She has an official caseload of about 40 students , but regularly has 120 students coming in and out of her office , a classroom converted into a space for her and the school ’ s restorative practice counselor .
“ I love it . I love to have all the kids in here . It ’ s the fun zone where they can learn the skills they need in the classroom ,” she said .
Her work includes checking in with her students at the beginning of the day and again at the end of the school day . She also helps them with social skills , self-management , self-awareness , socialawareness . She works with students with similar struggles in small groups .
“ Some of them just need someone to look up to like a mentor . Some need motivation to get to school on time . Some need a group to connect to ,” Arevalo said .
Her job includes overseeing the meaningful work initiative at Kirk , helping students connect to school by assigning them duties to support their campus , such as greeting students during drop-off , walking young students to their classrooms , cleaning the campus and serving as lunch helpers , birthday crew members and office assistants .
“ It gives them a sense of belonging , is what I have noticed ,” Arevalo said . “ I ’ ve had good success with meaningful work .”
She is especially proud of Girl Power , a weekly club for fifth- and sixth-grade girls . She said only two girls have missed meetings this school year .
Girl Power is a mentoring program offered at most of the district ’ s schools through Fresno Unified ’ s Department of Prevention and Intervention . The girls gather for lunch and spend about 40 minutes on the Girl Power curriculum , focusing on a different theme each week , such as friendship , and goal setting .
Right , Kirk Elementary School intervention specialist Karen Arevalo has grown close with , Karen Hernandez , left , and Alize Godinez .
16 FACES : LATANYA PATILLA