Pivot Charter School’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Coordinator Kristen Poitras always wanted to work with children – even when she was a child herself. While in college, Poitras became particularly interested in helping teenagers and at-risk youth through education.

Poitras earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from San Francisco State University and a Single Subject English Teaching Credential from California State Sacramento while focusing her studies on social justice and equity in education. After graduating, Poitras worked as an English and reading intervention teacher for two years in a traditional public school.

“I felt that the traditional model was leaving out the most vulnerable students who needed something different,” Poitras says. “I was excited by the opportunity to be part of that ‘something different’ for those students in the option that Pivot provides.”

Now as the MTSS Coordinator at Pivot, Poitras said she loves providing a holistic approach to education for every Pivot student.

“MTSS is all about finding the resources that our students need to succeed,” Poitras says. “It is completely individualized, which fits perfectly within our Pivot model and ensures that all of our students get what they need and no one falls through the cracks.”

Poitras says she knows this individualized approach to education can help students during these unprecedented times.

“I know these can be very difficult times for young people, and I have seen how one caring adult can really make a huge impact on their life,” Poitras says. “At Pivot, we are able to build strong relationships with students and work with them through the years.”

This past summer, Poitras went camping on the California coast and at Pinecrest Lake. She also loves reading and watching live theater or films in her free time.