SOCIAL WORK INTERN AIMS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CHILDREN
Woman receives honor from county for efforts at Monarch School
Not all children end up following their aspirations to be astronauts, ballerinas or firefighters. But for Jennifer Weck, the question “what do you want to be when you grow up” helped lead her to become a school social worker.
Weck says she always knew she wanted to work with children in schools. “When I was little, I used to play school and pretend to be the principal,” she said.
After a career in the fitness industry and raising her two children, Weck decided to find a way back to that desire.
While substitute teaching in the San Diego Unified School District, Weck realized her true passion lies in supporting students, rather than teaching them. So, she went back to school, enrolling in USC’s master in social work
program with an emphasis in school social work.
Whereas a school counselor will focus on a student’s academics, school social workers focus on supporting students’ social and emotional health.
“We’re really there to reduce barriers to learning for the students,” Weck said.
During an internship at Monarch School, a K-12 in Barrio Logan that serves children who are experiencing homelessness, Weck was able to delve into doing just that for students who need it most.
“It’s an amazing community of people who are all really invested in the success and the well-being
of the students,” Weck said. Students “feel that energy ... and it gives them the motivation to try harder.”
Weck was recently selected as the 2022 School Social Work Intern of the Year by the San Diego County Office of Education, from about 90 interns across the county.
Jenée Peevy, a program specialist on the SDCOE’s social work services team, says Weck was chosen “for her devotion and ability to adapt to situations as they arose on school campus; being fearless as an intern for taking initiative and jumping in to support stu
dents at all levels; going out of her way and connecting and partnering with a variety of community agencies and organizations to provide resources and supports.”
Now as she prepares to enter the workforce, Weck says the award just confirms that she’s found her true calling.
“I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said.
Work of supporting the child and the school
Monarch is a public-private partnership between the SDCOE and the nonprofit Monarch School Project. The nearly 300 students who attend Monarch receive a trauma-informed, holistic education that supports their academic needs, as well as their social and emotional wellness.
The partnership allows Monarch to offer a plethora of resources, including school social workers assigned through the SDCOE to support the school. But Weck was the school’s first intern assigned solely to help students.
“She has been of such value to our school,” said Dyane Plumly, Monarch’s principal. “She works so well with our students and our staff ... and she absolutely carries all the
values that we do as a school.”
A school social worker’s role and Monarch’s educational approach go hand-inhand, as both focus on supporting the “whole child” by providing all of the services and resources students need to be successful.
The school has an independent-study program focused on high school students, for instance — so whether they need to work or are dually enrolled in community college, they get an instructional strategy that is flexible to best fit their needs, Plumly said.
“We’re all there always meeting the kids where they’re at,” Weck said. “We know that they are extremely capable ... but we also know that they come to school every day with a lot
more baggage than the average student. That can make being successful at school difficult.”
Monarch’s wraparound services provide students with everything from access to basic health care and therapists to clothing, laundry and shower facilities, along with resources for parents.
“The school social worker really focuses on school success ... (and) helping the kids understand the connection between school and home and community,” Plumly said.
School social workers aren’t limited to just supporting students, but rather anyone in the school setting, Weck said.
“Our client isn’t a student or a teacher, our client is the whole school,” Weck said. “We’re there to support school staff, teachers, substitutes — whomever it is ... as well as the whole family.”
School social workers tackle any barriers that arise — whether in a classroom to allow a teacher to focus on teaching, or at home to work with families to find relevant solutions.
Results in the little things
Weck says children need someone whom they can trust to be there with them every step of the way and know that person is genuinely rooting for them.
“Sometimes it’s really that simple,” Weck added. “And that’s what I love most about what I do, because at the end of the day, sometimes just being there and showing up is what makes a difference.”
While she says it’s a big responsibility to be that person for these kids, it’s also very rewarding and encouraging to see them flourish as a result.
“Sometimes I think we feel like the problems are too big and we don’t know where to start,” she said. “But what I’ve learned is the problem doesn’t get any smaller by just thinking it’s too big.”
Weck lives just 12 miles from Monarch in Point Loma. However, the internship exposed her to a world she didn’t know existed.
“If I had never just taken those steps, I would have never known what an impact I could have,” she said.
Whether big or small, Weck says there’s always something you can do to make your community better and, ultimately, chip away at the problem.
“The problem doesn’t get any smaller by just thinking it’s too big,” she said. “The little things do matter. The little things do make a difference. That’s what I’ve learned.”