School Social Worker

How I Got The Job

My Education: BA, Georgia State University MA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MSW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

My Prior Experience: I managed group home for adults with disabilities, I did community development in rural Honduras, I coordinated a respite care program for disabled adults, I worked in a program to prevent abuse and neglect of children, I did family social work with court-adjudicated youth in a treatment center.

My Job Profile

My Company: I work for a large school district in central North Carolina.

Job/Career Overview: I work as a school social worker in a pair of elementary schools and a middle school. That means I try to remove barriers to learning that students bring to school with them. The part of my job that I have to do is monitor attendance of students and make sure that students don't miss too many days. In that capacity I sometimes find that I have to file court papers on parents who do not get their children to school on a regular basis. After that, I work with families and parents to find resources in the community. Sometimes that entails getting emergency food or shelter, especially in these difficult economic time. I make sure our students who are living in homeless shelters get to school and have clothes and school supplies. For other families it means helping them find a mental health counselor or a substance abuse program or a pediatrician. I work with teams of teachers, school psychologists, school counselors and administrators to help identify students with learning disabilities. I also help teachers communicate with parents who are reluctant to become involved with the schools or their children's education process. Since I speak some Spanish, I help out with the growing community of Hispanic families.

More Insights: Most people think of social workers as they are portrayed in the media and movies: overworked, burned out, burdened souls whose job it is to rip children out the arms of their abusive parents. Nothing could be farther from the truth! We are an energetic, caring group with both wisdom, experience and common sense. Social workers are everywhere: in corporations working as Employee Assistance Counselors, in government and government agencies and in private agencies. We're even entrepreneurs. We do community development, private therapy for groups and individuals; we work in hospitals, and we work with the elderly as well as newborns. You should also know that this is a career that demands education; it is not something that anyone can just decide to do. We have been around for centuries and the profession has evolved into a discipline with specific skills that must be learned and practiced.