“I take a fatherly approach,” says Jermaine Coley, a second-year school counselor at PS 284 in Brooklyn. “I treat my students like I treat my babies at home.”

Coley's warm, hands-on approach has made him a respected and beloved figure at his Brownsville school.

Coley began work in 2005 as a school aide at Bedford-Stuyvesant's MS 143, where his mother was also a school aide, before making the transition to the role of paraprofessional. After earning an undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees, one in special education and another in school counseling, Coley became a school counselor at PS 284 in 2023.

Coley sees his new role as a natural extension of his work as a paraprofessional. But as a school counselor, he says, he can “dig in,” with more of a focus on personal issues. He says he helps students “work on goals that hold them back from learning, so their issues aren’t a hindrance to the educational process.”

Coley keeps a careful eye on all aspects of the mental and physical health of his students, even their hair. For a child with behavior problems who wasn’t getting regular haircuts, he arranged for the student to get a trim, knowing that the experience would boost the child’s confidence. “When you look good, you feel good,” he says.

Coley is working on a plan to take students who need haircuts to a career and technical education high school that offers a barbering program.

It's all part of the care that Coley takes in formulating an individualized plan to support each of his students. “With some students, we work on self-control,” he says. “Sometimes it’s a little ‘tough love’ — we focus on the behavior that caused them to get into that situation.”

Coley takes pride in fostering a sense of community among the students and staff. He commutes each morning from New Jersey but still manages to arrive at PS 284 by 6 a.m. He says working at the school resonates with him because he grew up in Brownsville.

Coley has boosted PS 284’s sense of cohesiveness and school spirit, says Chapter Leader Kimberly Villafane. “As soon as he got here, he hit the ground running,” she said, as he tried out new ideas to incentivize students to do their best.

In his “state of the day” idea, for instance, Coley designated one of the country’s 50 states for each of the first 50 days of school this year. Over the school’s public announcement system each morning, he announced the name of the day’s state, its capital and a fun fact about the state. A map of the United States in the hallway helped students visualize the geography.

At Christmas, Coley gave presents to students who needed extra recognition or support or who might not have otherwise received any gifts.

Coley’s counseling room is filled with stuffed animals, games, a punching bag and sensory toys. Students love to visit. “If they’re upset about something, they find their way to my room and hit the punching bag or play with LEGOs,” he says.

He keeps extra clothes on hand, and he’s acquired a Cricut machine, so students can decorate their new garments — turning what might have been an embarrassing experience into an opportunity for creative expression.

“I feel like I’m making some kind of a difference," Coley says. “At the end of the day, I know that somebody’s child has been affected by kind words from me.”