Enrichment coaches help students to cope
Staff from the Enrichment Center includes Felicia Thompson, from left, Nita Woodson, Kaylee Pennington, director Sharon Willis, intern Crystal Julien, Max Merritt and associate director Lauren Little. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON – Serving on Madison campuses, life coaches/counselors from the Enrichment Center believe all students deserve access to high-quality support in their seasons of struggle.
Sharon Willis, Director of the Enrichment Center, has been working to place enrichment coaches in Madison schools. This summer, Willis retired as Federal Programs Coordinator for Madison City Schools.
A non-profit organization, The Enrichment Center uses its Enrich & Impact (E&I) program to make a difference in students’ lives and their families by providing professional counselors and life coaches in the schools in the Madison and Huntsville communities.
“Our E&I counselors/coaches are there to serve as a mental health and emotional support resource for schools,” Willis said. “Currently, we have an E&I counselor in our four secondary schools and one elementary school in Madison.”
Felicia Thompson is working as life coach/counselor at James Clemens High School and Liberty Middle School, while Kaylee Pennington is assigned to Bob Jones High School and Discovery Middle School. Nita Woodson helps at Madison Elementary School.
Also, Crystal Julien is an intern for the Enrichment Center. Max Merritt works at Ridgecrest Elementary School in Huntsville. Lauren Little is associate director.
“The EC counselor was a huge help in moving Discovery through the tragic shooting death,” Willis said. During that timeframe, Willis was principal at Discovery.
“I’ll never forget the caring, compassionate Enrichment Center counselor at Discovery,” Willis said. “She made a tremendous difference in the lives of students and teachers as we navigated through that difficult time.”
Willis believes every school deserves a counselor/life coach dedicated to helping students deal with everyday struggles, face challenges in a healthy way, embrace change with confidence and grow into the person they want to be.
“Our vision is to have a dedicated full-time counselor available to every student in our community,” Willis said. For more information, visit theenrichmentcenter.org.
