School Social Work and Efforts to Support Students in Public Schools Post Pandemic Podcast

Editor's note: This text-based course is a transcript of the School Social Work Efforts to Support Students in Public Schools Post-Pandemic Podcast, presented by podcast host Benjamin T. Bencomo, DSW LISW, LCSW, and podcast guest Capella Hauer, MSW, NCSSW.

Learning Outcomes 

After this course, participants will be able to: 

• Describe the role of a school social worker.
• Explain the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on students.
• Identify effective strategies for supporting students post-pandemic.

Podcast Discussion 

Dr. Ben Bencomo: I am very excited about our podcast today. This is a topic that I know many of our listeners have probably been encountering in their work in different school systems, both public and private post-pandemic, and supporting students K-12. And I'm very excited to welcome our guest today, Capella Hauer. Capella Hauer graduated from New Mexico Highlands University in 2015 with her master's degree in clinical social work. Since then, she has worked as a school social worker, primarily in the elementary setting. She has provided trainings on both self-care, as well as trauma-informed work in schools. Capella recently achieved national certification through the School Social Work Association of America, the first to achieve this certification in her state. She is currently a practicing school social worker in Tucson, Arizona, working part-time in schools and part-time for the School Social Work Association of America as their membership coordinator. And I must say, I am doubly excited for today's podcast because it is always fun catching up with former students and seeing all the amazing things they are doing. And Capella, you really are doing some amazing things. And it's really fun for me because I get to flip the script and learn from you today. So thank you so much for joining us today.

Capella Hauer: Yes, thank you so much for having me. I want you to know and let our listeners know that I'm going to try to show up today just as my authentic self. School social work is really near and dear to my heart. This is the niche I've found myself in and have not left yet, so I'm sure I'll share some personal opinions today. And I want everyone to know I'm not an expert. I don't believe anyone can be an expert in anything. So my hope with this, and having this conversation with you, Dr. Bencomo, is to hope that our listeners become more interested in school social work, or at least what's kind of going on in our schools right now, and then really do some more research and advocacy afterward.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Absolutely, yes. Thank you for that. Well, your experience and your practice wisdom is definitely something that we appreciate you sharing with us today. Now, if we can start from the beginning if we will. I'm always interested to know a little bit about guests' path to social work. I do remember some of this story from you in class when you were completing your master's, but would you mind sharing with our listeners a little bit about your path to social work and your social work education background? So how did social work find you, Capella?

Capella Hauer: Yes, of course. I think I've always been one of those helpers. I think a lot of social workers can identify with that. But even when I was younger, or I especially remember a little bit more vividly in high school, I tended to be that student that other kids would come and talk to if they had an issue at home or at school. And it just always felt very natural for me to kind of help problem solve, lend an ear, or just be someone that they could vent to.

And then, as my high school career was coming to an end, I didn't want to, at first, attend a university because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. So I just ended up doing a lot of volunteer jobs. I was working at our animal shelter. I was volunteering at our local domestic violence shelter. And it just sort of became a little bit obvious to me that all the jobs and things I really liked to do were kind of in the direction of social work, or at least all these volunteer jobs. I was like, "Well, I can't just keep volunteering forever. I should probably start a career, and I need to be able to pay rent."

So I had kind of debated back and forth on whether I should do social work or psychology. And I just found, for me, for my personality, it felt like it fit more with social work because I could experience all sorts of work settings, working in prisons and hospitals, schools, all sorts of different niches. So I ended up choosing social work, obviously. And then, I got my undergraduate and master's degree from New Mexico Highlands. And ever since then, I've been working in public schools as a school social worker.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: That is great. Thank you, Capella. Well, we are definitely glad that you found your way to social work. I know that you've already been engaged in doing a lot of really good work, so we're happy that you found your way to our profession. Now, after graduation, how did you first become interested in school social work specifically?

Capella Hauer: Yes, so one of the things that, I guess, I should have said too, more specifically, that got me into social work was I really wanted to work in the field of adoption. For whatever reason, I think I really idealized and romanticized the whole work of adoption. I now realize it's much more complex and not as beautiful as I think I may have had it in my mind, that whole process and that work.

But really, actually, it was New Mexico Highlands that kind of led me to school social work. I know you know, Dr. Bencomo, but some of our listeners might not know that Highlands is in a really rural area, and that just translates to limited opportunities for internships. So I've always enjoyed working with children. I've always really connected with them.

And a really close friend of mine from high school ended up being a school counselor. And so, I always really admired that career that she was creating for herself. And that kind of had a connection with me. And so I had a wonderful opportunity actually to do internships at the elementary, middle school level, as well as an alternative high school for my practicum. And once I started that, it all kind of clicked, and I knew that that was a space that I really wanted to stay in. I also think back to when I was a six-year-old who was playing school with my cousins growing up. There's definitely that little girl in me who's so psyched that I grew up to be working in schools. So it's always just kind of been thrilling to me. I really love collaborating with the teachers and different professionals on campus. I really enjoy getting to really know families and kids and advocating for them, and then working with students one-on-one and in groups. It was just a blast. And obviously, I haven't left.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Well, thank you for that. That's amazing. I'm glad that that internship sparked this interest for you and that you were able to find your niche within the social work profession because I know since that time, you've been able to do some pretty incredible things in the area of school social work. Now, many times, I think that social workers aren't sure about what is required to become a school social worker in particular. Is there a specific educational path? Are there licensure requirements? So if you could, could you clarify for our listeners whether a MSW is required for a school social work position? Or does the BSW suffice? And also, are there any specific licensure requirements that are needed for school social work practice?

Capella Hauer: Yes, so this is where the practice of school social work gets a bit tricky as far as requirements. So this is something that our profession is really trying to work towards. But right now, unfortunately, school social work doesn't have parody across the states. So each state, and even down to each district within states, can have their own requirements. A vast majority of school social work jobs do require at least a minimum of a master's degree. There are some that do work on a bachelor's level, but I've found that that's more in rural areas. And their work is primarily a broker or community liaison, and they might even have a specific focus or even a different title. So rather than school social worker, it might be a title like behavior interventionist or attendance clerk, or homeless liaison.

I think Alabama, and Louisiana, are some states that might have positions like that. And so, for another example, I'll talk a little bit about Missouri. So in Missouri, there isn't a master's degree required by the state. However, most of the school social workers in Missouri have a master's degree, and most positions require an LCSW, and that's becoming more and more common. There are some districts and agencies who contract to provide mental health in schools, and they might hire bachelor's level, but not often.

And, of course, school districts, when they're hiring, they prefer to see social workers who've had either school-based practicums or some type of experience with direct practice with youth. So yes, I would say overall, the vast majority of the positions require an MSW. And then, the second part of your question, it gets a little more complicated as far as certification. So again, it's different everywhere. Some states have their own certification requirements. So in California, in order to step foot in the school as a school social worker, you have to have the state certification. Here in Arizona, we have a certification through the Department of Education, but it's not required. It's up to each district if they want to list that as a requirement.

And I will say, too, part of the work we're doing as a profession to try to create more consistency across the board, SSWAA, the School Social Work Association of America, began offering a national certification. That's the one that you mentioned that I had recently gotten. And that's an advanced certification that shows that the practitioner has mastered the competencies within our national model. And we really hope that that's going to help create strong practitioners, more representation, as well as that parody in our practice.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: That's really interesting. And I think that brings up another question for me. I know that in the early days of what we considered school social work, a lot of times, many school social workers worked primarily in the area of special education, maybe working to help ensure IEPs were provided for students and that those IEPs were being followed to make sure that students had whatever resources they needed available. Would you say that this is still the case with many school social workers? Or are school social workers branching out into different areas of professional practice within the school setting?

Capella Hauer: So, the history of school social work is interesting, and I want to dive into this. So the very first traditional brick-and-mortar school social workers actually began what was called visiting teachers, and I want to describe that a little bit, but I kind of want to go a little bit further back because I think it's really important to first bring attention and recognition of the role social workers have played in schools, that maybe don't immediately come to mind when we think of our schools, and that's the Indian boarding schools.

I'm learning this, so I actually want to take a little pause here and just share that I want to discuss some really difficult historical trauma of our Native peoples over the next few moments. So our listeners, if you need to pause or skip ahead, I encourage you to do that. I know this isn't always a topic that we expect to maybe hear when we've logged onto this podcast, but I think it's an important piece, and I just want to touch on it a little bit.

So in 1819, I believe, the Civilization Fund Act began, and that was the beginning of the Indian boarding schools and the systemic effort of the U.S. government to forcibly remove children from their homes, with the goal of assimilating them. I think some of our listeners have probably heard the quote, "Kill the Indian, save the child." These boarding schools only goal was to eradicate our First Nations' culture and identity through this guise or belief that First Nations did not or do not already have any cultural beliefs or family values. And this was cultural genocide.

These boarding schools were more often than not run by religious organizations, and children were forcibly brought to them from their homes, often states away. There are records of children being taken from southern New Mexico all the way up to Idaho, and children as young as three were taken from their families. And if families didn't comply and turn over their kids, they were criminalized. So some Native men were sentenced to up to 20 years in Alcatraz for refusing to allow the churches to seize their children.

 I bring this up, and it's important because social workers were some of those government employees who enforced the removal of Native children during that time. And the children were emotionally, physically, and sexually abused and neglected. They self-harmed. They ran away or even completed suicide. And there are thousands of these children who never returned home and are to this day unaccounted for. Their burial sites are unmarked, and the number of child deaths is unknown. And this wasn't just during this time, that social workers had a role in this. Our role in this cultural genocide continued even after the boarding schools became less common.

So in 1958, the Bureau of Indian Affairs started the Indian Adoption Project. And this project enlisted social workers to visit reservations and then convince Native parents to sign away their parental rights. So we, as social workers, have a really long, painful history with our First Nations peoples. And again, I share this because it's really critical that, as social workers, we recognize the historical harm that our profession has caused.

You better believe that those parents, those ancestors, and these children remember on a cellular level the harm that we've done. And so, I want to share that because we, as social workers, need to walk into our door at work and know what weight that title carries and what harm that title has carried in the past.

Dr. Ben Bencomo:  I want to thank you, Capella, for sharing that because we, within the social work profession, sometimes have this tendency to romanticize the profession and romanticize the history of the profession. And in order to authentically practice in some of these spaces, I think it's important that we understand contributions that the profession has made in the past as well to some of these atrocities and to the historical trauma that a lot of marginalized populations, Native American, indigenous communities, and others that we have contributed to. So I want to thank you for sharing that, absolutely.

Capella Hauer: Yes, of course. And then, back to your initial question. So more officially, as for the brick-and-mortar schools that we think of, down the road from where we are now or whatever, social workers really started being hired and paid through the schools themselves around the 1930s. And again, that's when they were referred to as visiting teachers. So the visiting teachers' primary role was to be the liaison between home and school. They would help encourage attendance, address any needs of the families, and things like that.

And then, at that time, it was kind of, well, interesting for me because I adore SSWAA, but at that time, there was the National Association of School Social Workers, and then 40 years later, around the '70s, they dissolved to become what's now NASW and SSWAA. So during that time, we saw a shift and an introduction of new models in school social work practice, from primarily a casework model to then start including group work and systems interventions.

Also, at that time, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act became law, and that's when working with students with special needs became a bigger, more significant role for school social workers. And then, of course, school social work positions really start growing during that time. And you saw more school social workers deal with IEPs and things like that.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: So, in what ways has the field of social work changed, do you think, in terms of areas where social workers are supporting students in those school settings currently or recently?

Capella Hauer: I think now, again, it can be so different from state to state, school to school, district to district. It really is different every day. For me, a lot of the work that I do is a lot of group work. I have a fairly high caseload and only work part-time, so a good amount of the work that I'm able to do with students is in groups. We can do some one-on-one with students. We do home visits for attendance or basic needs, anything like that, crisis intervention. A lot of school social workers do class lessons, go into classrooms every week every day, and do class-wide lessons,  student meetings, and consulting with other professionals both in and outside the school. And then connecting with those community resources. Schools are such a massive hub in our community, so it's so critical to have those community resources around you as well.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Absolutely. I think that the skill set that we bring, that social workers bring to that school setting, is being tapped into in a wider way, I guess you could say. Now, many of our listeners may already have a good understanding of this, but can you walk those listeners who've never had any experience with school social work, can you walk them through the typical day for a school social worker? I know that you mentioned that currently, you're doing a lot of groups. Is that something that you see with a lot of your colleagues who are also school social workers? Or do their days look different?

Capella Hauer: I think for quite a few, the majority of school social work colleagues that I have, groups are a big part of it. And that's a great opportunity to really focus on the needs of the students. And it can be a bit of a game of Tetris, sort of, putting those groups together and making sure they're all having the same needs, and those same needs are going to be met in the group. So that's a very common one, especially with high caseloads.

Quite a few school social workers that I know also do class lessons on social-emotional learning, and that can be sort of a year-long experience where you're going into a classroom for half an hour or an hour every week. And that is the school's SEL curriculum, and you're sort of teaching that curriculum. Or it could be class lessons because this 12th-grade class is having an issue with X, Y, and Z. And so, you come in to lend that extra support. School social workers really are massive leaders on their campus. So there's a lot of systemic teams that you might be a part of. And just, again, that consultation with other professionals on campus is a big part of it too.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Absolutely. It's refreshing to hear that social workers have a bit more say so in terms of having a place at that table and in those discussions. I know that recently my son came home and said, "I thought you taught social workers. I didn't know you taught teachers," because one of our graduates mentioned that he had me an as a professor, and he was teaching social-emotional learning. And that was just a regular class, just like PE and music, and some of the other specials that they have in school were a couple of times a week they go to social-emotional learning. And it was very refreshing to see that skillset was being utilized in that way to help support kids, even in my son's elementary school.

Capella Hauer: I love that.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Capella, in your experience, what are some of the challenges that you see in your role as a school social worker?

Capella Hauer: Again, I want to emphasize that this is just my personal feelings about what's a challenge. For some other people, it might be completely different. When I reflect on this, a lot of the things that are challenging to me are systemic problems. The day-to-day stresses that come with the job that's all things I signed up for. That's why I became a social worker. And that's manageable because I've learned how to manage that stress. But the systemic stuff, that's what gets to me. So one of the things I personally really struggle with is the more recent increase in attacks on our youth and just their right to equitable education.

So last month, we're just a little bit into April as we're recording this, but as of last month, there were over 400 anti-LGBTQ bills, just three months into the 2023 year. And that breaks my heart. But then, there's also this glimmer of hope because we're actually seeing a bit of a shift in acceptance. So, for example, the Human Rights Campaign they have some data that shows that we're seeing a massive shift in our youth and how accepting and affirming they are of each other's identity expression. And youth today are much more accepting in general of their peers than in previous years.

So when we were growing up, there was a lot of this talk about being worried about going to school because the kids were going to be picking up on us. But now that's sort of switched. And it gives me a lot of hope and fills my heart. But at the same time, these children are growing up in a world where there are elected officials who are taking aim at them, at who they are at their core.

And school social workers have a lot of responsibility for this, to ensure that our students feel welcome and accepted no matter who they are. Because the bottom line is that all students learn best when they feel safe, and they all deserve to feel safe and cared for.

We just to touched on this a little bit, but I'm going to flip it a tiny bit. We see, in conjunction with this anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, there's also a fight against anti-racist teaching as well as social-emotional learning or SEL in schools. And we hear things like, "Parents should be the ones teaching their kids values, not schools." And I'm going to be my authentic self right now, but it kind of makes me laugh a little bit for two reasons. But the first is our Founding Fathers created public schools to provide moral instruction, build character, and really set the tone and virtues of our nation. That was the goal of public schools. And I also laugh because if you are an auntie, a parent, any adult with kids in your life, if you spend six hours with a kindergartner or any kid, it's really hard to go six hours and not have to have some sort of conversation on sharing or kindness or any of those values that they're saying SEL is so dangerous for.

But I want to talk about it a bit because I know some listeners might not completely know what the term SEL is. And I want to, if it's all right, read a little bit from CASEL's website. And CASEL is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. So they're like the pioneers or the leaders in the field when it comes to social-emotional learning. So I'm going to just lean on them because I think they could say it better than me.

So they say, "SEL is an integral part of education and human development. It is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships and make responsible and caring decisions. SEL advances educational equality and excellence through authentic school, family, and community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships and meaningful curriculum."

So this sounds really familiar to what we as social workers do. At our very core, this sounds like a social work job description, and it's very reflective of our ethical standards. We teach and advocate for positive relationships. We advocate for safe and healthy communities. And then, going back to that equity, there are so many, many studies and evidence-based research that show that schools who prioritize SEL have higher outcomes on test scores, they have a more positive school climate, and overall, much higher well-being of their students and staff.

And this is what makes it really difficult for me and other school social workers. We know that this is evidence-based, and we know it works, but it's in a very real way tied to our ethical standards, along with the rights of LGBTQ+ students. So when there's this push from state legislators, and we start seeing new laws that are forcing school personnel to no longer teach SEL or even to out a student to their guardians, this goes against the core of our ethics. So it's a very tough field to navigate right now, and especially in those states where a lot of this destructive legislation has been happening.

We've also seen, and this has been going on for about a decade or so, but we've also seen a shift and this push to privatize education in America. And I'll use my state, Arizona, as an example because they are an example of privatizing education and how it can go wrong. So since around 2014 in Arizona, our government officials have been opposing and shutting down legislation and budgets that would supplement public education. So for those who don't know, Arizona ranks 49th in the country for teacher salary, last in the nation for per-pupil spending, and does not fully fund kindergarten.

So instead of putting money towards those critical pieces, our elected officials have been approving private school vouchers year after year, which in its most basic sense steals money that's meant for public schools. So I'm going to try to explain it, but this is again where I hope people afterward will kind of do a little bit of research and dig in.

So schools and districts receive a certain amount of funding from the state and from the federal government, and that funding is determined by the local census on how many students would be attending that school or district. So with the voucher system or what some people call school choice, a guardian can choose to remove their student from a public school, which is totally their right, and put them in a private school or homeschool, and the funding that would've been allocated at that public school for that child follows the child and is instead given to that private school. So that sounds kind of fine, but then it gets a little tricky.

So if a student leaves their public school, the funding for that student goes to the private school or straight to the family if they're homeschooling, and the public school can't get that funding back. So simplest breakdown, let's say I have a school of 100 kids, and 25 of them go to a private school, so I just lost funding for 25 students. Say I get more kids to enroll back in my school, so now I have 100 students again, but I don't get the money to cover those 25 students. So I'm now operating at 75% funding even though I have 100% of the students that the budget was initially created for.

So let me take a pause real quick. The other kind of issue with this is that these vouchers aren't regulated. So if you've ever worked in a school, there's like this red tape nightmare of something as simple as having to get approval for purchasing school supplies or attend a webinar. But private schools and home schools just aren't regulated in the same way. They don't have to justify every line item, which results in really no accountability for how that money is spent. Or, at the very least, it's a very inequitable system of how our money is spent on children.

And additionally, private schools don't have to adhere to the same equity laws as public schools. And public schools have been seeing a lot of parents choose to send their students with disabilities to a private school to try to get more support, more one-on-one. And they just return, saying that the school either didn't accept them or they were kicked out. And it's creating this even larger chasm between socioeconomic groups and, really, people of color. And again, it's complicated, and I hope people kind of do some more research on it because it is really fascinating and interesting how all this works. But it is a very methodical way to drain public school funds and privatize education systems.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: It's very interesting and telling, I think, to me that when I ask about challenges you experience in your role, it's not those day-to-day micro-challenges, but it's more looking at these systemic changes and systemic inequities and how really there is that trickle-down effect that you're seeing in front of you with the students that you're working with. We and I'm using the collective we for society, but sometimes we lose sight of the fact that our children, our K-12 children, are also multidimensional human beings. And so, when we focus primarily only on, "Well, these are the test scores, and this is the education," to the exclusion of do they feel safe, do they feel a sense of belonging, can they see themselves excelling in this way, can we create emotional safety.

And then, is there equity, and is there funding? Is there support needed to really create a meaningful supportive experience where these children can grow? I think it's so important, everything that you say.

I have a colleague, and I probably have mentioned this in previous podcasts as well, but I have a colleague who uses the mantra, "Micro is macro, and macro is micro." And I think you, in a very eloquent way, are explaining how this is the reality for school social workers, trying to do more with less in many instances, and also seeing the effects of what these macro-level policy decisions are having on the students that you're seeing in school every day. 

Thank you for sharing that, Capella. There's a reason that you continue to be passionate about the area of school social work as well. So would you mind sharing with our listeners a bit about what you see as some of the benefits that you find, some of the positive areas that you've found being a school social worker?

 Capella Hauer: Oh, there's a lot. But like you just said, working in micro and macro and those meso levels, I really enjoy that, because I feel like I can flex so much of my brain in different ways. So there's the one-on-one work with students, but then I also was on a school team that our whole purpose was to create a positive culture at our school in a systemic way, so then working on those meso levels. And then also on the macro levels, you have to be aware of what's going on in your local legislation and really advocating for that and calling up your legislators and looking at what's happening at the district level. So I like having that kind of complexity.

It's not just one-on-one with a client, and that's all I do. I also really enjoy working with a diverse team of professionals. It's really helped me grow as a professional to work with a phenomenal school psychologist and an amazing speech pathologist. There's a teacher that I worked with for many years who was a self-contained classroom teacher. And just the amount of things that you learn from these different disciplines is just amazing. And having principals who you can learn these phenomenal leadership skills from, I really like that too, just working with a diverse group of professionals.

I think something that also drew me to school social work is that you can work with students, and you kind of have access to these clients, so to say, for a longer time. So there are some of my students who I've known literally my whole career who are now in middle school, going into high school, and I have this beautiful honor of also working with their siblings and having these really strong relationships with their parents, with their families. And that's something that's really hard in other settings, and I think that just fits my personality. For other people, they may not like that, but I think that's such a beautiful piece of my work.

There's kind of like this community enmeshment that you might not find in private practice, where you're really connected with the food bank, and you know the people there, that come by name, and you know this whole family's history, and now their aunt is coming. There's just so much more involvement. I really love that.

And really, it's the kids. I'll try not to get emotional, but I just love being inspired by them. They lead the way. They clear the path. I don't think it's the adults that do that. I think children do. Their voices show a glimpse of what our future is going to be like. And bearing witness to their growth and their family's growth, it's an amazing honor. It really is. And kids say hilarious things, so you always know you're going to get a really good laugh each day.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: That they do. That's amazing, Capella, and inspiring, I think, to think about the real impact you've had working with so many children and families and commune entire communities and having that lasting impact as they continue to grow and develop. So yes, thank you very much for sharing that and for the work that you're doing.

Now, I do want to shift focus just a little bit to talk about current realities. Now, as our listeners well know, the COVID-19 global pandemic has really rapidly changed the field of social work in so many ways and in so many different areas. And in a little while, I'd like to talk about how that reality has changed for the kids that you work with. But first, how has the pandemic affected the setting of school social work and school social work jobs? What have you seen in that area?

Capella Hauer: So I think it's going to be interesting, especially looking forward to the next few years. During the pandemic and then in the years after, there was this flush of funding. We had a massive increase in funding for public education through a lot of different federal programs and state programs. I wish I had the data on it. The School Social Work Association of America's currently working on a massive census so that we hopefully get some of this data. But I believe, just through connecting with and talking with school social workers from across the nation, that there was quite an increase in positions in school social work positions across the states because of that additional funding. And there was a huge emphasis on social-emotional learning and building stability and safety returning back to school.

And so, a lot of districts, a lot of states put an emphasis on hiring school social workers. I'm curious to see what that will look like in the next few years. I think, in some places, that funding is starting to go away, so it'll be interesting to see what remains. And in that respect, I think school social workers need to advocate really hard for their positions right now, especially if they're funded by some of this. And, of course, that puts a lot of pressure.

But another thing that I think really affected school social workers, and I'm sure a lot of our listeners just noticed this in general, was there were increased crises and mental health concerns across the board. And then, in conjunction, there were fewer mental health supports because we had a lot of practitioners leaving the field, whether they were social workers, counselors, or whoever. The mental health system was just overwhelmed. And so, of course, that's going to affect schools too because a lot of our families couldn't get those mental health supports. So then we become the mental health supports on top of a lot of other things that we're doing too, rather than having kind of that community wraparound type service.

I think another thing that directly affected the school social workers is there's also this really high number of burnout among staff, especially teachers, for some of the reasons I've already discussed, the systemic reasons. And again, school social workers are really leaders on their campuses, at their schools. And so, we're not just working with the children. We're also providing a lot of support to teachers and consulting with them and trying to help make sure that their classrooms are a safe and welcoming environment for them as well. And that's always been in place, but after the pandemic, returning to school, I think that was definitely magnified, just because there's such a high burnout.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Right. Definitely. So looking also at how the pandemic has affected kids in particular. Now, we know that the pandemic has affected school-aged children in so many different ways, but really, probably nowhere more so than in the school setting. And I've seen this even with my own kiddos. I have two in elementary, one who's going to be in middle school next year, and then one high schooler. But what did you see in terms of educational needs most affected during the pandemic? And how have kids that you work with been impacted as we've moved from the acute pandemic era into the later stages of the pandemic or post-pandemic?

Capella Hauer: It's only 2023. We don't have a lot of data on this yet. I think it's going to come in the years. It just takes time. But I'll share just from my experience and what I've heard from colleagues and other mental health professionals as well, and maybe make some inferences based on some data that we have from other traumatic events.

So we had this global event, this trauma, COVID-19, but I think at the core of so much of this event is just massive loss. Loss of jobs, homes, schools, loss of consistency, loss of safety, and security. And then, of course, our loss of loved ones. And this is what I feel like we've seen most in our students, is grief and loss. A large part of what we do as school social workers work with both trauma and grief support and treatment of those two things can be different.

So anyone who's experienced any sort of grief can understand how major of an impact it has on your world. And we, as adults, can relate to the struggle of being in a pandemic. But imagine if you were five years old again or when you were in fourth grade. So when I was in fourth grade, that was when the World Trade Centers were hit. And everyone in my generation, everyone alive and cognizant of that event at that time, can still remember exactly where they were during that attack. So they did research in the New York City public schools after that event, and they found that 87%, so almost nine out of 10 students in grades four through 12, reported at least having one type of reaction six months after the event.

So we're doing some inferring here. So this traumatizing, horrible event that took place over one morning had drastic effects on the children then. So we can insinuate and imagine how our students now have been even more so affected by nearly three years of COVID. And, of course, academics were affected. How could they have not been? The majority of students struggled to learn effectively at home. Some were really successful at it, but I think we're social creatures. And as educators, we needed to return to campus with reasonable expectations. So meaning we wouldn't be able to teach them everything they missed, and trying to do that would overwhelm and distress the students and their teachers. So we really needed to return to campus and start at the basics again. We needed to establish trust and safety for everybody, kids and adults. 

And then, from there, we reestablished expectations and just how to be in school again. This was such a struggle when the first year was constantly changing. So we were in person, now we're virtual, now we're in person again, and then virtual. And once we were finally back fully, really in person, the regulations for quarantining and the practice of reducing the spread changed so often. And I'm sure you saw that too since you were in the university.

So another piece of data that we can sort of use to apply this to and infer some information, but research on transient students or students who are in foster care have been studied and researched as far as their academics. And so studies show that for every move a child makes from one school to the next, so just one move, one school to the next, they lose six months of learning. So depending on where you live in the U.S., most schools are in session for nine and a quarter months out of the year. So each time you move schools, you're missing roughly two-thirds of your learning. That data in and of itself can tell us a lot.

And we also know that there was a massive disparity in students' educations during COVID, and there were a lot of reasons for this. Each one is unique, but some students had their adults stay home with them and monitor their learning. Others were maybe caring for their younger siblings or had to work. Other families were just trying to find housing or basic needs. And then, some families might have just been completely remote, and they all worked together. So those kiddos who didn't have an adult over their shoulder, helping to ensure that they logged into their classes, or the kids who can't focus on school because they're suddenly homeless. So just moving a school can cause six months of missed learning. So what about those three years from doing school at home, with no school, in person, back to home, and that constantly changing environment?

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Right. I think that is incredibly insightful to look at, "This is what we know, and this is what has been proven," because we are still so early in this post-pandemic phase that the research is going on currently. But I think that can help us understand some of this prolonged trauma and some of these disruptions to the educational experience that our kids experience so that we can then look to ways to support them currently. And so, I do want to ask you, how can school social workers best support children and adolescents currently, given the current reality? And also, how can school social workers best support teachers, administrators, counselors, and other colleagues that are in the school setting currently?

Capella Hauer: I think at the very basic, we need to go back to social work 101 and look at Maslow's hierarchy. And that needs to be something that's always placed in mind. And just having in the back of our heads, too, that our students are still experiencing grief, loss, and trauma. So really just taking into account their basic needs first, really taking into account the whole child, the whole family, and the whole community, really. And I think for both teachers and students, anyone on your campus, I think a big thing that we need to get back to and really put the highlight on is connection and relationships. We are social creatures. We learn, grow, and develop through being with others.

There are all these studies on incarcerated people who have been in solitary confinement and the damage it does to their brain system. So the amount of time that we were alone, there was so much loss and connection and so much isolation. And I'm sure the data and the research in a few years is going to show us that it had a massive effect on our brains. And so, we learn through relationships. Even as a baby, we learn from that initial connection with our mother or whoever was there when we were firstborn. And if you have been blessed to have beautiful friendships or marriage or whatever, you know how much those people in your life have such a massive impact on your motivation, on your mental health, and on your physical health.

We missed out on that for three years, for two years. And so, I think really focusing on those connections and those relationships and getting back to that is going to really help build that safe space, that support where students and adults feel more regulated, more calm, more up in their brain, in their forward part of their brain, to be able to learn and to really participate. But those relationships have to come first.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Absolutely. It's so essential to everything that we are and everything that we do. And I think that bringing it back to those basics, bringing it back to Maslow and looking at our basic needs being met, and that social connection to others is that basic need being met as well is really important. Capella, now I know that you currently serve as the membership coordinator for the National School Social Work Association. Could you tell our listeners just a bit about this position and this organization on the whole? What is the National School Social Work Association and what is your role there?

Capella Hauer: Yeah, absolutely. So SSWAA is really the only professional organization for school social workers. It's similar to what NASW is for all social workers, but really it's just for the niche of school social work. We host webinars. We do an annual conference. We actually just wrapped up our annual conference a couple of weeks ago. We provide tools, practice resources, liability insurance, networking opportunities, and then we also have state chapters too, so we provide support for states. And, of course, we also advocate for all school social workers on that national level. It's a really wonderful organization. I absolutely love my work there. I love being able to practice on a macro level, and kind of have that mission, that sole mission of really just driving this particular niche of social work forward and growing the profession. I definitely encourage our listeners to check it out because they have a lot, a lot of resources and information on their website.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: Absolutely. You mentioned there were state chapters as well. Are those active in every state?

Capella Hauer: Almost every state. I think the last time I looked, we had 38 or 40 states that were affiliated with us. So there are some state chapters too.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: I think that often we don't realize the importance of having this connection to colleagues and these organized advocacy efforts on that wider stage. But it's important for us to understand, I think, the importance of joining some of these professional organizations. Capella, how can some of our listeners learn more about school social work if they're interested?

Capella Hauer: Again, checking out SSWAA's website is a really good place to start. So it's just sswaa.org. Again, they have a ton of resources and articles, and they also have a blog, which I think provides really good insight into the field. And then, of course, there are also social media groups. So there are a lot of school social work groups on Facebook that you can join, and there's a really rich dialogue on those as well. And that can kind of give you a good idea or feeling of what this particular role is like.

Dr. Ben Bencomo: That's great. You just finished talking a couple of minutes ago about the importance of connection and finding that support for students and also for teachers and administrators, and other staff in school settings. I think that this could be a great avenue for school social workers to find that connection and mutual support as well as other people who understand what it's like and who can share resources and can be there to provide support. I think is really important.

We are almost out of time here, Capella, but I did want to thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your practice experience and all of your knowledge. I want to thank you for sharing with our listeners the history, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the history of social work and of school social work in particular, and also a bit of understanding that can help us move forward. Where do we go from here in this post-pandemic era, and how can school social workers help to lead the way really with supporting the next generation that's coming up. So Capella, thank you so much for your time and for sharing so much of your authentic self with us and with our listeners today. We definitely appreciate it. Continue to do the work that you do, and just rock on, Capella. Thank you so much.

Capella Hauer: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. It's a great way to spend an hour.

References 
 

Daftary, A.-M. H., Sugrue, E. P., Gustman, B. D., & Lechuga-Peña, S. (2021). Pivoting during a Pandemic: School Social Work during COVID-19. Children & Schools, 43(2), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdab005

Lara, L., Saracostti, M., & de-Toro, X. (2022). Adaptation and psychometric properties of the school engagement and contextual factors questionnaires for Covid-19 and post Covid-19 context. PLoS ONE, 17(9), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272871

Marraccini, M. E., Griffard, M. K. R., Whitcomb, C. E., Wood, C., Griffin, D. C., Pittleman, C., & Sartain, L. (2023). School‐based mental health supports COVID‐19: School professional perspectives. Psychology in the Schools, 1. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22869

Matsopoulos, A., & Theron, L. (2023). Resilience to COVID-19 challenges: Lessons for school psychologists serving school-attending youth with experiences of marginalization. School Psychology International, 44(2), 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/01430343231151591

Owens, C. L., Johnson, A. H., & Thornton, A. (2022). Addressing Equity in Schools: Youth Participatory Action Research and Transformative Social and Emotional Learning during COVID-19. Children & Schools, 44(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdab029

Sugrue, E., Ball, A., Harrell, D. R., & Daftary, A. H. (2023). Family engagement during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Opportunities and challenges for school social work. Child & Family Social Work, 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.13011

Yadav, R., & Yadav, A. (2023). The 6 A’s model of social worker associations and COVID-19: A preliminary insight. Qualitative Social Work, 22(2), 357–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250211068066