Empathy in Action: Meet Our School Social Workers

In honor of School Social Workers Week, we are proud to celebrate our incredible school social workers who make a lasting impact on our students, families and community. We spoke with a few of our school social workers about their favorite parts of the job. 

Joey Corcoran, who has been one of the social workers at Richfield Middle School for four years now, is inspired by the youthful energy of the students he works with. “Kids are awesome, and adults who work with kids are able to retain some of that youthful awesomeness through their work,” he shared. Joey appreciates that his role allows him to support so many incredible young people.

“I love working in Richfield,” he shared. “I am grateful that RPS proudly supports and values the diversity of our school community.” 

Karen Slaght, Social Worker at Richfield Dual Language School (RDLS), brings 14 years of experience to RPS, including eight years at RDLS. “I love helping students be more successful at school,” Karen explained. “I do whatever I can for students and families so there are fewer barriers to school success.” Karen loves that RPS prioritizes students' emotional safety and learning as much as their physical safety and academics. “Everyone from the top leadership to the staff on the ground gets training in how to help guide students to be safe, responsible and kind,” she shared.

Karen attributes much of her success to the support of her fellow social workers and gives a special shout-out to Emma Garcia, the social emotional support professional at RDLS. “Emma makes every day brighter for me and for all the students and teachers she supports!”

Phil Rooney, who works at Centennial Elementary, loves getting to build healthy relationships with young people. He values the ongoing efforts among staff and leaders to create a more equitable, inclusive and just education system. When he’s not supporting students, Phil finds joy in mutual care and coffee.

A Typical Day

Our social worker’s days are filled with group sessions, individual student support, family outreach and collaboration with teachers. “Each day is full of surprises,” said Karen. “If a student is sad, angry or needs more support than the classroom teacher can give, I am on call.” Karen always approaches situations with empathy. “Teachers and kids drop by a lot to talk to me about how to solve school-related problems. I truly believe we're all doing our best and if we make mistakes, we can learn from them!

Our social workers also work behind the scenes on attendance, food security, schoolwide social emotional climate initiatives and tracking data on whether or not students are meeting personalized goals. 

Thank you to all of our school social workers for your unwavering commitment to our students and community. Your hard work and compassion make a world of difference every day!