Robert Spiller is a School Counselor at Connecticut IB Academy (CIBA) who has been in his role since the school’s opening. Through humor, active listening and relationship-building, he puts students at ease as he guides them through their IB requirements and post-graduation plans.
“He is a favorite of the students, but I would say as principal, something that I really appreciate from Mr. Spiller is that he is student first. The students depend on him to advise, whether it be on post-secondary plans or just day-to-day operations in the building. He really makes a difference in how they're doing and the decisions that they make,” said CT IB Academy Principal Michelle Marion.
In addition to guiding students on their coursework and the college application process, he is in charge of the master schedule at CIBA. He has worked to think outside the box to look for new course opportunities for students and collaborates with teachers and administrators to improve the CIBA schedule every year. He has also enhanced the IB program by developing a more reflective process for the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirement and the Service as Action (SA) requirement. Because of this work, students think more deeply about how their actions and service can affect the world around them. Mr. Spiller has also successfully rejuvenated the spirit point system at CIBA, leading to a significant increase in student participation across school-wide events.
Marion says he’s successful in his work because of the meaningful relationships he builds with students. This helps him provide guidance in an approachable way and minimize student stress as they make choices throughout their 4 years at CIBA.
“He has the ability to talk to the students where they are, and he's very down to earth, so I think that the staff enjoy that part, so do I, and so did the students,” said Marion.
Learn more about Robert Spiller in the Q&A below.
What brought you to this role and how long have you been here at CIBA?
Spiller: I have been here for 27 years, since the beginning, since the school opened. Before that, I was an auditor for the state of Connecticut. My bachelor's degree is in accounting. I did that for 12 years and decided that it wasn't fitting with who I was, so I went back to school to be a school counselor.
I wanted to be a better counselor than I had when I was in high school. I felt that the job of school counselor was better fitting with my personality and my beliefs, and I thought that it would be a much more fulfilling job.
You also have deep roots here in East Hartford.
Spiller: Yes. I was an East Hartford student, kindergarten through 12th grade, graduated from East Hartford High School quite some time ago. My family has been in East Hartford forever.
Really, when I was looking for a job, it was my first thought would be East Hartford, because I had a great experience with my education here in East Hartford.
What does a typical day look like for you in your role?
Spiller: It's a busy day. The one thing I do like about it is that it's always changing. There are always things that happen, that you have to respond to quickly. I do a lot of work with students. I'm also in charge of all the scheduling, which takes up a lot of my time. I'm also the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and Service as Action (SA) supervisor for the school, which I really like because I grew up in a family where community service was very important. So, I like doing that with the students and seeing the things that they come up with to do.
This work is so individual with each student, how do you connect with them on these different topics?
Spiller: I try to connect with them more on a personal level. I think that as a school counselor, we're a little lucky because our relationship with the students is different than a teacher. I don't give them homework. I don't give them tests. You know, I do talk with the students who aren’t doing their work in class to try and get them to do it, but it's a different kind of relationship with the students. And we talk a lot about personal things, so you do get a more personal connection with the students. You know, if they're having trouble at home, trouble in relationships, they talk to us about that.
I think what a lot of people don't understand about IB is that, people think that it's an elite school, and we have all these great students and they do great work. And they do great work, and we do have great students, but they're high school kids with the same problems and the same attitude as every other high school. I've always said that our kids are just like every other kid, they just get more homework.
Listening is probably the most important, to really listen to them and have empathy for what they're going through, to try and help them find solutions for their problems. And there's a lot of fun times and serious times. You know, you have to know when it's serious and when they're just here for fun. You talk to them, so I think that helps. I also have lunch duty, which is a really nice time to connect with all of the students. Because they're a little different in lunch than they are in class, so I really like that.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
My favorite thing is when a student, the students who come in and struggle, we choose our students by lottery and it's a very rigorous program, so we do have some students that if we looked at criteria, we probably wouldn't have accepted them. But it's a lottery. They come here, they get a chance, they work really hard and they do well. And you can see that growth over four years. A student who came in freshman year who didn't do the work and everything, by senior year they were working hard and they really take pride in what they do. I think that is the best thing to really see students try the IB program and get a lot out of it. You know, they go to schools that they didn't think they could go to, and to really just see them grow over the four years to become learners.
After 27 years, what keeps you going? What keeps you excited to come to work?
Spiller: I have been here for a long time, but I love this school. I love the students. I love working here. It's really not a chore to come into work. I think the fact that it's always changing and I have the advantage of being the first counselor here, and for a long time, the only counselor here. So, I was never told, “Well, that's not the way we do it here,” “Well, we can't do that here.” The principals have been willing to try new things. We've tried a lot of new things and I think that they've been great improvements. This is a different school, and we try different things. So, it just makes it more interesting, more fun to be able to come up with an idea and be able to do it and see it through.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.