NEWS

Daniel J. Cardinali, President of Communities in Schools, discusses the importance of having social workers in high-need schools in his op-ed appearing in the New York Times, “How to Get Kids to Class.”

Cardinali’s article highlights that chronic absenteeism and high dropout rates, common issues for students living in poverty, cannot be effectively addressed within the school building without addressing the myriad of obstacles that students face at home and in the community. Social workers, and other specially trained individuals, are able to assess the “social” needs of students and ensure that their needs are met so that they can be successful in school. Cardinali says, “Putting social workers in schools is a low-cost way of avoiding bigger problems down the road, analogous to having a social worker in a hospital emergency room.”