By Susan Messier

“This is a doorway into each other’s lives,” describes Emily, a 10th-grader, who is talking about her time spent each day with her advisory. Emily, like every Overlake student, has a place where she meets with a handful of other students of the same grade each day for 15 minutes. It’s Overlake’s Advisory Program, and it’s something that has defined the Overlake experience for students for decades.

“The Advisory Program is really a special thing at Overlake, and it’s an important part of student life each day,” explains Erin Gabriel, advisory team leader for 10th grade. “It creates space for much-needed down time during the day, as well as a chance to communicate information and form a smaller ‘family’ within the grade level.”

The Advisory Program is Overlake’s answer to homeroom, but instead of a large number of students meeting as a way to take attendance, Overlake’s program focuses on small groups led by a member of the school’s faculty or staff team for the purpose of support, whether it be academic, social or emotional.

“I function a little bit like a mother,” says Gabriel, who has been taking care of the same 10 students since ninth grade and will advance through upper school with them through their senior year.

“Homeroom is one of my favorite parts of the day,” says Gabriel. “I love connecting with those students and getting to know them on a deeper level, and I love that it is a four-year journey that we take together!”

Adult advisers are the glue that keep the program together, at least that’s how the advisees see it. “We could be just 10 kids coming together, but having an adult leader has allowed us to have a deeper connection,” says Ben, one of Gabriel’s advisees.

And layered on top of each advisory is the advisory team leader (ATL) for each grade level. Their role is to look out for the overall well-being of the grade and to identify themes or trends that are occurring among each grade level and address them if needed.

“I actually don’t know if our sixth-grade students are aware of the ATL, and honestly, I’m not sure if there is a need for our kiddos to know who the ATL is because I’d much rather have all our responsibilities equally shared between each member,” explains Jen Pan, sixth-grade ATL. “The only exception would be that as the ATL, I am not only an advocate for the students of the grade, but also an advocate for the advisory team.”

Upper school students meet in their advisory three times a week and then sit together as a group during upper school announcements twice a week. Middle school advisory meets four times a week and then gather together once a week on Tuesdays for middle school announcements. So ultimately each homeroom meets together one time a day as a check-in.

“I won the lottery with my homeroom,” says Maddie a senior in Mia Wall’s advisory. “We have a good blend of students from all different social groups. Mia advocates for us when we come with her with concerns. Homeroom is a grounding space for students within a busy school day.”

“My homeroom is super fun! We get to spend our time playing games and hanging out,” says Parie, a fifth-grader in Patricia Noble and Jill Bowles’ advisory.

“We played silent ball today, it was so fun,” explains Sophia, a fifth-grader in Kerri Hunt’s advisory. “Ms. Hunt always comes up with cool ideas to mix things up in homeroom.”

“In a way, advisory becomes your family and like with any family, there will be times when we chat, play, share, and laugh,” explains Pan. “There will be other times when we discuss, learn, and serve. The consistency of support is vital to all students at Overlake as it provides them with a brief pause from their nonstop day at school.”

Susan Messier is the director of communication at the The Overlake School.