San Antonio Lights: This school counselor is the crucial, joyful center of campus action
Jeanette Zuniga, a counselor at Maverick Elementary, embraces student Luke Salinas, who wants to be a heavy metal rock musician, on a school day in May.Students entering Maverick Elementary each morning at 7:30 pass into a bright yellow foyer beneath papel picado banners.
Her presence is woven into the entire cultural fabric of the school. She’s team mom, spirit day leader, morning announcement coordinator, puppeteer, occasional prankster and the Spanish translator at every school event. The students are celebrating college and career readiness by dressing as what they want to be when they grow up. Zuniga created the “career fashion show.”“I love it!” Zuniga shouts and claps when she sees a costume she loves. “Oh my god. I love it, I love it, I loooooove it!”
Zuniga admits that she puts in a lot of extra hours, but she says she doesn’t think twice about it. The energy she brings to school, she says, comes naturally. “We all help each other,” Zuniga said. “They have my back. I have their back. I’m not alone. I had this crazy idea of making this come true and look.”Students are quick to describe Zuniga as crazy and fun. These qualities seem to have a leveling effect — they feel comfortable confiding in her because she behaves the way they like to behave.
Students who meet with Zuniga one-on-one usually talk to her about friendship issues they are having. Less often, it is something going on at home, Zuniga said.
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