School Social Workers are trained to support academic achievement and MTSS! From the School Social Work Association of America position statement School Social Workers’ Role in Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs and Increasing Academic Achievement:

• School social workers offer their unique training and expertise to link mental health, behavior, environmental factors (e.g., family, classroom, school, and community), instruction, and learning together to create safe and successful learning environments.

• This is done by school social workers fostering collaboration among school staff and community-based service providers while also integrating existing initiatives in the school. Integrated services lead to more sustainable and comprehensive school improvement, reduce duplicative efforts and redundancy, and require leadership by the principal and a commitment from the entire staff (Iachini et al., 2017; Massat et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2019).

• ABSS school social workers serve on and lead MTSS teams, PBIS teams, serve as leaders of groups focused on excellence and achievement within their schools: Little Leaders, Blue Blazers, Student Council, etc.

The most effective way to implement integrated services that support school safety and student learning is through a school-wide multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). In a growing number of schools across the country, response to intervention (RTI) and positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) constitute the primary methods for implementing an MTSS framework. School social workers are well positioned to help lead these efforts. Effective MTSS requires:

• Adequate access to school-employed specialized instructional support personnel (e.g., school social workers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school nurses) and community-based services;

• Integration of services, including mental health, behavioral, and academic supports and school based and community services;

• Adequate staff time for planning and problem solving;

• Effective collection, evaluation, interpretation, and use of data; and,

• Patience, commitment, and strong leadership. (Avant & Lindsey, 2015; Kelly, 2014; Kelly, Frey, Alvarez, Berzin, Shaffer, & O’Brien, 2010; Lucio, Campbell, & Kelly, 2020) Integrating 

• Services through Collaboration and a Multi-Disciplinary Approach 

If the only task of teachers was to teach the three R's, their jobs would be easy. But as we know, many factors conspire to make it difficult for some young people to make it through school—among them, poverty, substance abuse, community violence, early sexual activity and family conflicts. 

School social workers pick up where teachers leave off. They are perhaps the professionals best equipped to address the social and psychological issues that can block academic progress. School social workers bring their unique skills and systems perspective to the assessment and diagnosis of children's needs. Through counseling, crisis intervention and prevention programs, they help young people overcome the difficulties in their lives, and as a result, give them a better chance at succeeding in school.

Because social workers are trained to think of innovative solutions to complex problems, their interventions often make a strong difference for young people at risk for academic failure and dropping out of school. Their goal is to overcome institutional barriers to learning and gaps in services to maximize academic performance. 

Besides helping youth with traditional academic problems, social workers aid others whose specific social, psychological, emotional or physical difficulties put them at risk for falling through the cracks. These include homeless youth, abused and neglected youth and young people with physical or mental health disabilities.