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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 5, Issue 4
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October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Across the country schools and communities are engaging in activities and educational programs aimed to reduce and eliminate bullying. The theme this year is The End of Bullying Begins with Me. ACSSW is proud to stand with the National Bullying Prevention Center in combating this hurtful and harmful behavior. We encourage you to visit their website and become a "Champion Against Bullying" along with your school or district. October 22nd is National Unity Day. Visit the national website to see what you can do to stand together and eradicate bullying. The PACER Center is offering two free classroom toolkits to combat bullying.
atHealth is offering a free download of a White Paper on Cyberbullying. To receive your free copy, click here and follow the directions.
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Ashwaubenon, WI school social worker, Andrea Pasqualucci, was named Wisconsin's Special Services Teacher of the Year for the 2014-15 school year! "Described as 'a tireless advocate for students' and someone with a 'passion for working with people in need,' Pasqualucci has developed a number of programs and partnerships to help students in the Ashwaubenon School District, who are homeless or from low income families." With this honor goes $3,000 from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation. Congratulations, Andrea! You are a true leader.
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Early Bird Registration for the January 26-27, 2015 National SSW Institute on Mental Health is nearing the deadline--October 31st! Save a buck. Register today. (See below for more information).
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"SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach introduces a concept of trauma and offers a framework for how an organization, system, service sector can become trauma informed by integrating the perspectives of researchers, practitioners, and people with lived experience of trauma. The paper includes a definition of trauma ("The Three Es"), a definition of a trauma-informed approach ("The Four Rs"), 6 key principles, and 10 implementation domains.
The paper also includes a matrix of sample questions, across domains and key principles, to help agencies begin to think about using a trauma-informed approach. SAMHSA encourages individuals and organizations to examine how an understanding of trauma and the use of a trauma-informed approach will benefit all stakeholders." Download your free copy.
The Collaborative Engagement of Preservice Special Education Teachers and Social Workers
..."Researchers have identified SSWs as essential support personnel in the inclusive special education movement. Pryor, Kent, McGunn, and LeRoy (1996) stated: "Social workers can promote inclusion by helping students accept human differences and working with the school to move from acceptance to celebration of those differences." Mills (2003) discussed the necessity of SSWs' advocacy on behalf of African-American males, a population disproportionately represented in special education programs.
Lewis (1998) stated: 'School social work practice should be conceptualized more broadly than services provided by employees of the public education sector" (p. 188). The author's assertion is credible when SSW services on behalf of youth with emotional-behavioral disorders (EBDs) are considered." More.
"Analysts who investigate homelessness conclude that it's a national scandal, one that is pulling increasing numbers of children and unaccompanied youth into its gravitational force. Only half of the story of homelessness highlights what its victims are missing - a normal domicile. The other half of the narrative attends to where the homeless stay, defining the homeless by where they sleep at night. The "literal homeless" find themselves in shelters or on the streets. The others (the majority) are involuntarily "doubled up" with relatives or friends - or for some unaccompanied youths, it means staying in temporary homes sponsored by the state.
Fewer than a quarter of the homeless children in the U.S. complete high school. Researchers and advocates cut homelessness in a variety of ways - by the reasons people find themselves homeless, by how long they've been homeless, by the severity of the displacement, by the damage it does to them, and so forth." Complete article.
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Successful leaders get that way because they have a positive attitude, and they know how to build strong and enduring relationships with their employees. Instead of becoming adversaries, they become partners with their employees--earning their respect, their trust, and their loyalty.
They don't do this, however, by keeping their opinions to themselves. They really connect with their people--involving them, engaging them, and letting them know that they are valued and respected members of the team.
Go from being a good leader to a great leader by saying these things every successful leader says every day. Read more.
Understanding the Four Decision Modes for Teams and Groups
Decision-making is a core process in the workplace. Decision-making processes that are ineffective, or inappropriate to the kinds of decisions made can result in higher stress levels,negative perceptions of the workplace, and in the long term, can destroy the ability of work teams to work effectively in a coordinated manner.
Before we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the four modes of decision-making we should point out that it is probably NOT desirable for a team or group to make decision using only a single mode, regardless of type of decision. More.
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Abstract: The benefits of public, child welfare and education collaborations are numerous. However, different privacy laws that dictate professional practice within each respective system may cause tensions to surface across service agencies in the interpretation and implementation of these policies. A new perspective on the interpretation of these confidentiality policies is offered to guide the child welfare and education workforce in cross-disciplinary decision-making that maximizes the educational well-being of children in care. Scroll to page 36.
"Effective school disciplinary systems--the philosophies, policies, and practices used to create safe schools that are maximally conducive to learning for all students--are necessary to ensure that schools maximize student opportunity to learn. In the first edition of this handbook, Skiba & Rausch (2006) identified four core goals of any school disciplinary system. First, discipline is intended to ensure the safety of students and teachers, preventing incidents that could threaten the safety of students or staff. Second, effective discipline creates a climate conducive to instruction and should improve academic outcomes by increasing the amount and quality of time teachers can spend teaching, rather than responding to behavioral disruptions (Brophy, 1988; Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1997). Third, from a purely behavioral perspective, a discipline system can be called effective only if it actually creates a change in student behavior over time, reducing rates of negative behavior and hopefully increasing prosocial behavior toward peers and adults (Alberto & Troutman, 2013). Finally, systems of discipline teach students the skills they need to succeed in schools and society.
Although these types of goals are accepted almost universally, how schools go about achieving them is a matter of considerable debate." Read more.
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January 26-27, 2015
ACSSW 4th National SSW Institute on Mental Health
Standing Up for Children's Mental Health in Schools
Tulane University -- New Orleans, LA
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Recommended Read for October
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School Bullying New Perspectives on a Growing Problem
by David R. Dupper
Bullying is one of the most prevalent and insidious forms of school violence today, impacting the learning environment of schools in profound ways. Victims of chronic bullying have poorer grades, increased rates of truancy, increased rates of dropping out, loss of self-esteem, feelings of isolation, depression, and increased risk of suicide attempts.
. . .Consistent with an ecological systems perspective, this book utilizes a whole school approach as a framework for developing and implementing comprehensive evidence-based interventions to combat bullying in schools. The result is a must-have resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in social work courses, school psychology courses, and education courses, as well as student service workers in secondary schools. (Oxford University Press)
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This toolkit assists high schools and school districts in designing and implementing strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health. It includes tools to implement a multi-faceted suicide prevention program that responds to the needs and cultures of students. Toolkit.
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.
Helping Traumatized Children Learn, vol. 1 & 2, are available for purchase or free download on the website. Click here to learn more about this.
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School Social Work Positions
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Continued - listed by state abbreviation
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Mt. Diablo, CA
Connecticut (various)
Savannah, GA
Chicago, IL #2
Waukegan, IL
Turner, ME
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Dearborn Hts, MI
Camden, NJ
Brewster, NY
Ohio Univ Lecturer of Human Services Technology-Lancaster, OH
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Ohio Univ Assist/Assoc/Full Prof-Athens, OH
Dallas, TX
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More U.S. high school students are staying in school, according to newly released data from the Census Bureau, as the national dropout rate reached a record low last year. Just 7% of the nation's 18-to-24 year olds had dropped out of high school, continuing a steady decline in the nation's dropout rate since 2000, when 12% of youth were dropouts.
The decline in the national dropout rate has been driven, in part, by substantially fewer Hispanic and black youth dropping out of school (the non-Hispanic white dropout rate has not fallen as sharply). Read more here.
One of the biggest challenges for those who seek to end bullying among students has been defining exactly what "bullying" is. Even as efforts to address the behavior have moved to the front burner of child well-being initiatives in recent years, researchers and educators say that major studies have relied on inconsistent definitions and methods of measuring its prevalence.
Some focus on the essential interpersonal dynamics of bullying-including an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and the victim-while others seek to be more objective by focusing on a list of common bullying behaviors.
And if researchers can't agree on exactly what the problem is, they can't help identify effective solutions for K-12 educators, who are increasingly facing new accountability measures that incorporate issues related to school climate and student behavior. Continue.
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Part I - Cancer in the Classroom: Caring for Students After Diagnosis
Wednesday, October 22nd, 3 - 4:30 pm ET
Part 2 - Cancer in the Classroom: Reintegration into the Classroom
Monday, November 3rd, 3 - 4:30 ET
On October 22 and November 3, CureSearch for Children's Cancer will host two webinars for school social workers and other school personnel on how to care for a student with cancer in the classroom. The goal of these webinars is to provide practical information from clinical experts on how to support a students and family during treatment, strategies for reintegrating a student with cancer into the classroom, and helping staff and families work together to support children. We invite school social workers, school nurses, teachers, and families to join us in learning how to provide compassionate and constructive classroom support when a child has cancer. More information.
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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Grants of up to $500 are available for "innovative programs, events, or projects" from the Meemic Foundation. Apply online using their easy application that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. These grants are open to any employee of a K-12 public or private school. Universities and colleges may also apply. Fill-in-the-blank application.
Grants are accepted year round, but the third quarter cycle ($500 max per grant) ends September 30. Funds will be available in mid-November.
The foundation says it supports "basically anything that supports teachers and enhances the student's educational experience" - from field trips to books to behavior modification programs; science, music, or art equipment to professional development.
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