Nathalia Garcia

Giovanni Romero standing in front of the school pods.

What are the pods around school used for?

I interviewed school staff like our counselor and assistant principal as well as students. These are people who knew more about the pods around school and what their purpose is even those who have experienced the inside of one.

What purpose do the pods in the front of the school have?

Nathalia Garcia: Do you know what the pods in the front of the school are used for?

Counselor, Laura Gutierrez: The pods in the front of the school are used for mostly counseling and then support for students if they need to test individually if they’re not being used. We also have people from different community agencies who have to meet with students, so meeting with students, mostly counseling but also related to school stuff, academics and testing.

NG: What is it like inside a pod what does it look and feel like on the inside?

LG: The pods are designed to be like soundproof, so you can focus on having a conversation. They have two little seats end-to-end on the walls where you can fit about two people on each side comfortably. There is a table that also has an outlet to connect a computer or anything else. The doors are glass but we put a privacy film over it for more privacy so people on the outside can’t see who you’re meeting with.

NG: Thank you for making time to talk to me and clarify more about the purpose of these pods.

Assistant principal tells us more about the school pods 

I asked our assistant principal, Wendy Perez, the same questions, asking what the pods are used for coming from her perspective as an assistant principal.

Nathalia Garcia: What are the pods around school used for from what you know?

Wendy Perez: So the pods in the front of the campus are extra offices that we can use for people who need to receive private meetings and things like that. An example I can think of is people who need speech services. We don’t have much space so one-on-one meetings can be conducted there. There are officially three pods around the school as well.

NG: Okay thank you for talking to me and helping me understand the pods better.

Why there are now pods at AJMS and what led to this decision

I also asked both Laura Gutierrez and Wendy Perez why there are now pods in our school, making this new improvement for our school. Wendy Perez also included some background information on JMS.

Laura Gutierrez: Since we have a very small school and, as you all know, counseling is very individual and personal, we didn’t have much space to talk to students privately and the pods are a solution to our problem. We have three different spaces we can talk to students privately and confidentially.

Wendy Perez: So Jefferson doesn’t have many extra classrooms and office spaces because it used to be a storage warehouse, so when the school was built there was enough space for classrooms but then there’s other things we couldn’t have, like a student council facility. There’s things we don’t have at our school that we want space for, so the pods are one way we get more people in the building without interrupting other things.

Students who have been inside of the pods

I asked some eighth graders I know who have been inside of a pod and could tell me more to clarify what they are used for and, coming from a student, what it feels and looks like to them.

Nathalia Garcia: Have you been inside of a pod and why were you in one?

Angel Valenzuela: Yea, I was in a pod with a counselor. I was in there having a one-on-one private conversation about my grades and eighth grade promotion requirements. Inside of a pod I noticed that it’s pretty cold, they have seats like couches to sit on, a table in the middle of the couches, and there is a big light on the ceiling.

NG: Thank you for talking to me about your experience in a pod.

I then asked Jaylah Everett about what her experience in a pod was like and she described more about what it feels like to be in one. She also states her reason for why she was in a pod.

JE: Inside of a pod it can get hot. When I first was in one it had a weird smell but I got used to it. Its quiet. You can’t really hear anything and I was in the pod by the first hall; you could hear a little bit of talking but not a lot. I was in the pod to talk to the counselor about some personal things.

NG: Thank you for telling me more about what its like in a pod from your perspective.