Ms. Alice Goodrich is the high school’s newest social worker and Spanish teacher.
“The first few months have been interesting because I get to meet totally different groups of people,” said Goodrich.
Goodrich, a graduate of Boston University, was compelled to work as a school social worker and teacher because of her interest in working with children and mental health.
“Wellesley really understands and gets [the needs of mental health students] and wants to support students,” Goodrich said.
Her small office on the second floor will be the place where many students make deeper connections with Goodrich and what she has to offer here. Goodrich is not only limited to working with high school students; she makes a daily commute to the middle school to work with students there as well.
The exposure that she has from both environments helps her understand the mindset of Wellesley students.
“Students I can see are very driven, hard working, conscientious, and thoughtful,” Goodrich said.
Kate Chase ’22, a student in Goodrich’s Spanish class, agrees that Goodrich does an excellent job incorporating community into her classroom.
“We always have projects where we are randomly assigned with students in the class we haven’t worked with yet, so we get to know everyone in the class,” Chase said.
“I attempt to make everyone feel comfortable about taking risks. Especially in a language class, you really have to make everyone feel comfortable and put themselves out there, so that’s what I try to do. I hope that I’m somewhat successful in that,” Goodrich said.