Empowering Leaders, Strengthening Systems: A Greenfield Impact Story
By: Lydia McNeily
Greenfield Union Elementary School District in Monterey County, California is more than a team. They are leaders. And when school counselors and school social workers are empowered to lead and inspired to serve, systems are strengthened, families are connected, and students thrive. This is what it looks like to be Empowered to Lead and Inspired to Serve.
A Partnership Grounded in Trust and Purpose
Stepping into the partnership with Greenfield USD came with a deep sense of responsibility. Even before the work began, Greenfield’s school counseling team had been described by a trusted colleague as exceptional. That trust mattered, and it did not take long to see why. From the outset, Greenfield’s school counselors and school social workers demonstrated strong professional practice, heart, and an unwavering commitment to students.
From the beginning, the team cultivated a culture grounded in openness, reflection, and shared leadership. School counselors and school social workers consistently centered student success, setting the tone for a year defined by collaboration and collective responsibility. Equally impactful was the opportunity to partner with Myra Villagomez, Director of FACE and Pupil Services, whose vision and leadership created the conditions for practitioners to lead, innovate, and thrive.
One Guiding Question, One Unified Team
This year marked a pivotal shift for the district, anchored by a clear guiding question: How can service duplication and overlap be eliminated while ensuring no students are overlooked? Guided by the MTMDSS© framework, school counselors and school social workers were intentionally brought together as one unified team.
The first step was clarity. Together, the team defined roles and responsibilities across all three tiers of support, ensuring alignment, equity, and shared ownership. By clarifying who leads, who supports, and how collaboration happens at each tier, the team moved from working alongside one another to leading together. Duplication decreased, collaboration strengthened, and systems became more student-centered by design.
Leading With Data and Continuous Improvement
With roles clearly defined, the team stepped fully into data-informed leadership. Grounded in shared school and district priorities, school counselors and school social workers launched the PLC cycle and developed SMART goals aligned to those priorities. Monthly PLC meetings became structured leadership spaces where teams analyzed data, identified gaps, and monitored progress.
Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, teams planned targeted lessons and interventions grounded in root-cause analysis, delivered instruction with purpose, studied pre- and post-data, and acted by refining practices and strengthening systems. This cycle created space for critical questions: What is working? For whom? Where do we need to adjust? As a result, Tier 1 instruction was strengthened, Tier 2 supports refined, and decisions driven by evidence rather than assumptions.
Site visits provided individualized coaching and site-based support, allowing teams to deepen implementation of PLCs and the PDSA cycle. These educators were not simply given tools. They were given the time, trust, and space to collaborate deeply, monitor impact, and lead sustainable systems change.
Shared Leadership in Action
Through this work:
School counselors exercised instructional leadership by refining lesson plans to strengthen the school counseling curriculum.
School social workers led Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, ensuring students with elevated needs were identified early and supported intentionally.
Together, the team refined the school counselor and school social worker roles and responsibilities, aligning vision with daily practice.
Districtwide PLC protocols and agendas were clarified, strengthening coherence across sites.
Peer feedback strengthened lesson plans, reinforcing a culture of collective responsibility and continuous improvement.
Extending Impact to Families and Communities
Leadership extended beyond school walls. As a unified team, school counselors and school social workers participated on district leadership teams, hosted family meetings aligned to classroom topics, and created welcoming spaces through Cafecitos con las Consejeras. Families received information about lessons, supports, and student progress in both English and Spanish, reinforcing transparency and trust. Newsletters and midyear reports further strengthened communication and partnership.
Improved Student Outcomes
School counselors and school social workers are proud to have contributed to improved student outcomes in Greenfield:
Chronic absenteeism declined 0.5%, from 11.6% to 11.2% in 2025.
Suspension rates declined 1.2% in 2025 and have declined two years in a row, from 3.7% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2025.
