Ours for Life Initiative Underway at RBCS

I wanted to let the community know about a new initiative we have here at the Russell Byers Charter School called “Ours for Life.” We believe that we have a responsibility to our students to do everything to help them achieve success, whatever that looks like, when they leave us after sixth grade. My role in that is “College Coach.” I have a master’s degree in school counseling and have worked in Title I middle and high schools. In the month I’ve been at RBCS, I grow more excited each day as we work to create a college-going culture at our school, reach out to alumni to help them with college applications and financial aid, and find schools that fit for each sixth grader moving on to seventh grade. This week our college coach room really started to take shape: we are building a test prep library for alumni and have computers set up that families, current students, and alumni can use to research middle school and postsecondary options. After an alumni association meeting earlier this week, we had three alumni stop by the college coach room to chat with me about how they’re doing in school and what they hope to do in the future. The rest of the year will be a busy one, and there is definitely a sense of urgency to make sure that we create lasting relationships with our alumni and families so that we can guide them towards reaching their academic goals and celebrate with them along the way. -Miriam Filvarof RBCS Primary College Coach