PaliHi School Psychologist McGowan Wins Petrick Award

At 98, Murphy is the oldest member of the faculty at Palisades Charter High School, according to his colleague, school psychologist Bella McGowan. Well, not in human years, actually. You see, Murphy is McGowan’s dog, a Wheaten terrier, and the 14-year-old canine comes to work with her every single morning. ‘He started coming eight years ago,’ McGowan tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘I had him trained as a therapy dog. He has a policy written with his name, which allows him to be on campus all day. Right now, he’s lying at my feet, stretched out. ‘He’s provides comfort and unconditional love every single day,’ McGowan continues. ‘The kids love him. He has a wonderful personality.’ McGowan credits Murphy as an integral part of why she won a Lori Petrick Excellence in Education Award in May. ‘He’s probably more recognized at this school than I am,’ McGowan says. ‘Kids come just to cry in his fur.’ In order to apply for the Petrick Award, McGowan had to submit either a 10-minute videotape or a 2,000-word essay describing her teaching methods and missions. Of course, McGowan opted for writing the essay. ‘Most of what I do is confidential, and you can’t shoot a video of me working with a group,’ she explains. McGowan received her B.A. from UCLA and her M.Ed. from Harvard University. Before arriving at PaliHi, she worked as a school psychologist at various Westside schools, including a brief stint at Paul Revere Middle School. The West Los Angeles resident took a break only to raise her kids, now grown: her daughter Sarah Kate, 23, is taking up her mom’s line of work, studying clinical psychology at the University of Illinois; her son, Sammy, 20, is a history major at Brown University. ‘But the longest time I’ve worked at a school has been Pali for 13 years,’ McGowan says. ‘I love the community, the school, the staff. There’s nothing better than the adolescent.’ McGowan is the only psychologist on campus, and the number of students that she sees every day ‘range dramatically depending upon the situation.’ She estimates that she sees anywhere from a dozen students to 50 to 100 students if there’s a crisis on campus. Despite the town’s affluent reputation, ‘PaliHi is probably one of the most integrated schools you can walk through,’ she says. ‘That’s the misnomer, that because we’re situated in a wealthy neighborhood, most of the students are affluent. They’re not. We’re very diverse here. ‘Teenagers are the same anywhere that you go,’ McGowan says. ‘At Pali, we have a huge cross-section of students from over 100 zip codes, which makes for an energetic, diverse student body.’ Of course, over the past 13 years, the nature of teenage socialization has mutated dramatically. Thank technology for that. ‘Technology is the good news and the bad news,’ McGowan says. ‘Certainly, as a parent, I think that one of the greatest inventions was the cell phone. First, there was penicillin, then the cell phone. It provided immediacy, access to your child.’ Then came the down side: ‘Cyberharm, cyber-bullying, sexting, kids giving out too much information. Kids don’t seem to understand that anything you do on Facebook or on the Internet, you might as well be doing on a billboard. ‘Depression is a large problem,’ McGowan continues. ‘Two students passed away last year, the year before that a student, and two students who had just graduated, had passed away. The summer of 2007 was very difficult. ‘Typically, if there’s a crisis, I’ve come back to assist during the summer,’ such as when PaliHi student Dillon Henry died in a car crash on Sunset in July 2007. McGowan has also seen the economic meltdown adversely affect her students, ‘whose families are losing work. There’s a lot more distress and unhappiness in the last year. There’s a lot more stress. The best thing students can do is take care of themselves. If they’re doing what they need to do, they’re helping their parents ultimately.’ The PaliHi staff is about to go through a rough patch. Six teachers, four administrators (including the principal), and seven classified staff members, may be leaving this summer. Will it add to teen angst on campus? ‘For the students, no,’ McGowan says. ‘I think we have a highly compassionate staff. That’s remained constant all the years that I’ve been here. Overall, we have a very strong core of teachers and faculty to support the students. She notes that graduate students working toward their M.A degrees in psychology from Antioch University in Culver City will be working at the school on a weekly basis to counsel high schoolers. ‘Every single year I look to expand my group,’ McGowan says. ‘We’re going to work on our ability to intervene quickly.’ Back in 2004, McGowan told the Post, ‘This year, I’m starting a peer mentoring program to help ninth grade students feel more comfortable. I want kids to benefit from an upper-classmate’s experiences. I want them to feel safe and to learn how to talk to one another; these are important life skills.’ Five years later, her appetite to constantly improve her craft has not diminished. Last fall, McGowan reports: ‘Under the generous sponsorship of the Dillon Henry Foundation, 26 students and five staff members participated in a weekend retreat at the Ojai Foundation, and learned the meaning of ‘council.’ In the coming school year, I’m hoping that this council will be formally integrated into the ninth grade freshman transition program. Student mentoring will emerge from this and in partnership with another new program, Link Crew.’ She plans to spend the summer thinking of strategies for the year ahead. ‘I’m also going to a bullying conference in June to work on girl issues and bullying overall,’ McGowan says. ‘Every year, I try to hone my craft and learn new skills. Summer is a time to be reflective on how to improve next year.’ McGowan credits her family for keeping her grounded and supporting her as she applied for the Petrick Award, including her husband, Mark McGowan, a physician in Santa Monica. ‘Our 25th wedding anniversary is June 30,’ she says, beaming. As for the $2,000 grant that comes with her award, McGowan says, ‘I will give some of it back toward school beautification, toward a garden on campus.’ And just how will McGowan reward her loyal associate, that faithful canine colleague lying at her feet? ‘Murphy is rewarded every single day that he comes to work,’ McGowan says. ‘This is what keeps him young!’