Jackson Hurst and Ethan Logue
9 minutes ago
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Working as a mental health professional in an elementary school is a very serious and important job. This role requires a lot of patience and love as you constantly check in on them and make sure their voices are heard.
JT Kinnear, a mental health specialist at Oscar Patterson Elementary School, is a second-grader at the school. His personality is always the first thing that shines through to everyone he meets.
“JT is very fun-loving, very caring and always goes above and beyond what we ask,” said Oscar Patterson Elementary Principal Charlotte Blue.
If you ask Kinnear himself, it becomes abundantly clear that he always puts others first and makes sure everyone, especially children, feels special.
“That’s the way you interact with them all the time. You’re always checking in with them and making sure they recognize you as someone here. If they need something, you can talk to them or they can go and ask for additional help,” says JT Kinnear, Registered Clinical Social Worker Intern.
His colleagues love having Kinnear on campus. He is always the first to lend a helping hand and goes above and beyond what is called for in his job.
“We are so grateful to have him because he helps in so many ways outside of his job. He always goes above and beyond what we ask of him. We’re definitely excited to have him on the team because he’s always willing to do it.” Charlotte Blue added.
One of Kinnear’s favorite things about working in schools is being able to instill lifelong values and lessons in children from an early age.
“That’s the exciting part for me, is that I can help teach and give those tools to students, and then we see the fruits of our actions right away. They may not be able to do it, but we’re giving them the tools and we know that one day it’s going to happen.” Let’s make that connection for them. ” JT Kinnear continued.
His colleagues speak highly of Kinnear.
“He’s dedicated to his job and dedicated to making it successful, and that’s important,” Blue said.
That’s what makes JT Kinnear a class act.
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