We are delighted to have a new college counselor at 2nd Street, Ms. Joh’nita Johnson.
Ms. Joh’nita Johnson started at Latin just after Labor Day and has hit the ground running, meeting with students and working with families. She brings more than a decade of experience in college counseling, the majority of which has been here in Washington, DC. She joins us after serving as the College and Career Counselor at another DC charter school (Girls Global PCS), where she worked with juniors and seniors on all aspects of the college application and admissions processes. In this role and previous ones, Ms. Johnson provided the full gamut of support to students and families, including working directly with individual students, writing recommendations, teaching college readiness classes, and more. She also brings a keen understanding of financial aid, particularly for DC students.
Just as important as her skills and experience, Ms. Johnson shares Washington Latin’s commitment to helping all students find their best fit college or career pathway. She has already demonstrated a willingness to partner with faculty, families and admissions representatives in order to ensure each student receives support and guidance as they navigate this important transition. As she said to families on the College Night call for juniors this week, the role of both the counselor and parent in this process is to guide and support, while the student drives the process. This is entirely consistent with our tradition of pairing intensive, personal support with high expectations for each student. We are delighted to welcome such an experienced counselor who also shares so much of our approach and philosophy in this process.
I think what makes me a good counselor is the ability to form genuine relationships with students. I acknowledge that this is a stressful process and through those relationships I’m able to work with them through that stress.
In practical terms, Ms. Johnson is working closely with Ms. Toews and is already serving as counselor for half of the senior class. She will continue to do so throughout this year and the application process.
Stop by the CCO to say hello!
