Safe School Ambassadors

For my item of interest, I chose to write about  the Safe School Ambassadors (SSA)  program used to stop bullying in the school. This program helps students to take an active role supporting other students who may be teased at a given moment. The staff members give these tools to popular students who may have the greater social influence to reach out to vulnerable isolated students.  This immediate intervention is quicker and often more effective than conflict resolution. While the popular students may mentor the other students, they are observant of  their peers' risky behaviors and sudden changes of behavior. There have been results where there is less wasted time disciplining troublesome students when school administrations implemented this program.

The Safe School Ambassadors program is one of many anti-bullying measures that are successful at stopping students from hurting one another. There are many times of bullying that consist of cyberbullying, under the radar, as well as mistreatment of LGBT individuals. I would like to incorporate this program in the future. Rather than assigning students to be ambassadors, I want to have them volunteer for the positions.This can be an afterschool activity where the students can foster new friendships and partnerships with others.  I want to foster a positive atmosphere inside and outside of the classroom for all students.

http://community-matters.org/programs-and-services/safe-scho

ol-ambassadors

School Social Worker Priority Sheet

The item of interest that I chose was titled “Clinical School Social Work”.  Starting out at Hersey High School I was tossed right into the mix of things just as I was hoping.  What I quickly learned is that the role of a school social worker has many responsibilities and knowing how to prioritize can be difficult and drain on positive thoughts.  My supervisor created a priority sheet for me so I would know what takes precedence of others.  This was a mind saver for me and in a way, a form of self-care. 

School social workers are pulled in many directions and have a large number of responsibilities and tasks to complete in a short day.  This sheet helps me keep my day straight when things come up that are not planned.  Every school might have a different order that your supervisor wants you to follow but the top three things will be universal.  Crisis control always takes precedence over any other responsibility.  That does not mean that just because a student comes down to your office unexpectedly that you send your normal scheduled student back to class.  It means seeing what the crisis is and determining if it can wait.  Suicidal idealization is more important than a student who wants to talk about what his/her friend said to them.  The social worker still needs to use judgement while using this sheet.