WHAT’S INSIDE:
KASSW is spotlighting several members
who are making a
difference in the lives
of Kentucky students.
Get ready for another great Fall Conference in 2017 at our
favorite place. That’s
right as KASSW will
be back at Buffalo
Trace Distillery!
Guidelines for the
new KASSW Logo
Contest. Find out
how your students
can win a $100
Amazon gift card
and help KASSW.
School Social Workers laying the groundwork for the dreams of Kentucky students
KASSW
K
Kentucky Association for School Social Work
March 2017
President’s Message
Greetings from the Kentucky Association for School Social Workers! My name is Lori Vogel, and I was recently given the honor of serving
you as your KASSW President. I am currently a School Social Worker/Guidance Specialist at Leestown Middle School in Lexington. I have
been in this position since August, so I am learning two new roles this year. I have been with Fayette County Public School since 1999, all in
elementary school until last year. Prior to working in the school system, my experience was in community mental health working in FCPS
schools as a school based therapist. It was at that time that I became acquainted with members of KASSW and knew that being a school social worker was the path I wanted to take. I was a member for many years, and then was persuaded to join the KASSW board by a co-worker
in 2010. Since then I have served as Secretary and Membership Coordinator. I am truly happy to serve KASSW in this new role!
Joining KASSW soon after I began my position while working in community mental health was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It allowed me to network with those already in school social work positions. When I was then hired as a SSW, I already had a support system to
rely upon when I was unsure about issues in which I was less experienced. Many of the tasks and roles I was taking on were m uch different
than the skill set acquired in community mental health. If it were not for the support of my KASSW friends, it would have taken me a much
longer time to assimilate into my position. And, as you know, that is time that school social workers do not have! Even now after 17 years of
being a school social worker I find myself in a new position and those connections are still helping me find my way!
I feel KASSW is entering a new chapter for several reasons. First, we have had several long time members and board members move on to
greener pastures (retirement or planning it soon)! I want to thank those folks for helping guide me in my journey into this leadership position
within our organization. You know who you are! Without your leadership and loyalty to KASSW, we would not have been able to preserver
over the years. With those departures however, we have some opportunities for others to join the board. If you would like to serve KASSW,
please contact me. We would love to have you to brainstorm new ideas for our organization. Which leads me to my second point, which is
we are moving into unsure times with many changes on the horizon to the education system both nationally and in our own state. We hope
to keep you up to date on those changes and help school social workers adapt should we need to. We need to stick together as a profession
and keep our eye on what is best for kids in our Commonwealth.
Lastly, we need your feedback and input in our decision making. We want to know how we can serve you as your professional organization.
I encourage you to look at our Facebook page and our website, KASSWKY.org. We are also trying to develop a site on Office 360 to help us
stay more connected. Please join us on these endeavors! Thanks in advance for your support, and I look forward to serving in this role.
KASSW President Lori E. Vogel, LCSW
BE THE
CHANGE!
Need to know how
to reach your Legislator or updates on
Legislative action?
Go to lrc.ky.gov and click
on the map to find your
Legislator’s name.
Don’t be invisible...
You can also go to Kentucky.gov and click on
government to see proposed legislation action.
National School Social Work Week is March
6-10th. What are you doing to make yourself visible in your school, in your community, in your state? SSWAA has generously
provided some great ideas for helping you
“School Social Workers are
agents of change. When students do not feel heard,
School Social Workers listen.
When students or families
have unmet needs, School
Social Workers advocate for
needed support and/or services. When students, families, or communities feel marginalized, School Social Workers are an empowering force
for change.”
When saying, “Calm
Down,” doesn’t work for
parents or teachers ask
them to try some of these
suggestions:
1)I see that you are having a tough time, let
me help you to feel
better.
2)Take a deep breath.
3)I see that you are angry, how is your body
feeling right now?
What do you think
would help?
—from Rebecca Oliver, Executive Director of the School
In these times of local and
state cuts to education budgets, it is a time of prioritizing
what schools need to support
student learning. School Social Workers need to work
harder than ever to insure
that our professional contributions are noticed and seen
as valuable to students, families, and educators. Below are
some tips to make a part of
your own VISIBITY efforts:
Write a short newsletter article to your paper on an
activity for SSW week.
Make a sign for the teacher’s
lounge about SSW.
Send a thank you for the support you receive from
your principal and staff.
Host an “Open House,” in
your office to show what
you do with students/
staff.
Have a party for the students
you see to thank them for
supporting what you do.
Ask your Superintendent and
school board members to
recognize School Social
Work Week.
Send dates of SSW to your
local Union’s newsletter.
Smile all week & remember
you make a DIFFERENCE!
Thinking outside the box:
Providing blogs/websites for SSW
4)If you are feeling sad,
you can tell me about
it.
Time constraints of work often Social Workers
lead to little time to research
Make a Difference
and find resources to bolster
your time with students. To
book
think outside the box on your
Social Work
limited time, here are some
assists:
Scrapbook blog
5)Sounds like you are
very frustrated, let’s
figure this out together.
Journal pages and cover for
middle school & high
school from Teachers Pay
Teachers
The School Counseling
Blog
50 Great Websites for
Therapists
Behavior Intervention Plans
from paradigmbehavior.com
“How to Teach Finance to
Kids,” from fatwallet.com
Healthychildren.org
Tolerance.org
Middleschoolcounselor.com
5 TED Talks for Social
Workers
Be thinking of recommending Supertintendents, Principals, Community Resource People by May that
you want honored as Friends of School Social Work. Don’t forget to nominate by May any outstanding School Social Workers in your school district too. Send your nominations to President Lori Vogel.
School Social Worker Spotlight
The Bluegrass region of KASSW would like you
to meet Anitrea Burks, MSW. Anitrea works at
Deep Springs Elementary in Lexington. She has
a 17 year old son, Shane. He is a senior in high
school. In addition, she has fun leading her
church choir and in traveling with friends.
Ms. Burk has been a school social worker for 16
years. Prior to that she worked at the Cabinet
for Families and Children doing investigations and ongoing services. She
now serves in the role of Child Guidance Specialist. She says it is the perfect
job for her. Anitrea says, “from working with the students, to providing services, or just giving a smile or hug, it is my passion and adds a daily blessing
to my life.”
She is an energetic and enthusiastic professional who brings joy and dedication to her school each and every day. Students at Deep Springs are always
looking to her for a kind word or hug. Anitrea Burks makes Deep Springs
Elementary a home away from home for them.
Are you ready?
Be sure to save the date for
the annual KASSW Conference on Thursday, September 21st, 2017.
Our annual KASSW Conference will once again be
hosted at the beautiful Buffalo Trace Distillery in
Frankfort, Ky. This year the Conference will cover the important
and relevant topics of :
Mindfulness in the classroom
Teacher Coaching
Advocating for School Social
Work & Current Laws
Best Practices for Homeless Students & Families
Christina Johnson, a fifth grade
teacher at Cane Run Elementary
in Louisville, was featured in a
TIME magazine article highlighting her use of The Compassionate
Curriculum for a mindfulness classroom. Christina uses yoga and relaxation exercises to teach her
students to focus and tune
out distractions from
learning. Dr. Andy Frey, a
Master and Doctorate
level Kent School of Social
Work Professor will present on
Teacher Coaching. It has become
imperative for school social workers to be aware on current legislation which impacts our profession. Rebecca Oliver, Executive
Director of School Social Work
Association of America (SSWAA),
will highlight current legislative
issues concerning school social
work practice. Homeless issues
will be addressed by Shainey
Marcus, JCPS Homeless Liaison.
JOIN KASSW 9/21/2017!
To find out more about KASSW, please contact
KASSW President Lori Vogel at:
lori.vogel@fayette,kyschools.us or check out
our website: www.kasswky.org
Ways School Social Workers
are making a difference in our
Public Schools...
Jefferson County Representative Report:
Atkinson Elementary in Jefferson County
Public Schools is striving to make positive
strides in improving attendance. Atkinson is
one of seven schools awarded peer learning
supports and resources through a grant
geared at dramatically reducing chronic absenteeism and opening the door to academic success.
Atkinson’s 2016-2017 annual attendance
goal is to increase the attendance percentage from 94% to 94.5% and reduce the
chronic absence rate from 16.67% to 12.5%.
One of the many initiatives we are using is to
use an attendance focused Lunch and Learn
time. On December 7th, kindergarten
through 1st grade parents were invited to
participate in an interactive workshop and
focus group. Parents learned about the
school’s attendance initiatives, tips on how
to improve attendance, reviewed the Attendance Works resources, and engaged in
discussions on how parents can be more
involved. Several families signed up to become part of a new work group developing
strategies to engage families. Parents then
had the opportunity to enjoy lunch with their
children.
Tell us more positive ways
You are engaging parents to
be part of your public school.
3
Education Dives Report:
A recent report from Education News shared that Indiana, Minnesota, and Tennessee are deviating from what many states
have been doing—they are increasing hiring of school counselors. Many states are cutting public school funding from services like librarians, school counselors, teachers, school nurses, etc. With the anticipation of increased cuts to health and
mental health services, what will this mean for the future of school social workers? Minnesota will spend $12 million on
counselors, social workers, nurses and school psychologists for 77 schools, Tennessee will use $7.2 million over 3
years to increase the number of college counselors in schools, Colorado is expanding an initial $15 million investment because that one was so successful, and the Lilly Endowment in Indiana has pledged $30 million. An Education Week analysis of federal data found nearly 30% of K-12 schools have no counselors on staff at all, and where
there are counselors, their caseloads are nearly twice as large as the American School Counselor Association recommends — yet a study in Colorado showed every $1 invested in counseling saved $20 in potential costs from students who would have dropped out of school. Keep informed about what our state is doing to provide for mental
health services in our public schools by contacting KDE and your legislators. This is another great opportunity to
promote how SSW help students.
Did you know...Frances Perkins, a social worker was the 1st woman appointed
to the U.S. Cabinet when in 1933 she was named Secretary of Labor?
Boost student & staff
morale with Random
Cultivating kindness in school is another great
way to increase your SSW presence and make a
positive difference. Sponsor a Beta Club, Pep
Club, Financial Planning Club, or activities
where you can get students focused on building
positive character. Some great sites for ideas
include: The Kindness Project found at
www.randomactsofkindness.org.
KASSW
Members at
our Fall
Conference
KASSW Board of Directors
President: Lori Vogel [email protected]
UK Liaison: Janet Doss [email protected]
Past President: Melinda McClung [email protected]
UL Liaison: Andy Frey [email protected]
Vice President: Kim Alexander [email protected]
Newsletter: Karen Guffey [email protected]
Secretary: Raine Minichan [email protected]
Northern Representative: Vacancy
Treasurer: Bethany Dewsnap [email protected]
Western Representative:
Bluegrass Rep.: jennifer Brown [email protected]
KDE Liaison: [email protected]
Central Ky. Rep.: Berniece Nyarko [email protected]
Midwest Consultant: Lori Lazarri
Southern Rep.: Rebecca Oliver [email protected]
Vacancy
[email protected]
Using your skills to reduce
Teacher Burnout & Stress
As a School Social Worker, you around stressful situations with students and
families all the time where you offer support and resources. But, how often do
you take time to help teachers avoid burning out from their stress. Let’s face it,
education is getting more stressful all the time and it wears even the best of
teachers at times. Your role is to help listen and support children’s growth—
you can help your school climate improve sometimes with being there for your
teachers. One of the biggest supports is giving teachers a safe place to vent so
they know it is okay to be weak, mad, or sad without judgment. Be a person
they can trust but, not a doormat. Encourage them to shadow another educator
they admire for ideas. If they are KEA members, they can have KEA pay for a
sub at no cost to the school so they can shadow a mentor. Remind them that all
jobs have crummy moments and they really aren’t losing their sanity forever.
Using Books to Promote
Kindness
In our post-election world, how do we
guide our students and teach them tolerance and kindness, and empower them?
Well, here are some great books that
may help you reach out and increase
student empathy.
No one sees or
notices the boy
and this is a
great book for
building student
awareness of
A federal report published by the Administration on Children,
Youth and Families (ACYF) showed that the number of children
in the United States who experienced child abuse and neglect
rose for the third year in a row. Nationwide, there
were about 683,000 victims of child maltreatment
in 2015, a rate that came to 9.2 States with the highest fatality rates per 100,000 children include Arkansas (5.67 percent), South Dakota (5.21 percent),
Mississippi (4.82 percent), Georgia (4.51 percent)
and Michigan (3.76 percent).
In tracking who reported allegations of abuse or neglect, educators made the most referrals to child-protective services at 18.4
percent, followed by legal and law enforcement personnel (18.2
percent), social services personnel (10.9 percent), medical professionals (9.1 percent), mental health professional (5.8 percent)
and other per 1,000 children.
All School Social Workers can draw conclusions on what this
data reveals about the safety needs of our students. It is important that we continue to build close relationships with our
students, parents, teachers, principals, and community resources
so that Kentucky reduces child abuse and neglect incidences.
Two girls from
very different
backgrounds
form a positive
relationship and
friendship.
Teaching tolerance
and appreciation
of the differences
of other kids.
How teasing affects a confident
girl. Strong talking points for students to discuss
on how to notice/
prevent bullying.
KASSW School Social Work Logo Contest
Past Logos
The Kentucky Association for School Social Work seeks logo submissions from students throughout Kentucky in
grades K-12.
Guidelines:
Submissions can be hand drawn or computer generated. Logo submissions may not be taken from other school social work organizations found
on the internet. The logo must help students, families, teachers, administrators and other professionals understand the role of the school social
worker in the state of Kentucky.
Who are School Social Workers?
School Social Workers are professionals with a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Social Work from an accredited college or university that work
full or part time in a school. In most cases we are certified school employees through the Department of Education. Most of the time, we are in a
role called the School Social Worker, but in Kentucky you may also find us in schools working as Family Resource Youth Service Center Coordinators, Behavior Intervention Teachers, and Guidance Counselors/ Guidance Specialists to name a few.
What do School Social Workers do?
Overall School Social Workers help parents, students, and school staff identify needs that interfere with learning and work with students to get
the services they need. School Social Workers work with general and special education students and their families to resolve social, emotional
and behavioral problems. School Social Workers help to bridge school, home and community to help students be as successful as possible.
Possible services provided by School Social Workers:
Crisis counseling
Work with students in difficult home situations
Helping students resolve a conflict with peers or even teachers
Help students with attendance problems
Provide counseling
Help parents get help for students who may have academics
Provide group counseling
Help students with anger problems
Help parents get resources like food, healthcare
Grief Counseling
Information about outside counseling support
Helping teachers understand mental health conditions
Attend meetings with parents at schools
Homelessness
And many more services for students...
Our Mission:
The mission of KASSW is to improve the quality of life and education for Kentucky's children by enhancing the professional development of school
social workers. For more information about KASSW please view our website at www.kasswky.org
Deadline:
The Deadline to send in a submission is January 20, 2017. A winner will be selected at the KASSW meeting on January 26, 2017
Submissions may be sent to [email protected].