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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 4, Issue 25
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The ELL Survey that has been posted in the newsletter will be closing Friday, April 18th. Please click the link in the column at right ("Survey Help") to learn more and complete the survey. Your input will help to assist children with this learning need.
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On October 6th, ACSSW will be hosting its 2nd annual Mental Health in Schools Institute in Pewaukee, WI, just west of Milwaukee. This will again be a multi-disciplinary event and will include community mental health providers. Details are still being finalized, but topics will include: anxiety and school refusal, boundaries/ethics and technology, Signs of Suicide Program, bullying prevention, assisting students in military families, managing conflict in the workplace, and more! Click here to learn more.
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National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, May 8th. Plan now to make this a successful district-wide initiative. Check out the ACSSW Poster and Talking Points to help you make school personnel aware of how important Children's Mental Health is. Green pins to support Children's Mental Health are available.
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Save the dates--January 26 and 27, 2015! ACSSW is once again heading to beautiful New Orleans for the 4th annual National School Mental Health Institute for School Social Workers. Watch the newsletter and website for more news in the future!
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Don't forget to check out "Free Stuff" on the right and, last but not least, Happy Easter!
Judith Kullas Shine
President
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Since the 1970's research has identified risk behaviors associated with school absenteeism as including increased rates of substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, and increased rates of court involvement (Brook, Lukoff, & Whiteman, 1977; Galli, 1974; Kandel, Treiman, Faust, & Single, 1976). Recently, Eaton et al. (2008) examined a sample of approximately 4,100 high school students, and found that students with more unexcused absences also had a greater likelihood of exhibiting elevated rates of risk behaviors, including physical aggression with peers and increased rates of regular substance abuse. To identify characteristics of students with increased rates of truancy, Henry (2007) examined a nationally representative sample of high school students and found that the rate of truancy increased with age/grade, and that students exhibiting increased rates of truancy were more likely to come from households where parents' education levels were low (high school or less), to have greater amounts of unsupervised time after school, and have poor grades and low educational aspirations. However, research has not identified causal pathways between truancy and risk behaviors. It is unclear whether truancy leads to risk behaviors, or risk behaviors lead to truancy, or the two are simply correlated. More.
...few studies have examined relations between emotional resilience and children's behavior adaptation. This study seeks to address this gap by assessing relations between emotional resilience and behavior problems in childhood and examining the developmental antecedents. Theories suggest that maternal sensitivity and infant negative reactivity predict the development of emotion regulation. This may also extend to emotional resilience-ability to recover and express positive emotions following challenge. Indeed, sensitive and responsive maternal behaviors have been found to be concurrently associated with infants' ability to recover and express positive emotions following stressful interactions with parents (e.g., still-face paradigm). Access study.
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from Liana Lowenstein
"Practitioners are often under pressure to assess children quickly. Funding sources, agency protocols, and parents often demand speedy assessments. However, a comprehensive clinical assessment should be conducted for the following reasons: enables the practitioner to tailor treatment to the child's needs; provides direction on best treatment modality, ie, individual, group, family; enables the practitioner to provide accurate feedback to caregivers on the child's needs; and it is cost effective, since it shortens the length of treatment as it enables the therapist to hone in on exactly what needs to be treated." Full article.
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Most of us have experienced dull, irrelevant, or confusing presentations. But think back to the last really great presentation you saw - one that was informative, motivating, and inspiring. Wouldn't you love to be able to present like that? This article looks at 10 of the most common mistakes that speakers make when giving presentations. By avoiding these, you'll make your presentations stand out - for all of the right reasons, and none of the wrong ones. Learn more.
There is an imperative for school leaders to develop the skills of persuasion as an essential to successful leadership in today's school environments. The author proposes that successful leadership requires that school leaders hone their persuasive skills. Leadership is viewed as an influence relationship in which stakeholders utilize persuasion to influence decisions. Persuasion involves a complex exchange involving numerous factors. The elements of persuasion are discussed leading to practical suggestions as to how leaders can persuade effectively. Continue. |
 Research confirms what teachers and parents have claimed for decades: a safe and supportive school environment, in which students have positive social relationships and are respected, engaged in their work and feel competent, matters. The following Research Article summary, reports on a comprehensive Review of School Climate in the Education Research literature. This article (Thapa, et al. 2013) provides useful information for educators engaged in improving school climate, or school improvement planning in general as well as anyone who wants to gain more insight into the importance and impact that school climate has on students, educators, parents, and the community. Additionally, an examination of this article is timely because it provides useful information for anyone interested in submitting a grant proposal to the US Department of Education for the soon to be released School Improvement School Climate grants. More.
This report describes the results of an extraordinary analysis of millions of school and juvenile justice records in Texas. It was conducted to improve policymakers' understanding of who is suspended and expelled from public secondary schools,and the impact of those removals on students' academic performance and juvenile justice system involvement. Like other states, school suspensions-and, to a lesser degree, expulsions-have become relatively common in Texas. For this reason and because Texas has the second largest public school system in the nation (where nonwhite children make up nearly two-thirds of the student population), this study's findings have significance for-and relevance to-states across the country. Several aspects of the study make it groundbreaking. First, the research team did not rely on a sample of students, but instead examined individual school records and school campus data pertaining to all seventh-grade public school students in Texas in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Second, the analysis of each grade's student records covered at least a six-year period, creating a statewide longitudinal study. Third, access to the state juvenile justice database allowed the researchers to learn about the school disciplinary history of youth who had juvenile records. Fourth, the study group size and rich data sets from the education and juvenile justice systems made it possible to conduct multivariate analyses. Access the study.
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Recommended Read for April
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Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? - gladwell.com
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Free 1.5 CEUs for School Social Workers
ACSSW is very pleased to offer an opportunity for any school social worker to earn 1.5 FREE CEUs due to ACSSW's sponsorship of an excellent program:
Plan, Prepare, Prevent: The SOS Online
Gatekeeper Training Module
The SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program is an award winning, nationally recognized program designed for middle and high school-age students. The program teaches students how to identify the symptoms of depression and suicidality in themselves or their friends, and encourages help-seeking through the use of the ACT® technique (Acknowledge, Care, Tell). This course is available free to school social workers. With sponsorship from ACSSW, all learners will receive 1.5 contact hours upon completion. Click to Learn More. To register call 781-239-0071 or email SOS Registration and mention that you'd like to register.
Columbia University Teachers College Press published 4 guides geared to support teachers, administrators, student personnel staff, and parents. For a limited period, and as supplies last, TCP has agreed to provide FREE copies of the guides to social workers and educators working with military kids in schools including: teachers, school administrators, PPS workers, and military parents. School social workers should be aware of this wonderful, time-limited, FREE offer from TCP. Many school social workers will benefit from these guides.
The process is simple. Each individual desiring a free book would need to click on the link, select the type of book s/he desires, and fill out name, mailing address, etc. on the Qualtrix form after selecting the book desired. The book will be mailed in a few weeks.
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| Request for Survey Help on ELL |
ELL Survey Request for Help
A request from school social work researcher, Professor Kerry Vandergrift, came to us. This represents an opportunity to assist in an area of research that is often overlooked--and in which we are not often included. If you work with ELL students or have an interest in them, please respond to this survey.
from Dr. Vandergrift:
You are invited to participate in a research study about school social worker perspectives on English language learners, administered by Dr. Kerry Fay Vandergrift at the Radford University School of Social Work. This online survey will take about 20 minutes and at the end of the survey you may choose to be entered into a drawing to win one of two $25 or one $50 Amazon gift cards. The survey has questions about your experiences with and knowledge of working with ELLs, resources, and your school. You do need to have a BSW or an MSW to participate, and over 18, but do not need to have any ELLs enrolled in your school. Feel free to share the link with other school social workers! Please click here (or copy and paste the following link into your browser:
http://radford.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_eR0WYOemVTTB79P ) to begin the survey.
The survey will close April 18.
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School Social Work Positions
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Continued - listed by state abbreviation
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Phoenix, AZ
Oakland, CA PT
Denver, CO
North Haven, CT
Connecticut (various)
Heartland, IA AEA
Arlington Heights, IL ESY
Barrington, IL Summer
Elgin, IL
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Lake Bluff, IL
Lombard, IL
Naperville, IL
Northbrook, IL
Rockford, IL anticipated
St. Charles, IL
Garden City, KS
Winfield, KS
Boston, MA
Fitchburg, MA
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Dearborn Heights, MI
Minneapolis, MN pool
Moorhead, MN
Kinnelon, NJ
Bronx, NY
Lancaster, PA PT-ESY
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The proposed increase in funding for social workers in the Rochester school district is consistent not only with students' needs, but with the district's history as a pioneer in the field of school social work. It was 101 years ago that the district hired Emma Case, a former kindergarten teacher and kindergarten administrator, as a "visiting teacher," which roughly corresponds to a modern social worker.
School districts in New York City, Boston and Hartford, Conn., had first used visiting teachers about seven years earlier, but those efforts were supported mostly through outside agencies; Rochester was the first district in America to have a visiting teacher on staff, according to a "The Visiting Teacher in Rochester," a 1925 report on the program by Mabel Brown Ellis. Continue.
Social Workers a Staple of Local Education
Social workers...are on the front line of the Rochester School District's struggle with poverty and its consequences - a struggle that is increasingly spreading throughout Monroe County. The district's proposed 2014-15 budget includes funding for a dozen new social workers, enough for one in each school, and suburban districts are finding more demand for social and emotional supports.
"Children without social and emotional skills are marginalized in terms of academic work," [said one local school social worker] When I got hired, they said my job is to do whatever it takes to get that child back in the classroom. That's where I fly." Read more.
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SAMHSA launched the Girls Matter! webinar series to discuss challenges, opportunities, and strategies for supporting adolescent girls. Professionals working with adolescents will have a chance to learn more about the unique needs of girls ages 12-18, and how those needs impact their behavioral health and development. Each month, Girls Matter! features a free 90-minute webinar, which covers a related behavioral health topic. Review archived webinars and register for the next 4. Next webinar is April 22nd.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT
As part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, [the School Improvement Network] is hosting a webinar to help create awareness and provide resources for teachers and administrators. In this webinar, [the School Improvement Network] will discuss what educators can do to make a difference in their schools and community and help prevent child abuse and neglect. Information will be presented by Rosie Gomez (from the Department of Health Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau) and Sharon McKinley (from Child Welfare Information Gateway). Register. Free.
Archived
The CSMH and the IDEA Partnership presented a webinar, School Mental Health: A Federal Perspective, on January 30, 2014. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, the President put forward a number of initiatives aimed at making schools and communities safer and to increase access to mental health services in his plan, Now is the Time. As he said, "We won't be able to stop every violent act, but if there is even one thing we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try." This webinar provided an overview of federal efforts that have already been put in place, as well as those that have been proposed for the upcoming years. Presenters David Esquith, Director for the Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), U.S. Department of Education, and Ingrid Donato, Branch Chief, Mental Health Promotion, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provided participants with information about other existing federal initiatives to prevent youth violence and promote positive student outcomes. Strategies that support students, schools, and communities as well as the importance of cross-system partnerships were highlighted. The webinar recording is available as well as the PowerPoint. Access here.
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U.S. Department of Education Grants Feature Social and Emotional Learning
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a request for applications for new grants under the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs.The grant competition will provide funds to develop promising and innovative approaches for initiating or expanding counseling programs in elementary and secondary schools. Each grant project will contribute to the personal growth, educational development, and social-emotional well-being of students served at this critical time in their liv es. A total of nearly $15 million is available for grant awards that will average $350,000 per year for three years. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please email either Lisa Harrison or call (202) 453-6730, or email Loretta McDaniel or call (202) 453-6720. More information. The application deadline is April 28, 2014.
Libri Foundation Books for Children Grants
The Libri Foundation Books for Children Grants donate new, quality, hardcover children's books for small, rural, public libraries across the country. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: Libraries should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and an active children's department. The average total operating budget of a Books for Children grant recipient must be less than $40,000. Deadline: May 15, 2014. Details.
These grants are designed to cover financial expenses for a child's medical needs beyond a family's health benefit plan. Families can directly apply online for these grants of up to $5,000. Details.
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