The Role of School Social Workers in the Micro, Mezzo and Macro Relationships of the Depart of…

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Students spend more waking hours in school than any other place. Therefore, school social workers are at the forefront of intervening with many mental health issues of students, as well as complex traumas with families. This elective will focus on the micro, mezzo and macro issues in the New York City School System. School social workers bear witness and address multi-disparities that students in our system experience, including, but not limited to, housing and food insecurity, rise in suicidal ideation, violence with the NYPD, interactions with ICE and family member deportations, poverty and daily trauma. Schools are closely linked and required to partner with many other systems in our city, including hospitals, mental health organizations, NYPD, and ACS. This course will first address the challenges we see within the school system and the partnership with school social workers and then address the systemic changes we can make in the required outside partnerships, including, but not limited to, mental health resources, NYPD, and ACS. Finally, this class will closely address the segregation and racism in the NYC School System and strategies to create systemic change.