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Social Worker (Hayes)

Social workers are ideal providers of SEL instruction and support in schools. The social work mission requires practitioners to enhance well-being and empower those who are most vulnerable. By supporting students with SEL development in school, social workers equip students with valuable life skills that not only enhance their well-being, but may in the long-term serve as a protective factor for many inequitable outcomes.

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The Role of the School Social Worker: Special Education

Social Workers are involved in special education. In this role, they:

• Serve as a member of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT)

• Conduct Social Histories and FBAs for initial eligibility and re-evaluation

• Provide BSS as prescribed by the IEP, including social, life, and transitional skills that can be transferred from school to community

• Complete student progress reports

• Participate in MDT, IEP, manifestation determination, and other related meetings

• Work collaboratively within the classroom setting to implement student IEPs

• Collect and document data for the purpose of monitoring social emotional progress and evaluating effectiveness of services

• Provide mental health consultation on strategies that improve outcomes for special education student

• Coordinate the design and implementation of behavior intervention plans

• Participate in legal proceedings

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School Priority Areas Supported by School Social Workers

• Behavioral Support Services (BSS) to students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP), 504, and Response to Intervention (RTI) plans

• Social emotional support to general education students

• Social Histories and Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs)

• Behavior Intervention Planning

• RTI team membership

• School crisis response and recovery

• Service documentation

• Homeless liaison support

• Attendance Intervention

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School Counselor (Wallace)

Development and Management

• Uses data to develop and inform the school counseling program and evaluates the program’s impact on the school’s instructional goals.

• Collaborates on the development and management of the comprehensive school counseling program with the school administrator or instructional leader.

• Communicates and shares the goals of the comprehensive school counseling program to stakeholders including students, families and community partners.

• Develops and maintains a written plan for effective delivery of the school counseling programs based on the DCPS annual student achievement goals and aligned with the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) National Standards for School Counseling Programs.

• Uses the majority of the time (80%) to provide direct services to students through preventive and responsive services, including individual student planning, and uses the remaining time in development and management, system support and accountability.

 

Preventative and Responsive Services

• Designs, implements and assesses the guidance curriculum.

• Utilizes responsive counseling, initiating individual and group sessions for students’ personal, social and academic concerns.

• Consults with families and staff to appraise student needs and interests and to discuss appropriate recommendations for educational options.

• Plans, coordinates and provides classroom group guidance sessions to meet the identified guidance and counseling competencies in the areas of academic achievement, career and educational development, and personal and social development.

• Assesses student needs and makes referrals to appropriate school resource personnel, social agencies, community agencies and alternative programs.

• Intervenes during crisis situations and participates on school crisis team.

 

Individual Student Planning

• Prepares students for the transition to the next level: middle school, activities and options.

• Plans and coordinates programs such as career fairs, test preparation, improved/perfect attendance celebrations and other extensions of the counseling program.

• Uses individual student planning activities and classroom guidance to assist students in navigating educational and community experiences that support their needs and develop their potential.

• Collaborates with parents/guardians and educators to assist students with educational and career planning.

 

System Support

• Uses responsive counseling strategies to establish relationships and collaborate with educators, students, families and community partners; these strategies should reflect recognition of and respect for each individual and promote an understanding and appreciation of diverse population and cultures.

• Assists families in obtaining services for their children through an appropriate referral and follow-up process.

• Serves as liaison between the social services agencies (i.e., D.C. Child and Family Services Agency) and personnel from the various school systems where wards of the District of Columbia are attending school.

• Assists teachers in understanding their students, including providing and interpreting student data.

• Provides in-service training on topics related to the school counseling program and supporting student achievement.

School Psychologist (Loker)

 

The Role of the School Social Worker: Special Education

School Psychologists are responsible for selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting psychological evaluations for students that are referred for Special Education. They are also responsible for analyzing evaluation data, student records, and information pertinent to student learning, and formulating conclusions relating to the reason for referral and qualification of suspected disability.  The school psychologist is also responsible for identifying academic and social-emotional evidence-based interventions that are specific to the identified deficit, and intensively monitor progress and student achievement.

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Case Manager (James, Julius, Lee, Lunde, Sears, Smith, Stewart, Thompson, Williams, Wright) 

Case managers are to oversee case assignments and work collaboratively with the SEL team to ensure that appropriate services are rendered on a consistent basis. The overall goal of case managers (concerning social and emotional learning) are to build supportive relationships, increase self-efficacy, and help students learn how to manage their emotions. 

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Related Service Providers (Dennis, Friar, Khan, Leiter, Simon) 

 

Educational Audiologist (Dennis)

An Educational Audiologist focuses on the hearing, listening, and auditory processing challenges that may affect a student’s academic, communication, and/or social skills. Audiologists support students by evaluating their hearing and auditory processing ability and selecting, fitting, and maintaining appropriate amplification technology. Audiologists teach students, their parents, and school staff about the proper care and use of hearing devices. The also provide information on the educational impact of hearing loss, strategies to maximize a student’s communicative function, self-advocacy, and hearing loss prevention.

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Speech-Language Pathology (Friar, Leiter)

Speech-Language Pathologists identify children with specific disorders and delays related to language communication, and provide therapy to help these students overcome the impact of these challenges on their academic success. This includes completing diagnostic assessments to determine the presence/absence of a communication disorder, and providing support in areas of articulation, language, voice and/or fluency. In addition, additional support may include the use of technology to help students become more independent, such as devices that assist non-verbal students with communication.

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Speech language pathologists work closely with teachers and parents to build speech-language skills and help students apply those skills to all learning opportunities by reinforcing strategies in the classroom and at home.

 

Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy (Khan, Simon)

Occupational therapists and physical therapists work with the educational team to support a child’s ability to gain access to the general education curriculum, meet state standards, make adequate yearly progress, participate in postsecondary education, and become functional independent citizens upon graduation.

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In school-based practice, both OTs and PTs view disability in terms of the ways in which a child is faced with activity limitations and participation restrictions instead of focusing on projected limitations of a singular diagnosis, disease, or disorder. The child’s activity limitations and participation restrictions experienced in gaining access to the educational program are assigned a high priority.