School Social Workers

A School Social Worker plays a major role in developing a student as a complete person. “School Social Workers provide a vital link among the school, home and community” (www.sswaa.org/about/career, retrieved 10/17/05). Nationwide school districts are now beginning to realize that a social worker in the school will help bridge the gap between home and education for students. Social work in general is a job that requires one to help others. And in this case, one can help children achieve their goals in order to become productive adults in society. A school social worker can help a child with issues unrelated to school, but these issues may also be affecting a child’s learning capabilities.

A School Social Worker’s office is primarily based in the school. They may also be located in special education placement offices, Head Start Centers, counseling centers and early prevention programs (www.naswdc.org/pubs/choices/choices1, retrieved 10/12/05). However, the worker may be required to leave the office to visit with the children within the school. If a child is having problems at home that are affecting his or her education, the School Social Worker may be required to visit the child and the parents at home. Some children may require resources outside of the home and the school, so a worker may have to visit these places in order to set up the necessary resource for the child. A School Social Worker works closely with the child’s teacher. If the teacher notices anything wrong that is affecting the student’s ability to learn, it is their job to report these findings to the school social worker. The social worker in turn begins to investigate these problems and try to see if this is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed. He or she can then begin the process on how to resolve this issue or come to a happy medium. The goal is always to make the child’s life better and ensure that the child receives the best education possible. Sometimes this may also involve getting in touch with a lot of personal issues or addressing behavior or discipline problems.

Duties/Responsibilities

School Social Workers main focus is to help children with any type of problem that may be affecting their education. These problems may be social and/or economic (www.nasdc.org/pubs/choices/choices1, retrieved 10/12/2005). The social worker is partnered up with the teacher and the principal to achieve these goals. Most school social workers provide direct service to the students and their families (www.sswaa.org/aboutcareer, retrieved 10/17/2005). These tasks may include casework, group work, classroom presentation, crisis intervention and referrals to community agencies, (www.sswaa.org/aboutcareer, and retrieved 10/17/2005). A school social worker may also participate in meetings or in-services that address the students of the school. When the kids are off for certain days, such as superintendent conference day, the social worker may be required to attend some of the workshops that the teachers or other administrators attend. Another big part of school social workers job duties include assessing students that may have special needs. The social worker must work along side the teacher in order to set up the necessary paperwork and resources that a child may need. In most cases this may require the child and the family to receive outside resources from some governmental agencies.

Being a social worker also means being a big part of the community. School social workers often find themselves advocating for the children to receive certain programs and resources or fighting to keep certain policies in tact that may have a big impact on the students. If there is a need that is not being addressed in these communities, it is the social worker’s responsibility to make sure that attention is brought to these needs. It is also their responsibility to inform parents about what community resources are available to them and their children.

Educational Requirements

In the United States, a big sector of school social workers holds