For Yolanda Womble, serving as school counselor at Broadway Elementary School is more than another step in an 18-year career with Lee County Schools. It is a return to the place where her career in education began and an opportunity to become the kind of trusted adult she believes every child deserves.
“The best thing about being here at Broadway is that I’m home,” Womble said. “I started my educational career here as a teaching assistant (TA) in the exceptional children (EC) department. To come back so many years later just feels like I’m coming home, and that’s the best thing.”
Throughout her career, Womble has served Lee County Schools in several roles, including teacher assistant and bus driver, before eventually becoming a school counselor in her 50’s. Each stop along the way, she says, strengthened her belief that the most important part of working in education is making sure students know they matter.
“Being a school counselor here at Broadway is all about forming relationships with the students,” she said. “It is my top priority. Forming the relationships and following up with students to see their progress is really special.”
Behind Womble’s desk is a simple message that guides her work each day: You Matter.
“That is my motto. It is my mantra,” she smiled. “I want them to know that they are valuable. Somebody on this planet values them. Someone will listen to them. There are compassionate people out there, here in this school, that will help give them tools that they need to succeed.”
That philosophy shapes how Womble begins each school day. She watches students as they enter the building, looking for the child who may need an encouraging word, a listening ear or simply someone willing to slow down and notice.
“When those students walk through those doors, I am looking for who needs me,” she explained. “If they come through those doors sad, I’m thinking, “I’m going to see you today.’ … The whole time I just want to allow them to be heard and feel seen.”
Womble understands the power of that support in part because of her own experience growing up.
Her childhood included moves between Sanford, Philadelphia and New York, along with periods of instability. She attended schools in several communities, including McIver School, West Lee, and Lee Senior here in Lee County.
No matter where her family moved, she said, Sanford and Lee County Schools always felt like home.
“These are my roots,” Womble said. “No matter where we went, we still came back home. Lee County Schools has always been where the investment began, and it's why I love being here.”
Those experiences also help her connect with students facing difficult circumstances today.
“What I’m doing now, I am being the person that I needed as a kid,” Womble highlighted. “A lot of the things that our kids are going through now, I have experienced myself … So I take my life experiences and I think about the question of, ‘If I were this age, who is the person that I would want to show up for me?’ That’s what I’m doing every day. Being that person.”
Womble’s commitment to showing up for students was built over years of service.
As a teacher assistant, she remembers working hard to make students in the EC program feel proud of who they were.
“When I showed up in the EC Department here at Broadway, I told my kids we were going to be the coolest kids on campus, and we were!” she recalled. “A lot of kids would be like, ‘Can we come with y’all?’ and I would say, ‘No, this is my squad!”
As a bus driver, showing up meant early mornings in the dark and cold, making sure students were safely transported to a place where they could learn, eat and feel cared for.
“I would always pray that we wouldn’t have those cold, 20 degree days. My whole thought was I have to get you on here as fast as I can so I can get you to a warm place, to a warm meal, and be with some warm people who are going to open their arms to accept you, teach you and care for you,” Womble explained.
Her path to becoming a counselor was supported by mentors throughout Lee County Schools. Womble specifically credits Candace Smith with helping shape her approach to the profession.
“She has poured a lot into me and helped me understand the importance of being present,” Womble said. The idea of being fully present was reinforced this summer during the Accelerate Learning Conference as after attending a session focused on being present for students and yourself, Womble committed herself to being even more intentional.
“If I’m going to expect my kids to show up, they need to expect me to show up,” she smiled.
For Womble, showing up does not end when a difficult conversation is over. It means following up, celebrating progress, and continuing to remind students that someone believes in them.
She wants students to know that their current circumstances do not define their future – and that there will always be someone at Broadway ready to cheer them on.
“I want to show up for you and be your biggest cheerleader,” Womble said.
After 18 years with Lee County Schools, Womble’s title and responsibilities have changed, but the heart of her work has remained remarkably consistent: build relationships, see the students in front of her, and make sure they know their life and their future have value.
At Broadway Elementary where her career first began, that mission has brought her full circle.
She is home.