What was it like to be a social worker at penn alexander?"It was a reminder that no matter their race or background they're still kids and all kids can have problems. I liked that because in social work, there is a tendency to feel like 'oh the poor Kids of Color,' but that discredits white kids who have problems too."
--Former Penn Alexander Social Worker |
We spoke to a former social worker at Penn Alexander who enjoyed her experience at the school. She reported having a reasonable case load of 7-8 students per week. She also indicated the smaller case load allowed her to build meaningful relationships with the students and see a diverse range of students throughout the year. The experience for social workers in other schools can be very different, with many social workers moving between schools throughout the week. Penn Alexander is lucky enough to have the resources to provide each child with what they need.
During our interview, the social worker openly discussed how valuable the work was and stressed her belief that all students have problems that require some additional support, whether they come from a wealthy background and live in a single family home or live in a single bedroom apartment with economically struggling parents. The social worker also mentioned the abundant resources available in the school such as a computer lab, library, and a copy machine with adequate paper supplies. |