Program Model

In-school social workers: The core of our model, and the foundation of all three tiers of support, is the placement in schools of highly trained full-time social workers. We work in partnership with school principals to carefully match social workers to the specific needs of the school and to ensure a good fit with the school culture and community. Depending on the school and the need, a senior social worker may be joined by an additional social worker, social work intern or program manager. In the Community Schools that PWC supports, we provide a full complement of support staff, adding a community school director, a family outreach worker and, at times, additional program staff to the full-time social worker on site.

Customized plans: The service plans we create in partnership with schools are geared toward building the capacity of school staff and leadership to create and sustain a supportive school culture where all students can thrive. All programming is delivered through the lens of positive youth development and trauma-informed support and includes the following:

• Individual Counseling: Our social workers provide one-on-one supportive counseling for students with the greatest mental health needs, giving students an opportunity to talk safely with a trusted adult about their emotional concerns.
• Small Group Counseling: Small group counseling helps students build confidence, develop coping and decision-making skills, and enhance positive social interaction. Groups may focus on topics such as peer mediation, restorative practices, socialization skills, bereavement, stress reduction or anger management.
• School-Wide and Classroom Programs: Targeted support for teachers include strategies for classroom cohesion and embedding social-emotional learning. School-wide programs help create a welcoming culture and enhance connections to school, and include attendance supports, and crisis support and debriefing following tragic events.
• Professional Development: Professional development offerings for educational and administrative staff including adapting trauma-informed practices for the classroom, anti-bias training and promoting anti-racist practices school-wide.
• Family outreach and parent engagement: Our social workers conduct home visits and offer workshops to educate families on mental health and wellness issues, common challenges of school such as testing pressure or bullying, and a variety of culturally appropriate supportive social services.

PWC collaborates with over 80 community agencies so we can leverage a broad array of resources from food banks to housing support. We connect the entire school community to access local, culturally appropriate resources; organize career days or youth leadership panels; and connect families to neuropsychological or psychiatric evaluation, legal services, health or dental care.

Because of our long-standing community relationships, we can ensure a warm referral and successfully garner in-kind support from local community organizations and businesses as well as citywide organizations to provide services that benefit students and families in our schools.