Manager of Social Emotional Learning
Maura A. Mahoney, LICSW
20 Irving Street, Room 201
Worcester, MA 01609
508-799-3175
[email protected]
The Child Study Department Consists of School Psychologists and School Adjustment Counselors who provide services to all students in the Worcester Public Schools. These personnel, all of who have training to the Master's Degree level (at a minimum|) and Department of Education licensure, provide support for successful educational experiences and the healthy emotional development of all students enrolled in our schools. They provide a wide variety of services that address academic, social-emotional or behavior difficulties and can be readily accessed, as needed, by students, parents, teachers and administrators. A referral to Child Study is a preventative action that neither constitutes nor precludes a referral for a Special Education Team Evaluation.
Services
Services provided by Child Study include, but are not limited to:
- Assess student learning and emotional health needs as they impact academic success
- Provide outreach to parents in their home settings in an effort to facilitate home-school partnerships and referrals to community resources
- Develop instructional strategies in collaboration with teachers to accommodate individual learning styles (Student Support Process)
- Collaborate with school staff to address school safety issues
- Provide short-term individual and group counseling services to students
- Serve as case manager for students/families in developing a network of support services with community agencies
- Provide nonviolent conflict resolution and mediation services
- Collaborate with health educators and medical personnel to provide comprehensive services to students
- Supervision of student attendance and applications for judicial oversight
- Collaborate with Worcester Juvenile Court, the Department of Social Services and other agencies to assist school age children and their families with problems of attendance and behavior
- Provide professional development opportunities to improve staff knowledge and skills
- Counsel students in career development and provide transition support services
- Process applications for home school families and provide related support
- Collaborative consultation with teachers, parents and administrators to address needs or concerns and enhance provision of positive supports (Student Support Process)
- Crisis intervention and crisis response support including Critical Incident Stress Management (for affected staff members)
- Drop-out retrieval process
- Intensive support, education and case management for specialized programs (in regular and special education alternative settings)
- Lethality assessments (risk assessments for harm to self or others)
- Liaison work and coordination School-based Health Centers
- Mental status assessments for students with serious emotional and behavioral issues
- Participation in school-based (regular education) problem solving processes (Student Support Process), ADA, 504 Plan development
- Psychological and home assessments as needed for Special Education team meetings
- Transportation coordination to minimize school mobility issues for students in foster care and homeless shelters
- Support for pregnant and parenting teens through Worcester Comprehensive Education and Care Teen Care Programs and day care programs on high school level