Report on Field Placement Setting 1

Report on Field Placement Setting

Ryan Monette (fc7863 004307498) Wayne State University 11/13/13

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My internship this year is with Van Dyke Public Schools (VDPS). I am the intern to the school social worker at Majorie Carlson Elementary School. VDPS is a small district in Warren, Michigan. VDPS consists of four schools. Carlson elementary is one of two elementary schools in the district. Carlson elementary recently just absorbed another elementary in the district. The mission statement at Carlson Elementary is as follows: Carlson Elementary School will provide students with a diverse curriculum that is engaging for all learning styles, aligned with grade-level standards, and rigorous to prepare our students for state and local assessments. The individual learning needs of each student will be evaluated and responded to in a collaborative intervention system in order for all students to reach their potential towards college and career readiness and to become successful contributors in our global community. What this means is the school will challenge its students with material that will prepare them to succeed on state local assessments and staff will respond to the individual needs of students to maximize their success. The staff at Carlson achieves this through many different ways. One of which is by abiding by a

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strict curriculum set forth by the state of Michigan. Carlson caters to the individual needs of students during Individual Education Plans (IEPs). A professional team will meet with the childs family and their teacher to assess their needs and review goals set to guide the student towards success. The population at Carlson would be considered to be an at risk population. The school is located off of Hover road at ten mile. The area is surrounded by poverty. Many students families are unable to provide them with necessities such as adequate amounts

of food or a winter coat. There is also a lot of diversity throughout the population. Many different ethnicities and backgrounds can be found there. The population we primarily work with is the children in our elementary school. We sometimes need to work with students families as well to help the student. My role at the agency is clear. I am responsible for enabling students to be successful. The schools social worker is not supposed to be doing therapy with students. If a student requires it, we can refer them to appropriate services. Throughout the year I will gradually be adding responsibilities to my list. In the beginning my role was to shadow the school social worker. Since then I have worked my way to being given a caseload of eight students. The majority of the students on my caseload are in a cognitively impaired classroom, with these students I will be running two social skills groups. Some of the things I will be doing will include doing social histories, participate

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and facilitate functional analysis of behaviors and behavior plans, participate in REED meetings and participate in crisis interventions with staff, students and parents. As a school social worker, I would interact with other disciplines around the school. At Carlson, we have on staff, a principal, teachers, DHS workers, a psychologist, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, and classroom assistants. As a social worker, I have the potential of working with almost every single staff member at different times throughout the year. I will be required to work as a team with staff members as a part of a students IEP. Included on a students IEP is what services the student will be receiving. This includes but is not limited to things such as social work services, speech and language services and occupational therapy services. When a student is designated to these services, we each schedule meetings with the student and provide the necessary services. While we may not directly interact with each other, each discipline is important to the success of the student. Clients enter the system by coming to our school. The decision to designate someone for social work services, which would put the student on our caseload, is made during an IEP. An IEP would come if a student was having difficulties in school. We also handle cases that arent on a caseload. If a student or a parent comes to us with an issue, we will see that student and do what we can to help him or her. If the problem persists or calls for it, we may do a social history and further investigate the issue. Clients progress though the system at their own pace. Measurable goals are

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agreed upon during the students IEP. Timelines are set with these goals. At the en of the year or whenever called for we will reevaluate the student and see where they are at as far as progress. If a client is doing well, they may be mainstreamed. If a client does not succeed, we will reevaluate and possibly offer further services. A client does not leave the system until he or she has switched to a different school or has moved up to another school. Carlson elementary goes beyond servicing just the students in its building. School social worker and myself participate in the Gleaners mobile food pantry for families in Van Dyke Public Schools area. There are many families in the area that can not provide their families food and this can help make a great difference round the community.