Springdale district hires social workers

Deputy superintendent says hirings step toward goal of having one at every school

SPRINGDALE — The School District’s first licensed social workers will begin working in the next several weeks, its deputy superintendent said Tuesday.

The district has hired six licensed clinical social workers so far who will split their time throughout the district, but deputy superintendent Jared Cleveland said he hopes eventually to hire five times that number in order to have one at every school.

The School Board during its monthly meeting Tuesday voted without opposition to approve a salary schedule for the new hires. Their pay will range from $40,000 to $53,000 per school year, depending on years of experience and whether they have bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

“We need to give our students all the tools we can to be the best they can be,” board vice president Michelle Cook said after the meeting. “We need more people they can reach out to.”

Cleveland said the new social work program will help step in when students are struggling with mental health issues, such family emergencies as court disputes or an inability to pay a

utility bill, and other needs.

“Our principals, our counselors, our teachers, they’re already doing this,” but they can’t devote all of their time to those demands, Cleveland said in an interview. “Sometimes the family needs services, not just the child.”

Cleveland said he’s also working with the state’s Education and Human Services departments to put together some kind of statewide program to pool resources and help districts bring on professional social workers.

“This is just our first step,” Cleveland said.

Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville’s districts employ a dozen social workers among them, with seven in Rogers alone, according to Department of Education data.

Springdale board member Randy Hutchinson, who’s been on the board for more than a decade, said the district has discussed hiring its own for as long as he’s been around. He and Cook said the need for student support is obvious, given school shootings and other events around the country.