Inside the Life of School Social Workers: Champions for Student Success
“The social workers in our community work so hard behind closed doors to help lead students to be the best they can be. We want to show students who they are, how they contribute to this community, and how accessible they are.”
As you know, the social work team, Ms. Plata, Ms. Guity, and Ms. Estevez, work incredibly hard to make sure that every student in our community is taken care of. The social workers in our community work so hard behind closed doors to help lead students to be the best they can be. We want to show students who they are, how they contribute to this community, and how accessible they are.
To begin our journey through the day of a social worker we started with the newest social worker Ms.Plata. As we all know, coming into a new space without knowing anybody is hard to get used to, but in our interview with Ms.Plata she made it very clear that once she arrived at Comp Sci High she felt like she had purpose, and also felt welcomed. She immediately felt extremely excited to be working with her new team; not only do they have a strong bond with each other, but they also hold strong bonds with the students within the community, which made her feel great to be in the Comp Sci High community.
Once Ms. Plata arrived at Comp Sci High she thought the community was “very supportive” and “very caring.” Because even though her day is never the same, she finds that Comp Sci High has a different environment that makes her feel welcome. Not only is the community a big thing for her, she is passionate about bringing awareness to lots of problems around the world, let it be things like suicide awareness month or anti-bullying awareness month.
“I’ve been a social worker for eleven years,” she said, and working with Ms. E who has a social work background, gives a level of understanding and support.
Moving on to our next newest social worker, Ms. Guity. As we interviewed her, she spoke very highly of her job and the students and teachers that make this community. She stated, “The students here give me a purpose for what I do and why I went to school for what I did.”
We asked her, “How impactful is the role of a social worker is, and what would happen to Comp Sci High without it ?”
She told us, “I think the role of a social worker is impactful because not only do we deal with mental health support, we also do other things … If the social workers weren't here in Comp Sci High who would make sure the kids are mentally okay?” Furthermore, in the interview we asked her about how it feels to be a staff worker in the new community.
She stated: “I feel very comfortable being here, I feel heard, I feel like I can do my job, aside from my previous jobs.”
She also went on to state: “I feel like my staff members help me out and when I ask questions. They are always eager to answer them for me.”
How she spoke about our community and the students here at Comp Sci High show that she is here to stay with a mission, and that mission is to make sure everyone, whether its students or staff, are their best self to either teach the students or for our students to learn.
Finally, to our longest-serving social worker, Ms. Estevez. Ms. Estevez has been around since the Class of ‘25 started as freshmen. Some of you may have seen her around the school lingering or talking to your fellow students. She is a wonderful person; she’s a very kind and understanding person, and she is always open to anyone who needs someone to talk to or who just wants to talk.
Seeing how hard she works and how passionate she is about this job is what makes her an incredible person. Now that she has a team working with her, things are livelier and smoother because they work with each other, help each other out and are just great company to have around. Even though Ms. Estevez has been around longer, I think she lacks the prominence that she deserves, along with Ms. Guity, Ms. Plata, Ms. Jude and other new members.
In the interview she talks about how much she loves her job and how wonderful it is to work in this community at Comp Sci High.
She says:“I decided to work at a school because I truly do love working with students, especially high school students… It brings me so much joy… My mission was always to give back to my community and adjacent communities.”
She continued: “I like the fact that you guys feel comfortable and so safe with me…seeking me out for advice, for support whatever they need at that moment.”
Finally, she said: “The staff are also very supportive..we are always communicating with each other. I love how we put the students first…I can’t envision this department without [Ms. Guilty and Ms. Plata].”