Friendly Staff and Welcoming Environment Attract New Employees to School
The League School’s newest employees cite the welcoming environment as the reason they were attracted to work for the school. “The atmosphere of the League School was attractive – everyone seemed so happy,” said new Director of Residential Education, Jillian Roche. “I was very impressed with how much the staff love and care for the students.”
Keke Butterfield, the school’s new Nurse Manager, concurs. “People are very friendly, helpful, and approachable,” she said. “As a new hire, it’s been an awesome experience.”
SCERTS Educational Model Also Attractive
The school’s SCERTS educational model, which encourages social communication and emotional regulation through transactional support, was also attractive. “The SCERTS approach is multidisciplinary and promotes continuation of care, which is a nice change from a strictly clinical model,” said Keke. “As nurse manager, I’m involved with the entire continuum of care to address the student’s medical needs with other staff, parents, and the student. This approach avoids gaps in care as other team members will pick up any slack if something is forgotten or a staff member is absent.”
The residential team has also adopted a whole-person approach to learning. The program supports and extends skills developed by the day school program. “It’s important for the residential staff to have the tools needed to provide students with fun and enriching activities and to learn more life skills,” said Jillian. “I have a particular interest in developing more programming so students have more recreational, educational, health, and wellness activities at home and in the community.”
Team Pulled Together for COVID Surge
Jillian and Keke joined the team just as the COVID Omicron variant surged. The number of COVID cases increased for students and staff, which created staffing challenges. “Our team came together to ensure no interruption in care and safety of the students,” said Jillian. “We worked collaboratively with the nursing department to provide immediate attention to any staff or student who was ill. I am very proud and grateful for everyone pulling together.”
Safety guidance and protocols from Early Education and Care, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have changed frequently. “Staying on top of the latest guidance has been a challenge,” said Keke. “COVID creates constraints on training and staff challenges, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the students without masks so I can see them and they can see me smile.”
About Jillian and Keke
Before joining the League School, Jillian served for seven years as program director for Eliot Community Human Services’ Dedham STARR program, an emergency treatment homeless shelter for youth ages 2 to 13. She also worked for two years as assistant program manager for Saint Mary’s Center for Women and Children’s Bridge Home. Prior to this, Jillian worked for the Walker School in Needham in several capacities, including residential program supervisory work. She received her Masters of Science in Human Services from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Saint Michael’s College.
For 12 years before joining League School, Keke worked for New England Baptist Hospital on an orthopedics and surgery floor. For the final four years of her tenure at the hospital, she also worked for the May Center in Randolph in nursing management and as the assistant director of nursing. She served for over a year as the Center’s Interim Director of Nursing Services. Keke received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Regis College.
