Nurturing the Human in “Excellence with Humanity”: Student Wellness at Rivers

At Rivers, wellness is a value, not just a trend. It’s essential to the school’s focus on student well-being. Excellence with Humanity has been Rivers’ philosophy for roughly 20 years, and a call to “cultivate an ecosystem of connection, well-being, and belonging” is articulated in the June 2025 strategic plan as one of  its three core pillars. It’s a notion that’s been in practice for quite some time—every trusted adult at Rivers plays a role in supporting students’ well-being, and each individual takes that role very seriously. As the new strategic plan reaffirms that commitment, student support professionals at Rivers lead the charge. 

Educating Through Counseling and Wellness Programming
“Something that the Rivers counseling and wellness team often talks about is wellness programming as proactive and preventative. That looks like a lot of different things, but it really is meant to be the ground level of supporting our students—all students—in different capacities,” says Director of Wellness Programming Megan McCarthy. 

McCarthy and Director of Counseling Services Eliza Adler provide critical resources to Rivers students, parents and caregivers, and professional community members alike. Where wellness programming is proactive, Adler explains that counseling is responsive to the individual needs of Rivers’ students and the community, which may be influenced by personal life circumstances as well as local tragedies, politics, and world events. While the cadence from week to week is somewhat unpredictable, the underlying commitment to providing a consistent, safe harbor for students remains a constant. 

At the start of the 2025–26 academic year, part-time school counselor Sarah Cucchiara joined the team in response to findings from the 2025 AISNE accreditation self-study, which identified a need for additional support. Her arrival continues the growth of a team that has evolved significantly in recent years. In the past, a single person served as counselor and director of wellness programming for the entire school. In a testament to Rivers’ continued commitment to student well-being, over the past four years, the counseling and wellness team has expanded to include more professionals on staff and more programming. The team also attends weekly student support meetings with grade deans, learning services, the school nurses, division heads, and members of the equity and engagement team to check in about needs. Whether or not a student comes to them directly, the counselors can offer support through students’ trusted adults on campus, whoever they may be. 

“One of the ways we can be most effective and successful in helping the whole community is by building relationships with the adults who work here long-term, so that every student is seen and cared for,” says Adler. “Part of our job is forming relationships in the adult community, because we may not be the ones to talk to a student directly, but we can use our expertise in many ways to consult on problems big and small.”

The counselors’ offices, located on the lower level of the Campus Center, are known as safe spaces at school where students can let their guard down. Equipped with colorful fidget toys, couches, mood lighting, and candy, the space offers something for everyone, even for students just curious about the space in between classes nearby. 

“It’s really sweet, because I’ve built these connections with kids who would never come to counseling one on one,” says McCarthy. “I love when they come in here, and they say they’ve never been in here before. Those are the moments where we destigmatize the counseling side of it, where we’re just a safe space for kids.” Safe spaces are important in building a community where students feel comfortable connecting and being themselves, and so is education about coping strategies and building confidence in stressful situations.

“All of our programming is education-first,” says McCarthy.  All-school wellness assemblies and targeted activities during advisory are integrated in all grades, from the Middle School through the Upper School.  At the crux of the wellness curriculum is the Grade 9 Wellness Seminar, which lays the groundwork for students during the fall semester of their first year in the Upper School. The eight-week program highlights topics including physical health, mental health, study skills, and how to access campus resources. The seminar also includes modules from EducaHealth, an organization that offers age-appropriate health education and substance abuse prevention. Its curriculum is also used in the Middle School and Grade 10.

“Regardless of whether they are returning to Rivers for Grade 9 or joining from another school, we want to give all students the building blocks to be successful throughout their Upper School career,” McCarthy says. 

Throughout the year, the broader community has the opportunity to engage with wellness guest speakers. In the 2025–26 academic year, the wellness team launched a speaker series for parents and caregivers called “Navigating Adolescent Development in an Interconnected World.” The series featured therapist Daniel Crump, co-founder of The Be Center, who spoke about finding balance in parenting, and Jill Walsh, a sociology lecturer and researcher at Boston University who studies how teens use digital spaces to shape their identities.

The common thread between that proactive wellness programming and responsive counseling is education, says McCarthy. “Giving people information and skills is one way to help them effectively long-term,” she says, adding that this also applies to parent programming. Ultimately, the goal is to give people tools to manage stressful and difficult emotions independently, while still being available as a resource for counseling and support. 

Considering the Intersection of Technology and Wellness
In 2023, Rivers formed the technology and wellness task force, which provides information and tools to help community members manage the intersection of wellness and ever-evolving technology. The group originally consisted of Adler and McCarthy, Director of Technology and Innovation John Adams, and the deans of student life from both the Middle School and the Upper School, and this year it has expanded to include a few faculty members. The task force brings together a group of people with a variety of skill sets to consider how cell phone use and social media affect well-being for adolescents in particular. The task force reviews other institutions’ phone policies as well as recent studies on the matter to come up with recommendations for policy at Rivers. 

“As we do with our classes, we wanted to take an interdisciplinary approach toward an aspect of our students’ experience at Rivers that we think needed special attention,” says Adams.

Research shows that phone bans during the school day have positive impacts on mental health, but the task force’s goal is even more specific than that. “Our priority is actually building community,” says McCarthy. “If we’re really looking at what Rivers needs, listening to the students’ needs, listening to what faculty have talked about, it’s a need for building community, whether that is building community spaces for students to spend time in or creating more opportunities for kids to connect with each other, and that comes out of our values, our strategic plan, and our mission.” Smartphones offer ways to connect with people all around the world, but if students are spending all their free time on their phones, it can inhibit in-person connection on campus.

Both divisions have policies in place regarding the use of devices. As of spring 2026, the Middle School policy required students to turn in their phones at morning check-in, to be returned before the start of co-curricular activities in the afternoon. In the Upper School, students are required to place their phones in a bin at the start of each class and to refrain from using phones during assemblies.

In addition to giving a talk for parents and caregivers, researcher Jill Walsh gave an all-school presentation on social media in February and conducted focus groups with Upper School students and faculty about phone usage at Rivers. At Boston University, Walsh studies the impact of digital media use on psychosocial well-being and development, and she works with schools across the country to develop best practices and policies for technology and social media use. In her presentation to students, Walsh explained how social media platforms leverage psychology to keep users on the app for long periods, and she shared some action items for digital hygiene. Insights from Walsh’s focus groups at Rivers, along with the task force’s research from the past three years, will inform recommendations for future phone and data policies at Rivers.

Beyond the task force’s work on phone policies, education on the relationship between technology and wellness is also integrated into the curriculum and programming. In the summer of 2024, Rivers announced a partnership with The Social Institute to implement its #WinAtSocial curriculum, a series of online lessons focused on technology and well-being. Used in the Middle School through Grade 10, including in the Grade 9 Wellness Seminar, the modules are interactive and serve to get kids talking.  

Adams, who teaches a tech and wellness unit in the Grade 9 Wellness Seminar, says he’s learned from those conversations, too. He finds that when asked to report their own screen-time statistics, Grade 9 Rivers students set themselves apart from the prevailing narrative around adolescents and cell phones. 

“Kids get out their phones, they open up their screen time apps, and they just erupt in chatter,” Adams says. Students tell each other about the different restrictions they have set on their phones and the rules they’ve given themselves to foster a more mindful relationship with technology. 

“For me, it was eye-opening. We have a lot of kids being really thoughtful about their phone use, and I was able to come to that realization because this curriculum opened up space for kids to talk, think about their own data, and do so in a safe environment,” Adams says. “Giving them the opportunity to have a voice in this discussion and share their thoughts and ideas is really valuable,” he adds. 

Adams has also led a series of assemblies for Upper School students this academic year on artificial intelligence, which he says directly ties into another charge from the new strategic plan: to “incorporate emerging technologies.” 

The series kicked off with a session on how AI works, tips for using it effectively, and examples of its positive uses.  In the next session, Adams and the students explored community norms regarding human communication and addressed situations where AI has its limits. “Generative AI is something that people turn to in small or large rates in places where human connection could be more valuable,” says Adams. 

Rivers is a community that cares about “connection and belonging and relationships,” Adams says, and he encourages students to take advantage of that. As he put it in one Upper School meeting, “You are all motivated young people looking to be successful in so many different ways, and you are in your prime years for developing the skill that is a key ingredient to success: relationship building. You can do that by asking a teammate to get some food after practice, going up to talk to someone you have a crush on, asking a teacher about a question on a test, and everything in between.”

Ultimately, the technology and wellness task force, and education through The Social Institute and Adams’ AI series, are meant to promote a harmonious relationship between technology use, wellness, and the Rivers community. 

“My hope is that our use of technology models what the school values and cares about and helps us fulfill our mission,” says Adams. “Effective use of technology, or use that enhances or accelerates the work and learning done in class, comes when you’re putting relationships first, if you’re a curious consumer, if you’re using technology to show perseverance through a challenging class, or if you’re putting technology away to foster a community of connection, well-being, and belonging.”

Counseling and wellness falls under the broader umbrella of student support services and programming at Rivers. Also under that umbrella is the learning services team, composed of Jennifer Litman, director of learning services, Katie Sia, learning specialist, and the tutoring department, led by Kathy Dorrien. The learning services team, including the tutoring department, are housed in the Parsons Center for Learning, located in the lower level of the Carlin Building. The center also has a community space and a breakout room for flexible use. Before the center was renovated and renamed in the summer of 2023, Dorrien met with the architect to specifically advocate for spaces that would support students doing their best work.

Beyond finding a home in the Parsons Center for Learning, learning services as a program at Rivers has grown significantly in the past four years. Previously, the tutoring department covered elements that are now learning services offerings. In 2022, the program expanded with the addition of a part-time learning services coordinator and a commitment to offer one-on-one support to any student, provide teacher and parent/caregiver consultations, and develop teacher resources, such as individualized learning plans to support students. Litman joined the Rivers community in fall 2023, and in fall 2025, Sia joined the team in a part-time capacity. 

Litman and Sia emphasize that their support services are open to all students at Rivers. “We are available to anyone, with or without formal learning plans,” Litman says. The team offers general executive functioning support, such as helping with study skills and time management, as well as individual, targeted learning support and approval of learning accommodations, such as extra time on tests. 

As with any student service, the work is done in close partnership with other adults on campus. Working with teachers, deans, and advisors helps Litman and Sia determine the best resources to offer a given student. Litman and Sia also attend the weekly student support meetings for Middle School and Upper School.

Asking for help in a school environment that has a reputation for academic excellence can be daunting for many students, but Litman and Sia seek to reduce that stigma. “We will continue to normalize the need for help. Everyone needs support sometimes,” says Litman.

“Study Skills” is one module in the Grade 9 Wellness Seminar, and  Litman would like to expand the learning services curriculum across grade levels, as well. That early visibility in Grade 9 helps get some students who need support in the door. Others may come in via a parent or teacher referral or self-select when they recognize they could use the help. 

Those students who seek learning support are grateful for the results. “Learning services have helped me manage my time, stress, workload, and study strategies,” says one student. “Their ability to find time out of my busy schedule to meet gives me the extra help and motivation to get me through my academic week. I feel like I have a whole team behind my back who want to see me succeed.”

Litman hopes for further expansion of learning services offerings as well. “We would like to increase our teacher consultation and support,” she says. “This year, we developed and shared resources to help teachers understand student learning profiles and evaluations, as well as strategies for supporting students in the classroom. We would also like to offer topic-specific drop-in sessions for teachers  to provide more support and collaboration around helping them help their students.”

Tutoring, which requires payment and booking of appointments, offers another layer of academic support for students. Dorrien and two other professional tutors, Gitte Irving and Katerina Buff, work with students, usually in weekly 40-minute sessions. Their expertise is critical, says Dorrien. Tutors dive into specific content areas within history, math, Spanish, and science and provide support for general skills like reading comprehension and test preparation. 

Sessions provide structured, multisensory instruction with modeling and guided practice. Bringing years of training as learning specialists and experience in content areas, tutors often share ideas and collaborate to build the program. 

Dorrien emphasizes that tutoring is not meant to replace the primary connection between a student and a teacher, but that the one-on-one setting allows tutors to pay extra attention to how a student processes the material so they can tailor their support accordingly. Tutoring is also an opportunity to quash any negative perceptions a student may have about themselves and their ability to learn, and to help them gain academic confidence. 

“So much of learning is actively engaging with the material, and it’s hard to actively engage with the material when you don’t understand it or don’t know how to learn it,” says Dorrien. She explains that when students realize something is doable, they start to enjoy it more, which can lead to increased confidence and improved performance. 

Cultivating an Ecosystem of Connection, Well-Being, and Belonging
The strong interpersonal relationships and the community of care make Rivers a place families choose and alumni return to. That community is strengthened by the concrete support systems upheld by the counseling and wellness team, the learning services team, and a shared sense of responsibility and care throughout the Rivers community. 

Dorrien has been a tutor at Rivers since 1990, and the many students she’s helped over the years have gone on to do great things. A few years back, a student she had tutored many years earlier won a Rivers alumni award, and he asked Dorrien to attend the ceremony. 

“Now he is in education himself,” Dorrien says. “We keep in touch with former students because we love to see where they go and what they do. They’re such wonderful people to begin with, but just to see that growth over time is really rewarding.”

Sidebar: Programming by Students, for Students
In addition to taking part in the wellness programs Rivers offers, students have stepped up to lead their own initiatives to promote well-being.

In Psychology Club, led by Alicia Wen ’27 and Will Reidy ’28, students foster a supportive community where they can learn about psychology, practice self-care, and cultivate a positive mindset, whether in sports, music, academics, or other areas of life. Psychology Club was born out of a personal turning point for Wen. As a competitive golfer, she initially entered the world of sports psychology to navigate the mental demands of tournaments, but her research into the field sparked a broader mission.“I wanted to create a space where other students with an interest in psychology could come together,” she says. 

Reidy, also a golfer, shared her interest in psychology and signed on as a co-leader of the club. That interest has influenced his academic choices, too: He recently completed a research project in English class on sports psychology. 

The club functions as a collaborative space to dive into the mind in every context. Each month, Psychology Club focuses on a different theme related to psychology, such as goal-setting or flow state, and the leaders facilitate discussions that examine a specific facet of the theme. In addition to being a space for exploration, the club is also a space dedicated to supporting student wellness. With their faculty advisor, Megan McCarthy, the leaders share evidence-based strategies with students through school-wide initiatives, such as a wellness station during exam season and an educational bulletin board during Mental Wellness Month in January. Wen and Reidy’s goal in leading the club is to show other students how much the mind can dictate day-to-day life and to offer strategies in managing those thoughts and promoting overall well-being.

Another club addressing wellness, the Zen Den, is led by Jai Gardner ’27, Max Kaufman ’26, and Luke Taylor ’27. “Overall, the space is a place to decompress, where students should be comfortable to share their own thoughts,” says Kaufman. The club has garnered significant interest since its founding in 2024. Over 120 students are currently on the mailing list, and the typical turnout for weekly meetings is around 25 students. At club meetings, lights are dimmed or turned off, and yoga mats are provided for those who wish to lie down.

“A lot of clubs are based on talking and discussing with people,” says Gardner. “We make sure this is a place where you can sit in silence for 45 minutes if you need to.” 

In addition to finding moments of quiet reprieve, Zen Den participants also engage in guided activities together. Sometimes, the leaders share stories and poems, and some younger students have begun sharing, too. Jeff Nisbet, who teaches Mindfulness in Drawing as a visual arts course in the fall, has visited the club to lead a mindfulness activity. At the end of each club meeting, participants share things they’re grateful for. 

When he joined the club as a sophomore last year, Taylor appreciated the space for peer-to-peer connection about some of the challenges of high school. “I appreciated knowing that older students were feeling the same stress as me,” he says. As a club leader now, Taylor says it’s been rewarding to hear a similar sentiment from younger students about how they are benefiting from the Zen Den community.