• Celebrating School Social Work Week

    March 6-12, 2022

     

    Time to Shine

     

    Every year the National Association of Social Workers celebrates the contributions of all social workers during the Month of March. This includes School Social Workers which will be celebrated the week of March 6-12, 2022.

    Social workers are the largest group of mental health care providers in the United States, helping people overcome depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other disorders. They confront some of the most challenging issues facing individuals, families, communities and society and forge solutions that help people reach their full potential and make our nation a better place to live.

    School social workers are part of a multidisciplinary educational team that helps address the needs of students and their families. Students receive assistance to help them overcome issues with self-esteem, social skills, depression, anxiety, anger management, and much more. Because of their specialized training, they are adept to address the social and psychological issues that can block academic progress. Through student screening, individual and group counseling, crisis intervention and prevention programs, they help young people overcome the difficulties in their lives, and as a result, give them a better chance to reach their full academic and personal potential.

    The School Social Workers in North Tonawanda are licensed mental health professionals who are trained in many different areas and therapeutic approaches including play therapy, cognitive behavioral and brief solution focused therapy, trauma informed care, family counseling, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, and crisis management. At the high school, Karen Dillon, LCSW and Kim Capriotti, LMSW work full time addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. As Field Educators, they provide student interns from various colleges the opportunity to integrate and apply the social work theories, skills and values they are learning via coursework in a practice setting. With the assistance of Rosemary Fox, Child Associate, they currently have one master level intern and two bachelor level interns working with them through the PASS Program (Program of Academic Support Services). The PASS Program is designed to assist in the prevention of academic failure and school dropout. Youth “at-risk” of school failure are teamed with trained paraprofessional adults who mentor the students through school and social difficulties.

    Miss Dillon and Miss Capriotti are available at 807-3619 and 807-3627, respectively, if you have any questions about the above mentioned services and/or about your child’s emotional well being.


    A special thank you to all of our families, support staff, teachers, and administrators for all of your support in helping us help our students.