Message from the
President...
Greetings School Social Workers, I hope that you had
a relaxing Spring Break and were able to rejuvenate
yourself to get geared up for the End of Grade(EOG's)
and the End of Course(EOC's) testing. This past year has
been very difficult and challenging for all of us due to
last year's budget cuts and not knowing what the future
will hold for us. Social Workers have always been the
“glue that holds things together” and “the vital link
for children, school and families.” With that said how
could a school function without a School Social Worker?
As our license plate tags and pens say, “Every School
Needs a School Social Worker.” This is a critical time
for all professional School Social Workers to be members
of the state association. (NCSSWA) We should be shouting
from the rooftop all the interventions and services we
provide that directly impact students' lives:
attendance; academics; behavior, dropout prevention;
positive behavior support; mental health; depression;
graduation rates; homelessness and etc.
As many of you know, Teresa Smith, who was the
Student Services Consultant is no longer at the
Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The association
is advocating for DPI to hire a Social Work Consultant
to assist with Social Work Needs. We would like to wish
Teresa good luck in her new endeavors and she will be
missed.
The months are rolling by and we are counting the
days until we meet again at the 2010 Fall Conference in
Asheville at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Mark your calendars
- the date is November 10-12, 2010. Sara Morrell, our
Vice-President and Ann-Marie McBride our local planning
committee chair have a treat in store for you. Do not
miss out on the opportunity to attend some awesome
sessions on: advocacy; school based mental health,
homelessness; RTI(Response to Intervention); bipolar;
autism; truancy; Boom Thinking, and Healing and
Self-Care for School Social Workers. The conference is
geared toward the needs of School Social Workers. We are
inviting some new exhibitors and vendors. We have
negotiated great hotel rates at the Crown Plaza Hotel
and Asheville is gorgeous in the fall - come and see for
yourself. Sara Morrell and I attended the School
Social Workers of America Association conference in St.
Louis, Missouri April 7-10, 2010. Our main objective was
to recruit national speakers for our state conference
and to see what other School Social Workers and states
are doing to stay at the top of their game. Keep
your eyes and ears open more information to come on the
web and in the mail. See you in Asheville!
Katrina Nesmith |
