Some students’ minds will already be cluttered with what’s going on at home, causing them to have difficulties at school. That’s where school social workers go into action. They work behind the scenes to help kids and their families solve the problems that keep students from focusing on education.
“When children walk in every morning, they don’t check their issues at the door the way they would check their coats,” said Michael Sutton, a Cabarrus County Schools social worker. “Whatever has taken place with the family that (last) night, that month or for several years – they don’t check those issues.”
Sutton is one of 10 school social workers employed within the district who are tasked with providing assistance to the 30,000 students in CCS. The issues they address every day – from depression and gender identity issues to homelessness and domestic violence – know no socioeconomic class.
“All families have problems,” said Sutton. “There’s no such thing as the Cleavers.”
When CCS social worker Letecia Ray was called into a classroom to assist a student having a meltdown, she quickly learned from the student that her family had been evicted from their home that morning.
“You know in your head, ‘We have a matter of hours before school lets out to try to connect this family with resources and get this child to the place where she is not overwhelmed, that there is a plan, and she can go back to class and not focus on it,’ ” said Ray, who typically works with 13 to 15 students each day.
“We love our work,” said Wilkerson. “It’s challenging work, but we know we make a difference.”
