When a Good Day is Hard to Find

What does a good day at school look like for a sixth grader? For some, it's winning a spelling bee. For others, it's as basic as showing up to school or turning in a completed assignment. For many students at Dorchester's Dever-McCormack Middle School (DMC), issues such as family trauma, violence, food and housing insecurity, or learning barriers affect school performance. A single school simply cannot address all the challenges that disrupt learning. 

Because of this, Trinity Boston Foundation operates an innovative program of support and mentoring at the school called Trinity@DMC.  Foundation staff members work in conjunction with other onsite youth service agencies to help support the school's most struggling students. Trinity@DMC provides Trinity Boston Counseling Center clinicians and life coaches to mentor the school's most truant population. These combined efforts offer vital relief to an over-taxed school administration.  

Recently, in an effort to strengthen this network, Trinity staff initiated a gathering of Boston youth-serving agencies located at the DMC. Their goal? To discuss the complex needs of Boston Public School students and plan for the collaboration necessary to help them thrive. The Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Police Department, Home for Little Wanderers, City Year, and Tenacity were some of the twenty agencies represented at the partner luncheon.

"Schools so often feel like fortresses," says Adina Davidson, Clinical Coordinator for Trinity@DMC. "So we are here trying to create the village instead. We want students to succeed, not just in the school, but out in the community as well. We want every middle schooler to end the day feeling good."