[Doe_school_social_workers] Closing Thoughts as the 2023-24 School Year Winds Down

[Rautiola, Kenneth A]

Good afternoon. I wanted to reach out one last time to provide resources and support connecting us to the school social work profession. Please read and consider each of the statements below.


  *   THANK YOU all for the countless hours you've spent this year supporting our students, schools, and each other. I have met so many incredible school social workers this year and heard so many inspiring stories of the work you do. I hope each of you make the opportunity to relax and recharge this summer. I know that I'll be on the trails hiking this summer - enjoying the warmth of the summer sun, the smell of salt air that reminds me of home, and the many scents of the woods that bring back memories of my childhood (especially warm pine needles and the smell of fir trees).


  *   There was a HUGE response to the opportunity to connect with the NASW-Maine School Social Work Committee!!  We had 99 school social workers respond to the link to the connect with this committee.  I wanted to resend the link and ask you all to share it with your coworkers (as there are some school social workers who are not on the listserv).  This school social work committee is looking to organize resources and opportunities for you to engage in activities to support each other and the profession. The more school social workers we have connected or involved, the more impact we can have! Please fill out this form to be added to our email list.  We'll send out information about committee meetings and ways to support and be supported in school social work.



Note:  You do not need to be an NASW member to be added to the list or to join the committee.  That said, being a NASW member to does enable to you vote in the committee should something be put up for a vote.

Thank you for your consideration!  If you have any other questions about membership, feel free to contact me:
Jeremy Lynch, NASW Maine School Social Work Committee Membership Liaison: lynchj at westbrookschools.org<mailto:lynchj at westbrookschools.org>
Link to google doc: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-_e_gRLk-tZXFZ-srvslVOi435BSJ0NTo4o7sgWqqSInSoQ/viewform?usp=sf_link


  *   The NASW-Maine Annual Conference is coming up on October 28-29 at the Samoset Resort. This year we will have a TWO-DAY SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK TRACK at the conference. OUR conference is already being promoted throughout New England as a resource for school social workers. The proposals have recently been reviewed and the presentations for the conference are being finalized. The conference brochure should be available sometime in June.


  *   (I had this one first, but it was a little HEAVY, so I moved it to the end.) Finally, I had the opportunity to attend the Governor's student cabinet meeting a few weeks ago. The students were very forthcoming with their thoughts and feedback regarding their needs regarding mental health. The most common comment from these students (who ranged in grade from 4th grade to sophomores in college) was that teachers and school staff needed to listen to them when they are talking about their mental health. While this feedback was mostly focused on teachers needing to listen. I think we, as school social workers, have the opportunity to work with teachers and other school staff to improve "our" ability to listen to students. School social workers can promote or model student engagement, joining them in conversation about their mental health.  Another interesting piece of universal feedback was that students KNOW that their teachers and school staff would die protecting them if there was an act of school violence.  Listening to students talk about this was a powerful experience .... How do we support these teachers and staff members who would die for their students, to be more willing to engage in conversations with students about student mental health.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one...


P.S. I will be working per diem for DOE over the summer. I will monitor my email daily, but my responses may be slightly delayed.



Ken


Ken Rautiola, LCSW, NCSSW (he/him)
Mental Health Distinguished Educator
Office of School and Student Supports
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0023
Email: kenneth.a.rautiola at maine.gov<mailto:kenneth.a.rautiola at maine.gov>
Phone: (207)441-4754
Maine DOE<http://www.maine.gov/doe> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/MaineDepartmentofEducation1/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/mdoenews> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/mainedepted/?hl=en> | Maine DOE Newsroom<https://mainedoenews.net/> | School Health Services<https://www.maine.gov/doe/schools/safeschools/healthed/nurseresources/guidelines>

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