Jillian O’Neil’s passion for education started at an early age. During her summers as a high schooler, she worked as a counselor at a summer day camp hosted by Saint Columbkille Partnership School in the Boston area.
The camp was attended by grade schoolers with the goal of providing children with enrichment across disciplines, including various sports and non-academic activities. “Every week had an educational theme,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil’s experiences at the camp prepared her to think about student success as something that stems not only from academics, but also from a curated mix of hands-on activities, socialization, recreation, and other factors.
Her own academic journey led her on a path to become a school counselor, elementary school assistant principal, high school principal, and now, City Connects’s Senior Manager of Coaching & School Partnerships.
“I’m a big believer in the idea that we can’t grow if we aren’t learning, and this role allows me to learn, think, and collaborate with so many talented people,” she said.
“I’m a big believer in the idea that we can’t grow if we aren’t learning, and this role allows me to learn, think, and collaborate with so many talented people,” she said.
In her role as Senior Manager of Coaching and School Partnerships, O’Neil works with Massachusetts schools and their Program Managers.
“The mission of City Connects truly resonates with me,” O’Neil said. “I saw how much of a need there was for our mission when I was working in the field of education. When I was looking for another opportunity, I was lucky to have this opportunity to work directly with City Connects, and to serve students on a wider scale.”
As the new school year opened this fall, she is working with colleagues on the City Connects implementation team to prepare their professional development sessions, identifying coaching trends in the MyConnects database, and talking with the Program Managers to learn more about the kinds of support they want in order to better implement City Connects.
Prior to her current position, O’Neil experienced City Connects from many different vantage points. She began as a graduate student at Boston College studying under Mary Walsh, founder and executive director of City Connects. O’Neil also introduced City Connects to a middle school where she was a principal.
“Jill has been able to establish strong relationships with the Program Managers she supports, as well as with school and district personnel, helping Program Managers navigate challenges, problem-solve effectively, and strengthen Coordinators’ implementation of the City Connects practice in their schools,” said Director of Student Support Programs & Practice Cynthia Scheller.
What resonated with her about City Connects and integrated student support was its whole-child approach.
When she worked at campuses without a system of student support like City Connects, she saw the impacts of out-of-school factors on students’ behavior as well as on academics.
“It was kind of like putting out fires instead of building a system for real, holistic student support,” O’Neil said. She learned that grades alone are limited in providing educators with an understanding of how best to support students’ learning, and how important it is to have insight into their lives out of school.
When O’Neil became a principal, she brought this broader perspective to her staff to help address common student dilemmas such as dozing off in class, dilemmas that in many cases have more to do with off-campus stress and circumstances than academic motivation. It also led to her bringing City Connects to her school.
With City Connects in place, O’Neil worked with faculty and staff to learn about their students beyond their academic performance, to find the root cause of what was presenting a challenge.
The value and importance of that work brought O’Neil back to City Connects, where she is building on her experience as a school counselor, assistant principal, and principal to help schools implement the practice.
O’Neil values working with the City Connects team. “There are people here from a wide variety of fields,” she said. “When you have so many experts come together to make a difference for students, it’s really powerful.”
To highlight the diverse backgrounds and talents of the people who work at City Connects, we have been releasing videos that showcase our staff members on our YouTube channel.
Here are a few of our exceptional staff members whom we’ve posted videos of recently.
It really does take a village to provide integrated student support in schools, and we’re glad to have these staff members join us in this mission.
