Celebrated every March, Social Work Month recognizes and highlights the significant contributions of social workers. With approximately 600,000 social workers in the United States, roughly five percent are school social workers. Although this percentage may seem small, school social workers serve as an important liaison between school, home, and the community.
Social workers are tasked with finding solutions to the some of the most challenging issues that individuals, families, and communities experience. In helping individuals and families overcome difficulties and reach full potential, social workers help make our nation a safer place. Likewise, school social workers focus on helping students reach their full potential in order to support academic success.
According the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “[school social workers] work directly with school administrations as well as students and families, providing leadership in forming school discipline policies, mental health intervention, crisis management, and support services.” To give you a better idea, school social workers form part of an interdisciplinary team to assist in mitigating and addressing topics like:
- School violence and aggression
- Traumatic events
- Policy development and reform
- Substance abuse education
- Suicide prevention
- Attendance among at-risk students
- Students with special needs or learning disabilities
With many factors impacting academic progress, such as poverty, substance abuse, family conflict, community violence, and mental health, school social workers are among the best equipped school community leaders. From designing preventative programs to providing psychological and emotional support, social workers are experts at intervention, prevention and education. Through supportive services and cross collaboration, school social workers are an integral part of the school community.
So in honor of Social Work Month, we’d like tip our hats to school social workers. Thank you for keeping students safe and advocating for student success.
If you’d like to help us celebrate Social Work Month, nominate a social worker as a Safe and Sound Hero. Share your nominees by providing us with the following:
- Brief explanation of why your social worker should be a SASS Hero and how they keep you safe
- Name, school or community affiliation, and a picture, if possible, so we can give them a shout out on our social our social media channels
We’ll share their stories on our social media platforms. You can also nominate a group of social workers. Share your nominees by tagging us on social media and including the hashtag #SASSHero or by sending us an email at info@safeandsoundschools.org. Thank you for helping us celebrate social workers this month.
References: National Association of Social Workers
