How one Chicago school social worker is grappling with COVID’s toll on students
Inside a staff bathroom at Piccolo Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side, Mary Difino wiped away tears and tried to catch her breath. It had been a long day in another stressful week.
A spate of fights and a string of cyberbullying incidents among students two months into the school year had taken a toll on Difino — the school’s only social worker.
In the last six years, she has juggled caseloads across two separate schools, participated in an 11-day teachers strike, and navigated a pandemic that upended schools for 18 months.
Still, Difino had harbored hopes that COVID-related disruptions had passed, and things might be getting back to normal. After all, this was supposed to be the year Chicago Public Schools — and its 322,000 students and 39,300 staff — recovered from the upheaval of the pandemic. This would be “one of the strongest years ever” in the district’s history, CEO Pedro Martinez said on the first day of school this fall.
Read the full article here: https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/9/23500744/chicago-public-schools-social-worker-student-mental-health-covid-trauma-support-services
____________________________________________________
CITE is the Center for Integrated Training and Education.
For over 25 years, CITE has and continues to train:
TEACHERS: General and Special Ed Masters (Early Childhood or Childhood), Adolescent Special Ed / Professional Certification Masters, TESOL Masters, Special Ed license extension courses, Bilingual license extension courses, TESOL license extension courses, Early Childhood license extension courses
COUNSELORS: School Counseling Masters, Mental Health Counseling Masters, Advanced Certificate in Mental Health or School Counseling
ADMINISTRATORS: School Building Leadership, School District Leadership, Doctorate for CSA members, Doctorate for non-CSA members, Public Administration Master’s
— in all five boroughs of NYC, Yonkers, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk.
CITE PD: CITE offers CTLE-approved in-school or online professional development tailored to your school’s needs and your vision. We can work remotely with your staff and parents. Info: citepd.com
