Woodstock District 200 meeting a new variety of student needs

Students come to school with “emotional backpacks” where they carry what they’ve been through, social worker Kristen Jurca said.

What’s inside looks different for each student but it can all impact how well a child learns. One day a child could arrive at school hungry from missing breakfast. Another may have witnessed a fight at home the night before and is still upset and processing.

Jurca was one of seven social workers hired at Woodstock School District 200 using federal COVID-19 dollars to offer additional assistance with evening hours at the elementary, middle and high schools.

“At our district, like many others, we have experienced various traumatic events, like the loss of family members, loss of job and all the inconsistencies of remote learning,” said Keely Krueger, assistant superintendent for early childhood education.

Before the pandemic, the district already was thinking of trauma-informed practices, vetting people for professional development, Krueger said.

With the additional cohort of social workers, good mental health has become just another piece of the education pie.

“At Woodstock, we’re focusing on the whole story of the student,” said Jurca, who works at Dean Street and Olson elementary schools.

The Spring Grove resident has been in the field of social work for the past seven years and said she’s always wished she had the time to meet some of the needs of the families, not just the students.

At the two elementary schools, she gets to do just that.

With a flexible schedule that provides parents two evening hours each week, Jurca has been able to connect with students during the school day and with their family after school.

Some families need her assistance here and there throughout the year, others more consistently.

Jurca discusses with them topics such as purposeful parenting, including decreasing the use of technology now that students are back in schools and how to deal with anxiety.

Krueger called the cohort of social workers a “tremendous gift” for the school community.

Jurca helps students connect the bridge from school to home. Through individual or group sessions, she tailors her work depending on their needs. She also provides consistency and structure, she said.

“My hope is that they’ve learned that we are a community and we’re here to meet their needs now and as they change,” Jurca said.

In classrooms, the assistance Jurca provides teachers is a welcome intervention that looks different each day, said fourth-grade teacher Neka Pawelko, who has a couple of students who she said look forward to spending time with Jurca.

“They have their ups and downs,” Pawelko said of the students currently seeing Jurca. “The biggest impact I’ve seen is they’re getting that extra attention they need.”

Some of her students, she said, are not yet ready to be back in their old school routines. It’s been years since they’ve had a normal school year.

Jurca and the other social workers also work with teachers, providing information they can use in their classrooms.

A glitter jar that sits in Pawelko’s class was made at a staff meeting with Jurca. The lava lamp-like effect fascinates her students, she said.

The sensory tool gives kids a 10- to 15-minute distraction. It’s one of the tools used to give them an opportunity to shift from a bad mood to a new perspective.

“We never could have anticipated how different things would be when we got back,” said Stephanie Watson, principal at Olson Elementary School.

“All of our social workers are truly supporting the whole child; we’re meeting their social, emotional and academic needs,” Watson said. “I feel like we’re starting to turn a corner.”