AUSTIN, Texas — As the school year approaches, many children experience a mix of excitement and anxiety. Angela Montijo, a licensed clinical social worker and the training and curriculum manager for the Girls Empowerment Network, shared some timely advice on how adults can support kids during this transition.
Montijo explained that students might feel a range of emotions as they head into a new school year. “It’s a big time of change. They’re dealing with social changes, academic changes. Maybe they’re going from elementary school where they’ve had one teacher for a long period of time to middle school with multiple teachers. Maybe they’re transitioning into their senior year and they’re thinking about college. So there’s just a lot of change going on,” she said. To help them navigate these feelings, Montijo suggested that adults can play a crucial role in providing support.
” I would recommend for the adults in their lives to offer three things: predictability, validation, and choice,” Montijo said. She emphasized the importance of setting up children to feel their most confident and powerful as they transition into a new school year…