Student Support as Infrastructure: Hidden Leadership | Sherann Alkins

Student Support as Infrastructure: Hidden Leadership | Sherann Alkins What if your counseling team isn't a support service sitting next to the school, but the infrastructure the whole school depends on? In many schools, the people who understand students most deeply (counselors, social workers, and student support staff) sit outside the leadership structures that set policy and shape culture. In this episode, Bridget Johnson talks with Sherann Alkins, founder of Counselor and Concierge and a 20-plus-year school counselor, assistant principal, and principal, about what changes when a school treats student support as central infrastructure rather than a department or program. Sherann names the "hidden leadership" of these teams as two things, visibility and capacity, and shows why their data has to translate to achievement, not stay siloed in an attendance report. Bridget and Sherann, who share a restorative-practices foundation, dig into the work both have spent careers on: building trust across adults so the presenting problem is rarely mistaken for the actual problem, giving counselors a seat at the leadership table, and designing with people instead of doing things to them. They get specific about advisory as a real psychosocial space rather than a homeroom substitute, the structural conditions that make belonging felt, and the harder questions Sherann is now researching about AI, student voice, and student mental health. This is a conversation for anyone building strong student life systems and tired of doing it alone. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why student support functions as central school infrastructure, not a standalone service or side department What "hidden leadership" means in practice, and how visibility and capacity unlock a counseling team's impact How to make student support data translate to achievement instead of stalling at attendance numbers Why counselors and deans belong on the leadership team, and how to claim that seat using clear goals and ASCA standards What "design with you, not for you" protects, and what breaks down when schools skip the "with" Why advisory so often falls short, and what it takes to make it a true psychosocial space students will take ownership of What ethical AI integration demands when student voice, authenticity, and student mental health are on the line 🕐 KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 Introduction to the Legacy of Education 02:57 Family Influence on Educational Perspectives 06:06 The Evolution of Student Support Roles 10:23 Transforming Student Support into Infrastructure 13:30 Building Trust and Relationships in Schools 18:14 Navigating Change in Post-Pandemic Education 20:09 The Impact of Misalignment Among Adults on Students 21:45 The Importance of Showing Up Whole 24:00 Building Trust and Support Systems 24:22 Empowering School Counselors 26:30 Designing with Students, Not for Them 28:52 The Role of Advisory Systems 31:41 Creating Safe Spaces for Belonging 34:22 The Role of Counseling in School Culture 35:18 Navigating AI in Education 39:55 Current Work and Future Aspirations 42:16 Introduction to Student Life Assessment 42:45 Transforming Student Life Evaluation About Sherann Alkins: Sherann Alkins, LICSW, CAGS, is the founder of Counselor and Concierge and a former school counselor, assistant principal, and principal with more than two decades at the intersection of student support, school culture, and leadership. A Doctor of Social Work candidate at USC, she researches school counseling leadership, trust and belonging, and the ethical integration of AI into student-centered practice, and she partners with school and district leaders to make the hidden leadership of counseling teams visible. 🌐 Find Sherann across all platforms: @counselorandconcierge About The Table Podcast Series: Hosted by Bridget Johnson, founder of the Deans' Roundtable, former Dean of Students at Milton Academy, and educational consultant, the show offers expert conversations on school culture, student life, leadership, belonging, wellbeing, and the future of education. 📣 Subscribe so you never miss a conversation that matters. 🔔 Hit the bell to get notified when new episodes drop. 💬 We want to hear from you: Where do your counseling and student support teams sit right now, inside your leadership structure or outside it? Tell us in the comments. 📚 RESOURCES: Visit the Deans' Roundtable: https://deansroundtable.org Student Life Assessment Program: https://deansroundtable.org/k-12-stud... LinkedIn:   / bridget-johnson510   Email: [email protected] Connect with Sherann: @counselorandconcierge across all platforms #thetablepodcast #deansroundtable #studentlife #deanofstudents #schoolcounseling #studentsupport #k12leadership #schoolculture #studentbelonging #restorativepractices #educationalleadership #aiineducation