The Power of Partnerships

In July of 2022, I visited the ASCA National Conference for the first time. As a veteran school counselor, this visit caused all my creative counseling juices to rejuvenate.

As I walked around the exhibit hall, all I could think about was forming partnerships to help my middle schoolers gain exposure to as many postsecondary pathways as possible. These opportunities could help them take advantage of the various CTE programs offered at the high school level in my district.

I visited several exhibitors, where I inquired about partnerships for middle school. All were an astounding “no” until I visited the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, where I met Michael Anderson, the field coordinator. I asked him the question that I had asked all the other trade exhibitors: “How can we partner to expose my middle schoolers to your trade, and will you visit my school?” This was the beginning of something great.

We exchanged contact information. By September 2022, Mike and Chicago-based painting instructor Gary Fields visited Theophilus Schmid Elementary pre-K–8 and engaged 60 middle schoolers in a hands-on experience of cutting and rolling – crucial skills of a union painter. Before the visit was over, a very quiet scholar who is usually not particularly engaged in the task at hand immediately connected to the trade and declared he wanted to be a painter when he grew up.



Mike and I declared we must do more.

At the conclusion of this project, we stayed connected and continued to collaborate and plan a beautification project for the 2023–24 school year.

Something big is about to happen. On September 14, 2023, in partnership with IUPAT and the Job Corps, seeds were planted. Fifteen sixth- and seventh-graders, 10 painters’ apprentices, Mike Anderson, Gary Fields, Lawrence Burgess and Stephan Starks made a vision of early exposure to the trades happen. All scholars received hard hats and shirts to commemorate the experience. Scholars learned several things, including but not limited to prepping the area, tapping for clean lines, properly holding the paintbrush, double coating and painters’ professionalism of not sitting on the job. They also learned persistence: working on the task you started and helping those around you until the job is complete, and the importance of cleaning your work site and taking pride in your work. We made history through this partnership. We were the first elementary school ever to partner with the IUPAT and Job Corps.



Since the project, I now have scholars who want a career in the trades, specifically painting. My next steps will be to connect them to a career mentor who can help them meet their goal over the next five years. Great things can happen with the right partnerships.



LaNedra Mitchell is a member of the ISCA Board of Directors and a school counselor at Theophilus Schmid Elementary School.