ACSSW Newsletter: Academic Achievement & Social Behavior; Translating Research to Practice

If you represent an organization with PDOs of interest to school social workers, please contact us with details. We will consider each request in terms of relevancy, timing, and interest level.

Greetings!

Congressional sponsors for the School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act, HR 1138, are still being sought. This bill introduced by Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) is the first piece of legislation that specifically addresses school social workers. It amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by providing for grants that can be used to retain school social workers and to hire additional school social workers in high-need school districts. Further, it cites the types of services that school social workers may provide under these grants.

ACSSW asks that you call your congressional representative and request that s/he sign on to this bill as a co-sponsor. By clicking the link above, you can find a list of names of current co-sponsors and determine whether your respresentative is included in the list. If not, please strongly encourage him/her to do so. Please pay a part in this important piece of legislation by calling. It takes only a moment to do so. Go to Directory of Representatives to find the phone number of your Congressman/woman. Advocate for the profession!!

Summit Update

The interactive 2nd National School Social Work Research Summit, June 26th to 28th, is fast approaching! This experience is designed for you, designed to be an intimate gathering of individuals who understand the necessity to actively integrate school social work practice, leadership and research! The Changing Role of School Social Work Practice is a unique professional development opportunity that will enhance and strengthen your skills. REGISTER NOW!

Experiential Summit Highlights:

Using RtI to Document Impact of Services

Nic Dibble, LSSW, CISW, State Consultant

Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction

In this time of increased accountability and limited school funding, school social workers need to demonstrate that their services support student success. This presentation will 1) outline a process through which school social workers can use Response to Intervention (RtI) practices to demonstrate the impact of their services in ways that school administrators and board members will value, and 2) share specific strategies school social workers can use to share this information with these important individuals. Nic Dibble has served as the State Consultant for School Social Work Services at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction since 1997. He is the editor and primary author of the Wisconsin School Social Work Practice Guide and has coordinated the triennial administration and analysis of the Wisconsin School Social Work Survey since 1998. Nic served six years on his local school board, including five years as board president.

PBIS & the Changing Role of School Social Work

Ami Flammini, MSW, Technical Assistance Director

Illinois PBIS Network

In the midst of RTI, we are able to support the change in our roles to impact more and more youth. As our roles change, we are given the opportunity to create systems change, coordinate lower level interventions and spend our time providing the most vulnerable population with interventions that require us to use the skills that brought us into the profession. In this session, an overview of the three tiers of PBIS and the role of the school social worker will be provided, along with opportunity for participants to process and problem solve.

Visit the ACSSW website to read more about the program and to download the brochure. On-line registration is available.

The Hilton Chicago Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL, is a lovely resort. Room reservations can be made online. Enter Group/Convention Code: ACS to insure special Summit rate of $99/night. Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-334-3417; use the code to identify the group. Reservation deadline has been extended, but the hotel will offer the Summit rate only as long as space allows. Some dates are sold out.

Judith Kullas Shine

President

Practice Points

Translating Research to Practice

Social work researchers perform systematic, scientific inquiries into problems that plague human beings. Their investigations address issues in practice, policy, or organization. Substantial time, effort, and money are expended to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications to enhance human well-being. Although research is important, it seldom exerts much influence on the daily choices of social work practitioners. . . Though the utility of all social work hinges on the effectiveness of the methods practitioners bring to bear in the field, practitioners are also more likely to trust "practice wisdom" over evidence-based research when choosing among interventions. Implementing social work practices grounded in research has been the main theme of evidence-based practice (EBP) literature. Read more.

Youth-Mentor Relationships Particularly Helpful for African-American Youth Experiencing Hardship

In a time of transition for rural African-American young adults, natural mentors in the community help them stay focused on their goals and avoid potential difficulties associated with emerging adulthood, according to findings from an ongoing University of Georgia study. . . The researchers found that behaviors such as anger, breaking the law, and substance abuse were reduced when informal mentors provided support and helped them learn to deal with adult problems. These relationships were even more powerful for young adults experiencing hardship. Click to continue.

Childhood Physical Abuse Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of functional somatic syndromes such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities among women, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers. . . Co-author Joanne Sulman, from the Department of Social Work at Mount Sinai, says the research not only points to an association between childhood physical abuse and these disorders, but also explores the contribution of confounding psychosocial factors such as other childhood adversities, adult health behaviours and mental health.

"But perhaps the most interesting aspects of the research," says Sulman, "are the questions it raises, such as the mechanisms that link physical abuse to chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities." Click here to read more.

Leadership News

The Functional Leadership Model

Functional leadership is model that concentrates on how leadership occurs, rather than focusing on who does the leading. It defines the types of behaviors that guide an organization and then looks at how those behaviors occur. Under this model, leadership is a distributed function. People at all levels can participate in guiding the organization. One of the cornerstones of this leadership model is its focus on how instead of who. This approach has some tremendous advantages. Learn more.

Trait Theory of Leadership

Leadership trait theory is the idea that people are born with certain character traits or qualities. Since certain traits are associated with proficient leadership, it assumes that if you could identify people with the correct traits, you will be able to identify leaders and people with leadership potential. Most of the time the traits are considered to be naturally part of a person's personality from birth. From this standpoint, leadership trait theory tends to assume that people are born as leaders or not as leaders. There is a lot of value in identifying the character traits associated with leadership. It is even more valuable to identify the character traits that followers look for in a leader. Continue.

Research Highlights

Re-examining the Relationship Between Academic Achievement and Social Behavior

Abstract: Numerous studies have demonstrated the comorbidity of achievement and behavior problems in students identified with learning disabilities and emotional disturbance. The causal basis for this relationship has not been demonstrated, but several theories regarding the association have been posited, and potential benefits related to prevention keep interest in the connection alive. This article briefly reviews the background for original and continuing focus on behavior and achievement and sets the context for it by looking over some of the work that has been done. It also provides an empirical analysis with outcomes that are contrary to most of those previously reported. It presents findings as a base for directing attention to a fundamental goal of positive behavior interventions and supports (i.e., teaching behavior as well as academic skills in efforts to prevent learning problems and failure in school). Full text.

Teacher-Student Relationships Among Behaviorally At-Risk African-American Youth from Low-Income Backgrounds Student Perceptions, Teacher Perceptions, and Socioemotional Adjustment Correlates

Abstract: This investigation examines teacher-student relationships among African American youth from low-income backgrounds (N = 193). Students and their teachers completed measures of teacher-student relationship quality and measures pertaining to emotional, behavioral, and school-related adjustment. Results indicated that African American youth who fell above the clinical cut point on the externalizing scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (n = 64) reported lower trust in relationships with teachers than did similarly matched students who did not have clinically significant externalizing symptomology. In addition, teachers rated students in the externalizing subgroup as lower in relational closeness and greater in relational conflict. Multiple regression analyses applied to data obtained from the behavioral risk group indicated that both student and teacher perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality were associated with student- and teacher-rated emotional, behavioral, and school-related adjustment. The strength of these associations varied as a function of data source and the specific relationship dimension investigated. Implications for future research and practice efforts aimed at building positive teacher-student relationships are discussed. Full text.

In the News

Arne Duncan: Don't Outlaw Gay-Straight Student Support Groups

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said all along that he wants his agency to step up its civil rights work. (The office is headed by the impressive Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education.) . . . Duncan continued to demonstrate that commitment to student civil rights, issuing a "Dear Colleagues" letter to school districts reminding them that they can't kick gay-straight alliances and clubs out of their schools under a law passed in the Reagan administration.

This issue came up in Georgia in 2006 when a federal judge ruled that students in a gay activist group in White County High School must be allowed to hold meetings on school property. In his 35-page decision, Federal District Judge William C. O'Kelley in Gainesville issued a permanent injunction allowing the Gay-Straight Alliance student club to meet even though the club's activities are not tied to school classes or curriculum. The school had tried to ban the club from meeting. Read Arne Duncan's letter.

Ron Avi Astor: The Need to Support Students from Military Families

. . . Most Americans are not aware that over 2 million students have had parents deployed since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As their parents fulfill their missions overseas, there are too many examples here at home of military students losing credit for courses already taken in another state after a family's transfer or receiving unexcused absences for spending a day saying goodbye to a mom or dad leaving on deployment.

Many students from military families fall behind in school following multiple moves because there is no funding for tutoring services, or they struggle emotionally because of the roller-coaster of deployments. New research from the Rand Corp. finds that long deployments-19 months or more-take an academic and emotional toll on military children. Army children whose parents were deployed have long scored lower on standardized tests than those whose parents had shorter tours of duty. Teachers and counselors also reported increased social and emotional challenges for children with a deployed parent, according to the study. To continue click here.

Psychiatrists Say Video Games Are Influencing Youth, and Not for the Better

Video-game play is shaping the mental, social and emotional development of youth in overwhelmingly negative ways, leading to declines in school performance, sleep disorders, increased aggression, depression and a host of other problems. That's the message child and adolescent psychiatrist Paul Weigle will deliver this morning to an audience mainly of school and mental health professionals who work with children and teens, though parents, too, are urged to take heed. His talk is titled, "Playing with Violence: The Mental Health Effects of Video Game Play."... But it seems video games are also encroaching on sleep time. Among boys, 99 percent reported playing video games, while the figure for girls was 94 percent. "Sleep is significantly worse for kids who played video games" before going to bed, Weigle said, citing a 2007 study in the journal Pediatrics. "They get less slow-wave sleep, and their verbal memory declines." More.

SW Jobs Links

If linked-to page looks blank, scroll down.

New this week: Casa Grande, AZ (& other locations) Oxford, MI Various Locations

Continuing posts: Harlem, NYC, NY Brooklyn, NY Chicago Public Schools

Chicago, IL (private school) ConnecticutJobs Detroit, MI Washington, CT

Burlington, VT Williston, VT Doylestown, PA

Requests for Research Assistance

School Social Workers and Reactive Attachment Disorder

Ms. Francesca Bautista is studying Reactive Attachment Disorder at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. If you are a social worker, please respond to this short 26 question survey regarding Reactive Attachment Disorder. The results will be used to assess current training and knowledge on Reactive Attachment Disorder. Reactive Attachment Disorder Survey.

Grants & Funding

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) Research & Development Competition

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) FY 2012 Research and Development Center Competition announces a research and development competition.

Topics include:

1. Interventions for Families of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders;

2. Interventions for Families of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders;

3. School-Based Interventions for Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders; and

4. Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students;

For more information about these funding opportunities, please see the Request for Applications (RFA) and contact the appropriate program officer listed.

CVS: Caremark Community Grants

The CVS Caremark Community Grants Program is currently accepting proposals for programs targeting children with disabilities that address: health and rehabilitation services; a greater level of inclusion in student activities and extracurricular programs; opportunities or facilities that give greater access to physical movement and play; provision to uninsured individuals with needed care, in particular programs where the care received is of higher quality and delivered by providers who participate in accountable community health care programs. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: nonprofit organizations. Deadline: October 31, 2011. Learn more.

Nominations Invited for Mario Savio Young Activist Award

A cash prize of $6,000 will be given to a social change activist between the ages of 16 and 26 who is working within an organization or community effort to promote peace, human rights, economic or social justice, or freedom of speech. Deadline: June 30, 2011. For more click here.

Captain Planet Foundation: Grants for the Environment

The Captain Planet Foundation funds hands-on environmental projects that encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 30, 2011. For more information, click here.

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.