Spring 2026 SOWK 587 Week 01 - Getting Started with Social Work in Schools

The NASW is the national professional network for all social workers. In 2025 they updated their standards descriptions for school social work. You will read this next week, but it includes what they identify as Guiding Principles in Domains of Practice

Theoretical Training and Philosophy: Holistic approach, cultural responsiveness, and relationships
Social Justice: Equitable opportunities for all students, support negatively impacted students/groups
Multitier Interventions: Tier 1, 2, and 3 for engagement and thinking

There is also a number of statements of standards along with interpretations for each in each of the following areas:

Ethics and Values
Qualifications
Assessment
Intervention
Decision Making and Practice Evaluation
Record Keeping
Workload Management
Use of Technology
Professional Development
Cultural Competence
Interdisciplinary Leadership and Collaboration
Advocacy
School Safety
Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and Response
Confidentiality

(National Association of Social Workers, 2025)

Credentials

NASW’s Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS)
SSWAA’s National Certification of School Social Work (NCSSW)
OSPI’s Educational Staff Associate (ESA) with an Endorsement in Social Work

Many of us are also independently licensed by the health department with credentials such as a LICSW.

In 2022, Pasco School District started recognizing a national board certification equivalency for those with C-SSWS

Reference

National Association of Social Workers. (2025). NASW Standards for School Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/NASW-Practice-Standards-Guidelines/NASW-Standards-for-School-Social-Work-Services

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.) Certified school social work specialist (C-SSWS). https://www.socialworkers.org/Careers/Credentials-Certifications/Apply-for-NASW-Social-Work-Credentials/Certified-School-Social-Work-Specialist

School Social Work Association of America. (n.d.) National certification of school social work (NCSSW). https://www.sswaa.org/national-certification

Washington Office of Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (n.d.) School social worker first time. https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/educational-staff-associate-esa-certificates/esa-first-time-applicant/school-social-worker-first-time

Along with the NASW, there is a second related organization that is specifically focused on school social workers.

Related Services

Participating in special education assessment meetings as well as individual Educational Planning Meetings
Working with those problems in a child’s living situation that affect the child’s adjustment in school. (home, school, and community)
Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability.
Counseling (group, individual and/or family)
Mobilizing family, school, and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program
Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

Services To Students

Providing crisis intervention.
Developing intervention strategies to increase academic success.
Assisting with conflict resolution and anger management.
Helping the child develop appropriate social interaction skills.
Assisting the child in understanding and accepting self and others.

Services To Parent/Families

Working with parents to facilitate their support in their children’s school adjustment.
Alleviating family stress to enable the child to function more effectively in school &community.
Assisting parents to access programs available to students with special needs.
Assisting parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources.

Services To School Personnel

Providing staff with essential information to better understand factors (cultural, societal, economic, familial, health, etc.) affecting a student’s performance and behavior.
Assessing students with mental health concerns.
Developing staff in-service training programs.
Assisting teachers with behavior management.
Providing direct support to staff.

School-Community Liaison

Obtaining and coordinating community resources to meet students’ needs.
Helping school districts receive adequate support from social and mental health agencies.
Advocating for new and improved community/school service to meet the needs of students and families.
Helping the system respond effectively to each child’s needs.

Services To Districts

Assist in developing and implementing educational programs for children for exceptional children.
Developing alternative programs for students with attendance concerns or involvement with the law.
Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
Providing consultation regarding school law and school policy including IDEA and Section 504.
Providing case management for students and families requiring multiple resources.

(School Social Worker Association of America, n.d.)

Reference

School Social Work Association of America. (n.d.) Role of school social work. https://www.sswaa.org/school-social-work

The model provides descriptions of each of these aspects as follows:

Areas of Focus

Academics: Fostering attendance, academic achievement, and graduation rates; creating opportunities; and decreasing barriers for equitable access and success among historically underrepresented groups.
School Climate: Advancing multi-tiered positive behavioral intervention and support systems, and creating a universal, whole-school climate where students feel welcome, safe, and supported.
Social and Emotional: Promoting culturally responsive, evidence-based social and emotional practices and interventions.
Mental Health: Implementing trauma-informed, healing-centered engagement and mental health services, with a focus on culturally responsive, multi-tiered prevention, intervention, and crisis management.

Domains of Practice

Home, School, and Community: Bridging family, school, and community needs by creating a school community grounded in academic learning, health and social services, youth development, and family and community voices.

Professional Activities

Practice: Utilizing licensure-appropriate skills and knowledge to work effectively within school systems.
Research: Applying research-informed practices and conducting practice-based research.
Policy: Influencing federal, state, and local policies to champion educational access, equity, and inclusion.
Leadership: Facilitating school improvement plans to foster educational equity and address collaborators’ needs.
Advocacy: Advancing human rights that promote the role and impact of school social workers.

Professional Principles

Social Work Values: The principles and beliefs that guide the profession and the actions of school social workers.
Equity: The practice by which school social workers ensure that every student and their family has access to resources, opportunities, and benefits.
Code of Ethics: The expected conduct and behavior of school social workers. National School Social Work Practice Model 2.0

Reference

Tan, K. & School Social Work Association of America. (2024) National school work practice model 2.0: A framework for 21st century school social work practice. School Social Work Association of America. https://www.sswaa.org/ssw-model

Washington State Law

(School psychologists and social workers - Domains and roles RCW § 28A.410.044, 2018) Social workers are still a growing profession in schools across the nation and within Washington State. In 2018, the legislature updated the RCW to include some new definitions and descriptions for school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers.

The purpose and role of the school social worker is to provide an integral link between school, home, and community in helping students achieve academic and social success. This is accomplished by removing barriers and providing services

Mental health and academic counseling
support for students and parents
crisis prevention and intervention
professional case management
collaboration with other professionals, organizations, and community agencies
advocacy for students and parents

Leadership and professional expertise

formation of school discipline policies and procedures
school-based mental health services
crisis management
implementation of social-emotional learning
other support services that impact student academic and social-emotional success

Share experience of being conference for WASSW when announced initial.

Reference

School counselors, social workers, and psychologists—Professional collaboration, RCW 28A.320.290 (2018). https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.320.290

School counselors, social workers, and psychologists—Priorities, RCW 28A.320.280 (2018). https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.320.280

School psychologists and social workers—Domains and roles, RCW 28A.410.044 (2018). https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.410.044

ESA Course Approval Process: Required Competencies

Across this course, there is content for this course specifically designed (and approved) to provide the required content to be a approved ESA Course. The seven identified competencies are as follows:

A. Demonstrate an understanding of school and special education laws and policies (national, state, and local) and their application to decision-making processes in the educational setting.
B. Understand and demonstrate knowledge of working within the culture of the schools, creating an environment that fosters safety, health, and learning for the students.
C. Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate resources in the school setting.
D. Demonstrate knowledge of collaboration with team members which may include parents, teachers, administrators, and others to support learning outcomes for all students.
E. Demonstrate knowledge of how to support the outcomes for all students through strategies such as scientifically-based practices, collaborative teaming, and ethical decision making.
F. Use professional standards to inform professional growth planning.
G. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of human, community, and technological resources.

While these topics are broad and the content is interrelated across all of the content of the course, there are some days and activities that have been specifically designed to address these. You can see the table that shows which weeks and the format (e.g., in-person or asynchronous) we will be focusing on each competency.

Required Outcomes	Week	Format
A. Demonstrate an understanding of school and special education laws and policies (national, state, and local) and their application to decision-making processes in the educational setting.	4	Async
B. Understand and demonstrate knowledge of working within the culture of the schools, creating an environment that fosters safety, health, and learning for the students.	3	Sync/Async
C. Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate resources in the school setting.	12	Sync/Async
D. Demonstrate knowledge of collaboration with team members which may include parents, teachers, administrators, and others to support learning outcomes for all students.	5	Sync/Async
E. Demonstrate knowledge of how to support the outcomes for all students through strategies such as scientifically-based practices, collaborative teaming, and ethical decision making.	6 & 10	Sync/Async
F. Use professional standards to inform professional growth planning.	14	Async
G. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of human, community, and technological resources.	8	Async

Reference

Professional transitions to public schools course work requirement, WAC 181-79A-224 (2021). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=181-79A-224

Significant Assignments and Competencies

There are a number of activities and tasks that you will do to learn about and demonstrate these competencies.

First there four (five if you count forums) significant assignments this semester:

A-01 School Intervention Assessment and Plan (B, C, E, G) A-03 Ethical Decision-Making Video Presentation (A, E) A-04 School-Related Problem Factsheet (B, C, G) A-05 Social Policy Macro Issue (B, D, E)

These all fit within a few of the competencies.

In my application for PESB, I also described a number of other ways that you will learn about this content:

Forums
Course content (e.g., lecture, content, and assignments)
Special education law quiz
Exploring due process hearings (forum)
Role-play exercises (in class)
Developing a professional growth plan (forum)

MSW Program Competencies

This class is also a bit odd, in there is no key assignment but we are still looking at two specific competencies for this class.

EPAS 2022 Competency	Behaviors (performance indicators)	Assessment Method(s)
Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice	a. Summarize internalized racial bias by self-reflecting on personal history, power, position, and opportunities for change. b. Utilize social work research, community-based education, social justice practices, policy analysis and advocacy, and/or non-profit administration and leadership to dismantle structurally racist practices and policies.	School Intervention Assessment and Plan
Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice	a. Examine social welfare policies at local, state, tribal, and federal levels to summarize best practice recommendations. b. Assess social policy theory in the context of practice with diverse client populations and prepare recommendations for policy change.	Social Policy Macro Issue Assignment Social Policy Macro Issue Assignment

I wanted to come back to the model.

Again, the model has:

School social workers promote student and school well-being.
School social workers advance academics, mental health, social and emotional development, and school climate.
School social workers operate by working with the home, school, and community.
School social workers conduct their work through practice, research, policy, advocacy, and leadership.
School social workers are guided by our Code of Ethics, social work values, and the principle of equity.

Guiding Questions

Once your wheel is assembled, use it to generate reflective questions by combining terms across the wheels. These questions can be used to spark discussion, facilitate planning, or foster a deeper exploration of our profession. Encourage individuals or teams to create their own questions by spinning or selecting new term combinations.

For example:

In what ways can school social workers support academic achievement at home through direct practice?
How can school social workers enhance students’ social and emotional well-being within the school setting through research?

(Tan, 2025)

Reference

Tan, K, (2025) Bridging the gap: Reflection and Guidance on the SSWAA national practice model 2.0. https://www.sswaa.org/reflections-national-model