#82 - Garrett Lavallee and His Mission of Choosing Love at Spaulding Academy & Family Services

Scarlett’s guest is Garrett Lavallee, principal and director of special education at Spaulding Academy & Family Services in Northfield, NH. Garrett wanted to go into social services to help children in need and carry on his family legacy at Spaulding which has been serving children who have dealt with child abuse and neglect for 150 years. His dad worked there for forty years so this school has always been a part of Garrett’s life and held a special place in his heart. 

Garrett has been at Spaulding Academy & Family Services for twenty three years and he believes that children need to feel safe and nurtured before they can focus on their academics. Spaulding looks at how trauma has influenced their students’ behaviors. The Spaulding mission statement is that ‘everyone deserves to love and be loved.’ And this applies to both the children and employees. Garrett collaborated with his staff when introducing the Choose Love program to let them know that, “We are on this mission together.” He encourages students and staff to use the Choose Love language in everyday actions. According to Garrett, the healing that has taken place has been incredible for both children and staff. The cultural shift and growth at Spaulding Academy because of the Choose Love program has been tremendous. 

Listen to this podcast to learn more about Garrett’s mission of Choosing Love with his staff and students.