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School Social Work NOW
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective Leadership & Applied Research
March 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 19 |
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| Greetings! |
CONGRATULATIONS!! SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK WEEK, March 6th-12th, is around the corner! It's a time to celebrate and promote the services you provide for students, their families, teachers, and administrators, especially in these very financially stringent times. ACSSW is pleased to offer three FREE downloadable School Social Week Posters: Butterfly, Wordle 7 or Wordle 8. These look great printed on 8.5 x 11 photo paper! Also, check out ways to celebrate this week by clicking on ACSSW Celebrates School Social Work. This list includes fun, informational, and "foodie" ways to celebrate. Stand proud and know that your services matter!
A favor is requested: If you have enjoyed and/or benefited from receiving the ACSSW newsletter, please forward this issue to two or more of your friends. It's easy! Just click "Send to a Colleague", below, and send it off! Invite them to also visit the ACSSW Newsletter Archives, a way to keep up on current issues and events in school social work and education reform without creating still another folder on the desktop! Visit them often to stay abreast of what's happening! 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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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) Illinois Jobs |
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Practice Points |
 Experts Say RTI's Use May Outrun Its Research Base
"Response to intervention has exploded into one of the most popular school initiatives in the country, but experts caution that RTI's use is far outstripping its research base. While the heightened interest has spurred research advances in key aspects of RTI, such as universal screening tools and initial interventions, other areas have little or no research support." Read more. Preventing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion with Young Children: The Role of Effective, Positive Practices In recent years there have been major concerns expressed regarding the use of restraint and seclusion to control the behavior of children with disabilities and/or challenging behavior. In May of 2009, for example, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released findings regarding a number of cases in which seclusion and restraint were abused to the point where children were physically and psychologically injured. Some children even died while being restrained. The great potential for abuse and injury has led many school districts, state agencies, and state governments to issue policies, regulations and laws that limit the use of restraint and seclusion. Many of these regulations effectively prohibit the use of restraint and seclusion except in cases of orthopedic necessity and obvious emergencies in which a child is in imminent danger. Still, there remains uncertainty about what constitutes restraint and seclusion and what should be done as an alternative. The purpose of this document is to review these issues and discuss positive strategies that can be used to prevent behaviors that could lead to considerations of these invasive and potentially dangerous practices. Click for Full Brief. Schools Enlist Tiered Approach to Discipline
Similar to response to intervention, educators using PBIS screen students to identify areas of weakness and then use progressively intensive interventions to address them.
Depending on what class he is in, 13-year-old Kumar Teve behaves noticeably differently. During a recent science class, for instance, the 7th grader repeatedly called loudly for his teacher when he wasn't sure what to do next on an assignment, and he didn't proceed until his teacher gave him individual coaching. But later the same day in language arts class, Kumar didn't holler for his teacher at all. He followed classwide instructions and led a group of students in creating a poster about what they could learn from "text features." Read about one district's experiences with changing student behaviors. |
| Leadership News |
Being social work trained, Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. Make time to view this wothwhile 20 minute video. |
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| Research Highlights | |
Hand Movement May Give Clues to ADHD Severity But some experts question the usefulness of the study findings
Measuring hand-movement control in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder may reveal insights into the brain-based differences of those with the condition, according to two new studies. In joint research, scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore performed sequential finger-tapping experiments on youngsters with ADHD, noting that they exhibited more than twice the amount of unintentional extra or "overflow" movements than typical children on one of the two measures used. They found that children with ADHD were 40 percent less able than typical children to inhibit resulting hand movements. "We now have a real, quantifiable measure of a problem with controlling behavior in these children," said Dr. Stewart Mostofsky, senior author of the finger-tapping study and director of the Laboratory for Neurocognitive and Imaging Research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Read about this controversial study.
RTI: An Approach On the March
Response to intervention started out as a way to identify and teach struggling readers and special education students, but it's fast becoming a way to change schooling for all students. . . The process has been growing exponentially ever since, morphing along the way into new forms and educational uses. . . See page S2 for this article, then explore the many other articles in the report. A good overview of RTI from differing perspectives. |
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In the News |
Are Teen Brains Hardwired for Hazard?
There's a lot of evidence to suggest that the teen brain is hardwired for hazard. Studies have found that the areas of the brain involved in social interaction and emotion mature at an earlier point than those that regulate behavior. One 2007 Iowa State University analysis surveyed more than 10,000 adolescents about what went into their decisions, including choices about their behavior.
The answer? Not much. Most seem to rely little on premeditation or planning. Read complete article.
Survey: Children Are Coming to School Hungry
Most teachers are aware of problem, buy food for classes
About two-thirds of public-school teachers who participated in a recent nationwide survey say many students are coming to school hungry. Of those surveyed, 61% said they purchase food for students and spend about $25 a month to do so. One instructional coach said that when she was a classroom teacher, she noticed that hungry students could not focus. "All they could think about was wanting food," she said. "They would ask, 'What time is lunch? Is it lunchtime yet?'" USA TODAY (2/23), The Sun (Baltimore)(2/22)
Teens Posting "Cutting" Videos on YouTube
The YouTube videos are disturbing -- images of teens with their arms bleeding and scarred where they sliced into themselves with a razor blade or other sharp object; poetry about pain, loneliness and hopelessness. "My secret is my blade, it is my obsession, it is my dark secret, when I am empty I bleed, when I am sad I bleed, when I have no hope I bleed," reads the text of one such video. Researchers report this as evidence of an alarming new trend: Teens posting videos on YouTube that depict "cutting," in which troubled adolescents use a razor blade or other sharp object to dig into their skin and draw blood, or other forms of self-injury such as embedding objects under the skin or burning themselves. By sharing the sometimes graphic images with other vulnerable youths, the videos may make the behavior seem more normal and even prompt some teens to try it, the researchers noted. "Some individuals who view this, if they are vulnerable and if they are regularly and repeatedly viewing these types of videos, it could be a virtual community in which self-injury could be reinforced and getting help is not always conveyed," said study author Stephen Lewis, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The study was released online Feb. 21 and will appear in the March print issue of Pediatrics. Learn more. |
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Online Courses | |
The National Center for School Engagement is offering a new online course called "Truancy and Dropout: Mending Cracks in the Graduation Pipeline." The course helps schools and communities prevent students from becoming truant or dropping out. It discusses best practices schools can use to increase attendance and help students graduate, as well as tips for researching state laws and guidelines and for conducting an evaluation.
Registration is available online. |
| 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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