At the beginning of the school year, I talked about our
process for selecting students. We work
directly with the school administration, teachers and faculty to determine who
is most in need and would benefit from our services. We introduce ourselves to the faculty and
staff through a Welcome Breakfast and make sure everyone understands Partnership
with Children’s program and how improving student’s social, emotional and
behavioral skills can increase academic success and improve classroom
productivity.
Let me assure you, our interaction with the school’s staff
does not stop there. We work with
teachers and faculty to keep up with how students are functioning when not in
their weekly group or individual sessions.
One of the things that make Partnership with Children’s program so
successful is that we connect EVERYONE in a student’s life.
Every month we hold a PPT (Pupil Personnel Team) meeting to
evaluate our program. The PPT is a large
group that engages a number of resources beneficial to the students. I am in the group, along with the principal, the
assistant principal, two speech teachers, the after school tutoring
coordinator, a family social worker, the school’s social worker and a social
worker from an external facility (in case we determine the student or family
needs additional counseling beyond our scope of work). Each month’s agenda consists of specific
student cases that need to be addressed.
For instance, even though Partnership is helping Jack focus more in
class, he is still struggling with math and might benefit from some after-school
tutoring. Or Megan seems to have trouble
in English—maybe a speech screening is in order.
Partnership with Children doesn’t just focus on the
emotional well-being of the student—we focus on the WHOLE student. Sometimes there are other factors that our
social workers might not be aware of. In
order to best serve the student, we work with all constituents in his
life—teachers, administrators and families.
By integrating ourselves into the student’s life and keeping everyone in
the loop, we’re able understand the root of behavioral issues, resolve the
problems and help the student succeed personally and academically.
