Social Work Assistant

ABOUT OUR DISTRICT

The Syracuse City School District is undergoing a new phase of innovation and transformation with the goal of ensuring that all students graduate high school with the skills needed to be ready for college and career. For Syracuse, all means all - including students who fall behind academically or have been considered "hard to support" for a host of reasons. The School Board and Syracuse community have charged the Superintendent with improving student achievement, and he is seeking a dedicated and diverse team of school leaders and teachers to partner with him in moving the district toward its goals.

The Syracuse City School District represents 34 schools and 4 alternative education programs, serving 19,000+ students Pre‑K‑12 of whom 77% qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch, 18% are served by the Office of Special Education and 78% are students of color.

Locations will vary on availability

The work involves responsibility for providing limited social work services for students and their families. The incumbent exercises independent judgment in helping students and families by providing appropriate counseling, emotional support, crisis intervention, and advocacy with community agencies. The work is performed under the direct supervision of a School Social Worker or other administrative superior. Supervision is not a function of this class.

Does related work as required.

• Links students and families with school and community resources.
• Attends parent‑teacher conferences as needed.
• Assists in school‑wide attendance initiatives.
• Makes home visits as needed.
• Encourages families to effectively participate in their child’s education.
• Helps families understand school policies, services, and programs.
• Assists the school team in crisis intervention.
• Refers Child Protective cases and make referrals to mental health agencies as needed.
• Provides individual and group counseling of students and as indicated on students Individualized Education Program (IEP).
• Collaborates with school teams to develop and monitor Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, Functional Behavioral Assessments, and behavior plans.
• Actively participates in various meetings with families, school teams, and multiple agencies as needed.
• Participates in team meetings and reviews data collected at regular intervals.
• Collaborates with all school personnel to assess student’s social/emotional obstacles to academic success.
• Consults with therapists, doctors, parents, child protective, law guardians, and family court.
• Completes social histories as part of evaluation team and documents attempts to meet with families.
• Assists in the development, facilitation, coordination of prevention activities and intervention strategies, programs and training.
• Collaborates with various parties to report or investigate concerns.
• Works collaboratively with college/university partners on District initiatives.
• Assists the school social worker and other related service providers.

• Good knowledge of practices and procedures of social work in a school setting.
• Working knowledge of the community agencies and their services and programs available to students with special needs and their families including students with behavior concerns.
• Working knowledge of the needs and problems associated with students with special needs and students with behavior concerns and their families.
• Working knowledge of the school district’s operations and policies.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others.
• Ability to prepare case notes and reports.