Anticipated 2025-2026 School Year-Secondary School Social Worker

TITLE: Secondary School Social Worker

REPORTS TO: Building Principals and Director of Pupil Services

LOCATION: Pottsgrove Middle School and Pottsgrove High School

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Supports the district’s instructional program by assisting students in their personal, social, and educational growth.
• Provides direct and indirect services to students and families to address any issue that interferes with the educational process.
• Meets confidentially and individually with students identified under the McKinney Vento Act to provide: psychoeducational support, community referrals, educational planning and goal setting.
• Conducts home visits safely when and where appropriate after exhausting other means to communicate and support students in coordination with the school team. . This includes via phone, in school meetings, consult with CYS/partner agencies, and email.
• Provides parent education and resources for families.
• Participates as a team member with other school support personnel. When necessary, provides social and family information in school support team meetings when planning programs for individual students.
• Maintains a record system of information obtained through casework and makes necessary information available to school personnel to facilitate understanding of the individual student.
• Maintains adequate safeguards for the privacy and confidentiality of information.
• Maintains current information regarding community resources and makes appropriate referrals in situations where a referral is warranted. Empowers students and their families to gain access to and effectively use formal and informal community resources.
• Assist families in applying for medical assistance and other community entitlements as appropriate.
• Acts as a liaison between Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth, Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the school district for matters related to Child Welfare, General Protective Services and Adjudicated Youth.
• Acts as a liaison between Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth- Truancy Diversion Program, the Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the school district for matters related to attendance and truancy.
• Cooperates with the Director of Pupil Services, Supervisors of Special Education and building personnel in developing and implementing social work programs.
• Performs a psycho-social assessment of students, and family, school and community factors which contribute to the student’s social and academic adjustment within the educational setting adhering to all confidentiality practices. Assessment of a student will be in terms of a personal and family history, and socioeconomic, and cultural factors.
• Provides strengths based, solution focused casework services to families in an effort to decrease barriers to school performance.
• Maintains professional competence through readings, attendance at conferences, workshops, memberships in professional organizations and other relevant activities in accordance with district guidelines.
• Attends student services meetings, individual student meetings and district committee meetings as assigned by the Director of Pupil Services.
• May assist in investigating reasons for unlawful, irregular or prolonged student absences after initial outreach and fact finding is completed at the building level by assigned staff.
• As a representative of the district, may refer students to both the district magistrate court and petition juvenile probation/OCY regarding truancy cases and coordinate with staff in order to maintain records of School Attendance Improvement Plans.
• May provide crisis intervention support.
• Assists in the transition and coordination of services necessary for a student returning from a hospital or court placed setting.
• Provides school district personnel with annual professional development on mandated reporting laws and practice, McKinney Vento identification and services.
• Acts as the district’s McKinney Vento, Act 1, and ESSA foster care liaison/point of contact. Identifies eligible students in the district and ensures that the provisions of McKinney-Vento/ESSA Acts are afforded to them.
• Investigates credible concerns regarding students’ residence and eligibility to attend the Pottsgrove School District, after initial outreach and fact finding is completed at the building level by assigned staff. Tasks related to the investigation may occur outside of contracted working hours.
• Develop new and foster existing relationships with community service providers.
• Maintain appropriate and timely documentation of McKinney Vento and ESSA records in PowerSchool as well as ECYEH State database.
• Participates and is an active member of the district threat assessment team.
• At the discretion and direction of the Director of Pupil Services provides training, education, and awareness to staff across the district on topics of trauma informed care, mandated reporting, attendance procedures and homeless awareness outreach.
• Maintains a trauma-informed and student centered lens when developing and implementing interventions that benefit the whole child.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s Degree in social work
• PA Social Worker licensure required
• School social worker experience preferred
• Experience working with school aged children
• Pennsylvania Certification of Home & School Visitor
• Certified School Social Worker

Work Year: 189 Days

Pottsgrove School District is an equal Opportunity Employment Educational Organization