From pre-K to 12th grade, social workers play a crucial role in contributing to a safe and positive school community at Minnetonka. From meeting with families to responding to mental health crises, social workers across the District work hard each day to ensure that students are receiving the best possible support to improve their learning experience.
"The students often know me as the 'feelings teacher,'" explained Amy Horning, a social worker at Clear Springs Elementary. "I tell them that my job is to talk to kids and parents about their feelings about school, friends, family and life." Horning also works closely with the special education department at Clear Springs, where she helps with performing evaluations and offering IEP services to students.
MHS social worker Aubrie Roley also spends her day supporting students in whatever way she can. This most often includes meeting with students to talk over mental and emotional health concerns as well as connecting students, parents and counselors to outside support resources.
"My top priority throughout a typical school day is to meet with any students who are experiencing a crisis, causing them to become emotionally dysregulated and therefore making it challenging to stay and participate in class," Roley explained.
This year, the support school social workers provide is especially important as many students are facing additional challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic and online or hybrid learning models. But whether they are building relationships with students over a Google Meet call or in-person, the role of school social workers has remained relatively the same: to support students in times of need and help provide them with a positive school experience.
"Sometimes students just need a set of neutral ears to listen to the challenges or hardships they may be experiencing and how it relates to their ability to 'do school,'" Roley said. "Often talking through these challenges and troubleshooting solutions together is much easier than feeling like you need to take it on yourself."
In honor of School Social Worker Appreciation Week this week, make sure to reach out to your building's social worker and thank them for their dedication to supporting students. Minnetonka is lucky to have an excellent staff of social workers, and we are all incredibly grateful for their hard work!
