After parting ways with the “One Goal” project that Mr.Satira took part in teaching alongside Mr.Personette, he was assigned to a new program from Mrs.Houston named the “In-house Intervention Program.” This program replaced last year’s “In-house suspension program.” This program that Mr.Satira took on this year focuses on intervening with students who are struggling in various ways to succeed on a regular daily basis. Mr. Satira described the population of students he works with, saying, ”[These are] students who are not experiencing regular day successes in their daily classes.”
This program focuses on students who are often cutting their classes, struggling with maintaining good attendance, having behavioral issues, and not keeping up with their academic standards. Mr.Satira is still developing this program. Not only is he guiding students on the right path but he is also learning along the way. Mr.Satira will also attempt to invite other students to participate in the program even if they do not fall under the category of the typical members of the program.
Mr.Satira hopes to “Fill the void of the students in need” as he describes himself. He hopes to get students to commit actions that will help them benefit in any way possible. He wants to “create something that does not exist in order to benefit as many students as possible, as much as possible, on their journeys.” Mr, Satira makes clear that this has always been his agenda no matter where he taught throughout his career and regardless of the programs he was/is part of.
Mr.Satira has been working in the field of education for 26 years. He started as a gym teacher in elementary school which for 6 years. He also taught in a private school for over 18 years. Mr. Satira went on to teach at Bishop Ford High School for 12 years. Mr.Satira was also involved with DJ entertainment, which he recently retired from which he was also part of for over 26-30 years.
Mr.Getreu, the assistant principal of Safety and Security, stated that the suspension statistics have lowered by 30% since Mr.Satira took charge of the ‘In-House Intervention Program.” Mr. Getreu had nothing but praise for Mr.Satira and the work he had been doing since he had taken charge. He stated,” He [Mr. Satira] has been remarkable. I couldn’t be happier that he landed a job here in John Dewey High School, especially to work with me.”
Mr Satira states,” Almost every day this school year I have left work feeling something good came out of that day for at least one or more students.” Mr.Satia expresses the overwhelming satisfaction he’s receiving from working with his students and seeing the progress he’s made with each of his students on a daily basis.
Myriam Abouzour, a freshman at John Dewey High School expressed her gratitude towards the efforts Mr.Satira has made in order to guide her in any way possible. She stated,” The little interactions I’ve had with Mr.Satira so far have been very positive for me as he’s tried his best to give the most genuine advice he possibly could to help me out with my life situations.”
One of the obstacles Mr.Satira mentioned that he has been facing so far throughout his time with this program has been the general development of this program. With the little time Mr.Satira has had with the “In-house Intervention Program”, the only struggle he has faced has been the little time he has had to develop it.
Mr.Satira provided the example of how people often do not give a fair chance to new programs and things in general and do not put much faith into new up-and-coming programs. Mr.Satira summarizes the biggest obstacle being the lack of time he has had to spread awareness about his new program and how through time, more success will be found alongside faith from our peers and the higher-ups of the school. Mr.Satira states,” We have to remember that this program is something new and people are not aware of it yet and the program requires some time to develop growth.
Mr Satira states,” If they feel like they need help or support to succeed, please consider working on being brave enough to ask for help.” Mr Satira expressed the understanding he has about the difficulty students might experience with asking for help as it might be embarrassing for some or difficult, however, he would love to send a message to these students by telling them that if they believe they need help, the help is there with him and all they have to do is attempt to gain the courage to come forward and find him.
