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School Social Work NOW
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective Leadership & Applied Research
February 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 18 |
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| Greetings! |
States such as WI, OH, ID, NJ, FL, PA, TN, AL and others are seeing significant state level attacks on education and on teachers' unions. Whether you are in an education/teachers union or not, it is very important to follow some of these events as they are unfolding. Half of Detroit Schools have just been ordered closed. (See article under "In the News."). These actions and events foreshadow the immediate future of education. You are encouraged to get involved as much or as little as your time, talents and beliefs allow. But DO get involved.
ACSSW Newsletter Archives are a way to keep up on current issues and events in school social work and education reform without creating still another folder on your desktop! Visit them often to stay abreast of what's happening!
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK WEEK, March 6th-12th, is a time to celebrate and promote the services you provide for students, their families, teachers, and administrators. Check out ways to prepare for and publicize this time of celebration for school social workers by clicking on ACSSW Celebrates School Social Work. This list includes fun, informational, and "foodie" ways to celebrate. Start your planning NOW. Read next week's issue to download a free School Social Work Week poster!
The Hilton Chicago Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL is the setting of the 2nd National Research-to-Practice Summit will be held June 26th-28th. This is a forum in which to (1) learn about current research projects, (2) become familiar with research models you can apply in your setting and practice, and (3) showcase your projects to colleagues. Monday night will offer an opportunity to sample big city highlights in the city of Chicago! Plan to join your colleagues for this unique Summit experience and enjoyable leisure times! School teams are encouraged to attend. Watch this newsletter for more information.
Please contact ACSSW if you have questions, concerns, or ideas on how to improve the newsletter. Your ideas and contributions are very welcome. President |
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Practice Points |
 Following Student Suicides Schools Often React Poorly, Experts Say Many school officials react in exactly the wrong ways when one of their students completes suicide, according to the authors of a new book. While they may be well-intentioned, administrators who don't send the right messages may make copycat suicides more likely, and are not providing the help needed by others hurting from the tragedy. "Without the proper knowledge and resources, many school administrators may implement strategies that could actually increase the risk of suicide among students," said Darcy Haag Granello, professor of counselor education at Ohio State University. Granello is co-author of the book Suicide, Self-Injury and Violence in the Schools: Assessment, Prevention and Intervention Strategies. She co-authored the portion of the book dealing with suicide with her husband, Paul Granello, also an associate professor of counselor education at Ohio State. "We naturally want to have ceremonies and memorials, flowers at the fence and burning candles. But when you do this in the case of a suicide, it sends the wrong message to troubled youth who might also be contemplating suicide," he said... Adults shouldn't be afraid to talk about suicide and to directly ask troubled students if they are thinking about suicide, Darcy Granello said. "There's a lot of research that shows that talking about suicide appropriately actually reduces the risk - it doesn't increase it," she said. Read more. An Analysis of Factors Shaping Interventions Used by School Social Workers
This study is a secondary analysis of surveys collected from school social workers in Illinois. Workers were originally surveyed about the most important student problems they confront in their schools and their preferred targets of intervention (individual, small group, family) to address those problems. Drawing on related conceptual work, the current study tested the utility of a preliminary model of factors that are hypothesized to influence school social work practice, taking in characteristics of the practitioner, characteristics of the setting, and sociocultural context. School social work practice was measured in terms of both interventions used and interventions used most frequently. Findings revealed that specific factors reflecting characteristics of the practice setting related to school social worker reports of their practice. Specifically, caseload size, grade level of students served, and district size were inversely related to frequent use of individual counseling but positively related to use of group counseling. Implications for school social work research and practice are discussed. Read full article. |
| Leadership News |
Making a decision is one of the most powerful acts for inspiring confidence in leaders and managers. Yet many bosses are squeamish about it. Some decide not to decide, while others simply procrastinate. Either way, it's typically a cop-out - and doesn't exactly encourage inspiration in the ranks. To avoid pining over what to do and what to skip, it can help to learn how to make better decisions. You'll be viewed as a better leader and get better results overall. Learn about the 5 Tips. |
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| Research Highlights | |
The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions
This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. Compared to controls, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement. School teaching staff successfully conducted SEL programs. The use of 4 recommended practices for developing skills and the presence of implementation problems moderated program outcomes. The findings add to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs. Policy makers, educators, and the public can contribute to healthy development of children by supporting the incorporation of evidence-based SEL programming into standard educational practice. Full article.
Health at Birth Tied to ADHD Risk
A baby's health in the first minutes after birth may be linked to his or her risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) later on, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, suggest that the so-called Apgar score assigned to all newborns in the first five minutes of life may give some hint of a child's future risk of ADHD, a condition that involves attention problems and impulsive behavior... Exactly what the new findings mean is unclear. An abnormal Apgar score could reflect some sort of stress during pregnancy or birth - like decreased oxygen supply - that might contribute to ADHD development down the road, the researchers speculate. Click here for complete article. |
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SSW Jobs Links | |
Burlington, VT Old Lyme, CT (summer job)
Demarest, NJ Park Ridge, IL (must sign-in to access job bank)
Kansas City, MO (part-time) Windham, ME Lander, WY (elementary counselor/social worker) |
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Webcasts | |
Free SAMHSA Homeless Resource Center Webcast
Serving LGBTQI2-S Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 --- 1 to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time
All programs serving youth who are homeless should assume that some of their participants may identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, or two-spirit (LGBTQI2-S). It is estimated that between 20 percent and 40 percent of youth experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQI2-S. SAMHSA's HRC visited multiple programs serving youth who are LGBTQI2-S and homeless to learn about practical strategies to implement best practices when working with this population. Presenters Wayne Centrone, Laura Hughes, and Bonnie Wade will share findings from this tour and offer tips for providing culturally competent care for this highly vulnerable group.
Learn More and Register. |
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In the News |
Detroit Schools Closing: Order to Shut Half the City's Schools
State education officials have ordered the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools to immediately implement a plan that balances the district's books by closing half its schools. The Detroit News says the financial restructuring plan will increase class size to 60 students and consolidate operations. The closing of 70 schools has been approved by the state. For more click here.
ESEA: Law of Unintended Consequences
The federal government should be the engine of equality, not the locomotive of inequality. With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Congress has the opportunity to fundamentally transform American education and set it on the path towards equality and excellence for all children. When ESEA was last reauthorized by Congress in 2002 with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Bush administration called the new law the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB)-a play on the Children Defense Fund's trademarked mission statement to "Leave No Child Behind." . . .But it soon became clear that NCLB's titular promise was merely a rhetorical fig leaf covering up new ways for our nation's schools to leave millions of children behind. Marian Wright Edelman states: "Under NCLB, most children in America have been left behind." Read full article.
House Cuts Education Funding
Federal aid for programs that support literacy, as well as the teaching of STEM education, foreign languages, and American history, are among many to be cut or zeroed out altogether under legislation approved this weekend by the new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In all, the sweeping spending cuts proposed for the federal government include more than $5 billion at the U.S. Department of Education. Click here for more, courtesy of Education Week.
School Turns Tables on Cyberbullying
The same technology used by cyberbullies is now being embraced by Lead-Deadwood school officials to combat the problem. The school district has an anti-bullying hot line that students and parents can call to report bullying. The message is then converted into an e-mail that gets sent to superintendent Dan Leikvold and the school resource officer. The bullying hot line is hosted through the SchoolReach program, which is the same program used to alert parents when school is delayed or closed. The school district was able to try the program for two months before buying it. After receiving positive feedback, officials decided to buy use of the program for another 18 months for about $300. More. |
| Request for Research Assistance | |
An Examination of Homophobia and Social Work Practice Among a Sample of School Social Workers
Milka Ramírez, MSW, a member of the American Council for School Social Work and the School Social Work Association of America and a school social worker in Chicago, is conducting her doctoral research and would like you to participate in the 30 minute survey. Please take time to support this important research. Click the following link to participate in this essential work: Homophobia & Social Work |
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ACSSW Activities | |
ACSSW's present major activities include:
- increasing research projects and their application within the school environment,
- developing a national school social work role paper,
- a more long-term goal, establishing a National Center for School Social Work Research, and,
- developing the 2nd National School Social Work Research Summit to be held June 26-28 in Bloomingdale, IL, at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort.
If you have interest in assisting with one or more of these projects, don't hesitate to contact Judie Shine. ACSSW strives to be inclusive and transparent in all of its activities and welcomes the participation, whether short or lengthy, of its members. |
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