• Introduction
  • Welcome!
  • My Philosophy
• Background
  • Introduction
  • Resume
  • Transcript
  • Bag Speech
• Psychology Concentration
  • Introduction
  • Child Development
  • Senior Thesis Project
• Issues in Education
  • Introduction
  • Disparities in Special Education
  • Promoting Positive Adjustment for Struggling Students
• Experiences in Education
  • Introduction
  • Exploration Summer Programs
  • JBFCS Child Development Center
  • Sauquoit Valley Elementary
  • Middle Settlement Alternative Academy
• Resources
  • Introduction
  • Student Motivation
  • Classroom Management
• Next Steps
  • What's ahead?

Experiences in Education

SAUQUOIT VALLEY ELEMENTARY

I have been given the great privilege of working with a remarkable school social worker at Sauquoit Valley Elementary: Paul Dischiavo. Paul has an unbelievable number of responsibilities, many of which are the ordinary responsibilities of a school social worker, and many more of which he has created and taken on for himself. He has made it his duty to create the best atmosphere and provide the best programs for all students, not just those with the most obvious need. I've been lucky to work with someone who cares so deeply about students and is willing to sacrifice his own time for their benefit. 

Throughout my time at Sauquoit Valley Elementary, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of a broad range of projects and experiences. I have thought for several years about becoming a school counselor/school social worker, and am happy to have this experience to understand the various responsibilities involved with the job. So far, I have helped design and lead several therapy groups (social skills, Banana Splits, and Healthy Choices Bootcamp), collaborated with the school team about implementing a bullying program for the busses, drawn a wall-sized emotion chart for daily use, and worked with students one-on-one to work on various issues. Additionally, I have stepped in during several crisis situations. I have learned how much time and effort goes into planning and implementing programs. I have also learned the value of patience and persistence, as progress with children takes a great deal of time and trust. Though I’ve been given a great deal of responsibility, all of this is only a fraction of what Paul does. I am grateful for this opportunity to assist with all of these responsibilities, and to gain a greater understanding of the school system, its policies and regulations, the process of contacting teachers and parents, how to build meaningful lessons, facilitating discussion with various age groups, and communicating with children in a way that makes them want to listen.

Legally, I am not permitted to post pictures of many of my projects, since they do include first and last names of students as well as pictures of their faces. However, I am able to include an outline of the social skills group that I created. This group was born out of a serious need. That is, many teachers were coming to Paul with issues that are not necessarily able to be addressed in one-on-one counseling sessions. They were coming to Paul with issues regarding challenging authority figures, frequent outbursts, trouble initiating play with peers, difficulties managing and understanding emotions, self-regulating, etc. This group aimed to target some of these issues. It began with many organized and concrete lessons, which I have included here. However, this group met every Thursday for the entire school year, totalling about 25 grou meetings. Ultimately, this group became a lunch-club of sorts where students played games with one another and learned how to play nicely. To view the original curriculum map, click here.

 

I've also included the wall-sized emotion chart I drew. This chart was used at the beginning of any one-on-one session and social skills group. Each student would take their arrow and place it on the emotion they were feeling, and then explain to us how they knew they were feeling that emotion, what it feels like to have that feeling, and why they were feeling that way. This helped the students to gain the language about emotions, begin to understand why they were feeling certain ways, and ultimately learn to self-regulate.

The wall-sized emotion chart that I drew. Students use their arrows to identify which emotion they are feeling.