IDEA Public Schools is proudly celebrating World Social Work Day on March 19. This special day promotes the importance of human relationships.  It is the key day in the year that social workers worldwide stand together to celebrate the achievements of the profession and take the theme message into their communities, workplaces and to their governments to raise awareness of the social work contributions and need for further action.

IDEA is proud to have phenomenal social workers at various campuses. These certified counselors work directly with our at-risk scholars to ensure that they graduate and go to and through college by providing them individualized emotional, behavioral and mental health support. The goal in their work is to work with a large group of at-risk scholars and have them independently master coping skills to address and overcome mental, behavioral, and academic challenges.

IDEA’s social workers continue to do whatever it takes, not only to see their campus students succeed, but also to see that other campus staff are trained on how to best support their scholars.

For example, IDEA Montopolis College Preparatory social worker, Robert Wagner (pictured above), has begun leading a Trauma-Sensitive Schools training. This training reviews how trauma impacts learning, how to become a trauma-sensitive educator, and deep dives into trauma-sensitive teaching interventions. Robert has experience working at a community mental health clinic, an inpatient hospital, and working on outpatient therapy and case management.

Another exemplar IDEA social worker is Karla Salas, who works at IDEA South Flores College Preparatory. She is in the midst of coordinating a Girls Empowerment Camp. This day camp for middle school girls is entirely scholar-led and is designed to prepare them to make it to and through college by addressing topics the scholars have chosen as part of their social-emotional development. The goal for the scholars is to increase their confidence and for them to learn how to manage emotions and reactions.

These are just a couple of examples that highlight the crucial role our social workers play on our education team. They meet the social, emotional, and academic support of our scholars, and we are so proud of the work they achieve. Happy World Social Work Day!