School Social Work
If the only task of teachers was to teach the three R's, their jobs
would be easy. But as we know, many factors conspire to make it difficult
for some young people to make it through school—among them,
poverty, substance abuse, community violence, early sexual activity
and family conflicts.
School social workers pick up where teachers leave off. They are
perhaps the professionals best equipped to address the social and
psychological issues that can block academic progress. Through counseling,
crisis intervention and prevention programs, they help young people
overcome the difficulties in their lives, and as a result, give them
a better chance at succeeding in school.
About 5% of the nations approximately half a million social workers
work in the schools, primarily in public school settings. Besides
helping youth with traditional academic problems, social workers
aid others whose specific social, psychological, emotional or physical
difficulties put them at risk for falling through the cracks. These
include homeless youth, gay and lesbian youth and young people with
physical or mental health disabilities.
Because social workers are trained to think of innovative solutions
to complex problems, their interventions often make a strong difference
for young people at risk for academic failure.
Here is one example. A school near Indianapolis was experiencing
a high dropout rate, so the school’s social worker, Peter,
created a program targeting middle-school children with poor academic
records and behavior problems. His aim was to catch problems early
on before they evolved into more serious conduct that are often precursors
to dropping out.
After studying the situation, Peter decided to create a voluntary
support group that addressed issues important to achieving academic
success. He asked teachers to pass out brochures detailing the program
which urged interested students to sign up.
From the start, the students who signed on were involved in all
aspects of the program. Their first step was to sign a “contract” agreeing
to meet realistic goals for the year. One young man, for instance,
agreed to raise two of his six grades which at the time were four “F's" and
two “D's". A young woman who had missed many days of school
agreed to cut her absentee rate by one third.
The group also met twice a week for 30-minute intervals, where they
discussed topics of their choice, including vocational planning,
substance abuse and teen suicide. During all of these meetings, Peter's
message was consistent: You can succeed in school. Indeed, by the
end of the year, more than half the youngsters had fulfilled their
contracts, and the other half had made substantial improvements.
Both teachers and fellow students remarked on the positive changes
they saw in the youngsters.
School social workers make an impact in many other arenas as well.
For instance, they have designed successful violence-prevention programs.
They’ve created alternative programs for gay and lesbian youth
who might otherwise leave school because of peer taunting and abuse.
And they are experts at intervening in crises such as teen suicides,
alcohol-related deaths or school violence. In these situations, social
workers use a variety of organizational and empathic tools to help
both students and the community address their grief, to heal and
to move on.
http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/school/default.asp
http://www.helpstartshere.org/kids_and_family/schools_and_communities/default.html
References:
-
- Gibelman, M. (1995). What Social Workers Do (4th ed.).
Washington, DC. NASW Press.
- NASW (2000) Social Work Speaks (5th ed.).
Washington, DC NASW Press.
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