect with a lot of amazing resources for both kids and adults)
Senior Updates & FAFSA:
Important senior information is usually discussed in Advisory with the students and their senior advisors. For students that have an alternate attendance plan, they are still required to check in with their advisor about important, often time-sensitive information. Below is a summary of senior information that may have been missed by your student.
To apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans, you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free, and it gives you access to the largest source of financial aid to help pay for college or career school. In addition, many states and colleges use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for state and school aid, and some private financial aid providers may use your FAFSA information to determine whether you qualify for their aid.
Normally DATA hosts an in-person FAFSA workshop/parent night in the fall. This year the FAFSA opening date was not Oct 1 like usual, as the federal government redesigned the process and pushed the opening originally to Dec 1 and then delayed it again until Dec 31. Throughout January, even though it was “open”, it was only available a few hours a day and was still glitchy. This delay has created many issues for high schools and colleges nationwide, as so many students have still not started or completed their FAFSA yet. Although we have reached out to our usual partners to host an on-campus event for support, they are only offering virtual events since the timing is so condensed this year. I provided a link to these Monday 3-6pm workshops below. CNM will be offering some in-person events this week, link below.
Since we knew the FAFSA completion was challenging this year, we have been advising students to communicate directly with the colleges they plan to attend for college-specific deadlines, resources, scholarships, events, and financial aid support for families. Students can drop by CNM or UNM with a parent and complete the FAFSA there. At the college scholarship and financial aid offices they will have someone available to answer FAFSA, admissions, or scholarship questions. UNM has a priority deadline of March 1 for the FAFSA to be received, so we suggest completing it on their campus or with support in any of the virtual or in-person workshops.
Resources:
How financial aid works: https://studentaid.gov/h/understand-aid/how-aid-works
Link to virtual FAFSA workshops: https://www.nmeaf.org/plan-pay-for-college/events/money-mondays/
Link to CNM FAFSA/Financial Aid Workshops: https://events.dudesolutions.com/cnm/event/fafsa-and-cnm-scholarship-application-workshops/
UNM scholarships & financial aid: https://financialaid.unm.edu/
Create the FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
FAFSA application & info: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
In Gratitude,
DATA’s Health and Wellness Team (Counselors Kristin Reeder and Zac Craig, Social Worker Laura Martinez and Nurse Krista Pino)
