- Duplin County Schools
- Overview
Student Support Services: Whatever it Takes
While high academic standards and powerful teaching and learning are the cornerstones of a great education in Duplin County Schools, we realize that the “whole” child must be developed and supported if we are to truly achieve our mission of preparing all students for their chosen next steps in life. In addition to core academics and career pathways that we have highlighted in recent issues of Education Matters, we must also address physical health, mental health, social-emotional development and partner with families and communities to remove barriers and level playing fields so that every child reaches their fullest potential. Thankfully, we have a robust system of Student Support Services in every school to do just that. School counselors, social workers, and nurses each play a specialized role in their respective schools that contributes to success for each student, each school, and the district overall.
School counselors are required to have a Master’s degree and must be licensed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. They provide a broad range of services that mainly focus on academic achievement, career development, social-emotional development and mental wellness. Counselors may spearhead school-wide initiatives, teach classroom lessons, meet with small groups or individual students. Topics for larger audiences are typically for awareness and preventive in nature, whereas smaller or individual audiences are likely targeted interventions. Activities are also developmentally and age-appropriate for the grade levels being served. For example, career readiness in elementary school may be a dress-up day or read-alouds or guest speakers. In high school, it may be specific courses related to the career, job shadowing or internships. Here are some other examples of school counselor duties:
- Academic – study skills, motivation, goal-setting, course and pathway selection
- College Readiness – exposure and awareness, field trips, applications, financial aid, scholarships, ACT/SAT preparation
- Social-Emotional and Mental Wellness – stress management, coping skills, emotional regulation, behavior supports, anger management, conflict resolution, self-esteem, positive relationships, resiliency, empathy
School social workers are also licensed by NCDPI and must have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in social work with the addition of school social work specific courses. Their primary role is to connect school, community and family resources to remove barriers to student success. Barriers to academic success may be lack of school supplies, home support, hunger, homelessness, or poor attendance. Once a barrier is identified, school social workers work with the student, their family, and community organizations to problem-solve and alleviate or eliminate the obstacle. School social workers are also equipped to help students with social-emotional, mental health, and behavioral interventions. They are trained to conduct personal risk and threat assessments and provide a continuum of crisis management supports and if need be, refer students and families for further specialized support. Along with that connection to the school counselor, school social workers may also collaborate with school nurses for physical health barriers. For example, if a nurse performs a vision screening and finds that a student needs glasses, the social worker may follow up with the family if there are access or financial concerns.
School nurses manage all physical health requirements and needs of students. In addition to caring for the general mild maladies and injuries of students, they track all necessary immunizations for students, conduct hearing and vision screenings, and create individual medical plans for students with medical conditions to include asthma, allergic reactions and diabetes. They may also teach lessons in classrooms such as proper hygiene and nutrition. Through an innovative partnership with East Carolina University, they can also schedule virtual doctor’s appointments for students at the school site. Throughout the duration of the pandemic, they have worked tirelessly to keep the entire staff and student body safe through screening, testing, contact tracing and constantly collaborating with other health officials.
In short, this trio of support personnel in each of our schools are a team – working with each other, students, teachers, families, and outside agencies to provide wrap-around services to maximize the potential of all learners. District leads and administrators set the vision and offer guidance for this aspect of our school system, but as Kristen Hall, Special Advisor for Digital Learning and Student Services says, “The boots on the ground and the impact happens at the school level. Academic success, future readiness, mental and physical wellness for many students would not be possible without their layers of services. We honor each one through this segment and declare their value to our school system. Thank you for doing whatever it takes!”