Duties
Primary Function: The school social worker provides services related to students’ social, emotional and life adjustment to school, work and/or society. School Social Workers are the link between the home, school and community in providing direct as well as indirect services to students, families and school personnel in their effort to promote and support students' academic and social success.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Services to Students:
- Providing crisis intervention
- Developing intervention strategies to increase academic success
- Assisting with conflict resolution and anger management
- Helping the child develop appropriate social interaction skills
- Assisting the child in understanding and accepting self and others
Services to Parents/Families:
- Working with parents to facilitate their support in their children's school adjustment
- Alleviating family stress to enable the child to function more effectively in school and community
- Assisting parents to access programs available to students with special needs
- Assisting parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources
Services to School Personnel:
- Providing staff with essential information to better understand factors (cultural, societal, economic, familial, health, etc.) affecting a student’s performance and behavior
- Assessing students with mental health concerns
- Developing staff in-service training programs
- Assisting teachers with behavior/classroom management
- Providing direct support to staff as needed
Related Services:
- Participating in special education assessment meetings as well as Individual Educational Planning (IEP) meetings
- Working with those problems in a child's living situation that affect the child’s adjustment in school (home, school, and community)
- Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability
- Counseling (group, individual and/or family)
- Mobilizing family, school, and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program
- Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies
School-Community Liaison:
- Obtaining and coordinating community resources to meet students' needs
- Helping school districts receive adequate support from social and mental health agencies
- Advocating for new and improved community/school service to meet the needs of students and families
- Helping the system respond effectively to each child's needs
Additional Duties and Responsibilities:
- Strong planning and implementation skills
- Communicate clearly orally and in writing
- Strong collaboration skills
- Knowledge/implementation of restorative discipline practices
- Strong understanding of equitable classroom practices
- High expectations for all students
Other:
- Comply with district policies, as well as state and federal laws and regulations including special education laws
- Demonstrate professional, ethical, and responsible behavior; serve as a role model for students and other staff
- Maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the job
- Other duties as assigned
Salary/Benefits
Benefits:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance with 100% employee-only coverage fully paid by the district
- Employer-provided life insurance policy
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP), offering resources for mental health, financial planning, legal guidance, and more to help you navigate life's challenges
- Generous leave policy, including personal days off, paid holidays, and sick leave to support your work-life balance and well-being
- Participation in the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and optional 403(b) retirement savings plan
- Tuition Reimbursement program and Professional Development opportunities to support growth and career advancement
Physical Demands:
- Sitting for long periods of time; some extensive walking; light lifting; working on the computer for extended periods of time
Disclaimer:
This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned.