National School Social Work Week Proclamation 2025 (5)

               P R O C L A M AT I O N
WHEREAS:
               P R O C L A M AT I O N
                                 National School Social Work Week
                The social work profession has been helping to improve the welfare of people, families,
                communities and our nation for generations. School social workers work to empower individuals,
                families, communities, and our schools to overcome challenges that prevent them from sustaining
                and achieving their full potential. Therefore the DCSD Social Work Department will align with this
                year’s theme “Unite To Ignite: Celebrating Our Impact.”

WHEREAS:        The importance of school social work, through the inclusion of school social work programs and
                services, has been recognized in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
                U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.);

WHEREAS:        DeKalb County School District has 75 school social workers, serving 131 schools, who are
                exceptionally skilled in providing services to our Elementary, Middle, High Schools, GNETS,
                S.A.F.E. Centers and district offices.

WHEREAS:        School social workers serve as vital members of a school’s education team, playing a central
                role in creating partnerships between the home, school, and community to ensure student
                academic success, and providing services to students who face serious challenges to school
                success, including disability, poverty, discrimination, abuse, neglect, mental illness, homelessness,
                bullying, familial stressors and other barriers to learning. The need for school social workers
                has never been greater.

WHEREAS:        As more students struggle with mental and behavioral disorders, with nearly 1 in 6 children from
                2 to 8 years old (17.4 percent) having a diagnosed mental, behavioral or developmental
                disorder, school- based mental health programs are critical to early identification of and early
                intervention for mental health problems. School social workers, as licensed mental health
                professionals in schools, provide necessary assessment, interventions, counseling, family
                outreach and community referrals.

BY THIS ACTION, let it be known that the DeKalb County School District Board of Education and Superintendent
Dr. Devon Horton hereby proclaim March 2-8, 2025, as “School Social Work Appreciation Week” in the DeKalb
County School District, and the members of this body commend the School Social Workers and its department
for the work done to help provide supportive services to DeKalb’s child and their families and improve
DeKalb’s education system. In witness whereof, we affix signatures on the 10th day of March 2025.




                                      Mrs. Vickie B. Turner, Chair                 Mr. Diijon DaCosta, Vice Chair




                                                        Mrs. Cheryl Watson-Harris, Superintendent