In response to a growing need for social and emotional support by its students, the Warren County R-III School District has decided to add a licensed clinical social worker to its staff.The new position was approved 5-0 during the regular monthly board meeting June 2.Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Aaron Jones says the school feels it needs to be better equipped to meet the needs of students that weren’t necessarily curriculum based.The focus of the social worker’s role would be to worth with students and their families to have the basic resources they need for the child to succeed in the educational setting.“Our counselors and administrators are spending so much time trying to help parents find those resources that it’s taking away from being able to do other parts of the job, so we felt like we could benefit from having someone who was dedicated to that role,” said Jones.One alarming indicator of a rise in social needs has been the drastic increase in the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunch services.In 2000, the district had just 32 percent of its students enrolled in that plan.During the 2015-16 school year, nearly 60 percent of the students attending R-III schools received free and reduced lunch services.“While the district has continued to grow, the high-needs population has also grown immensely,” said Jones. “Kids are coming to school with a high level of social and emotional needs.”The administration is hopeful the social worker would be able to help determine which students are at risk and may have needs going unnoticed by teachers and staff.“Sometimes it can be difficult just to identify which students are in need,” said Jones.The general description of the social worker’s role as shared during the meeting would be to provide a link between the home, school and community, providing direct and indirect services to students, families and school personnel in order to facilitate academic and social success for all students​.The social worker, who will serve all students from kindergarten through 12th grade, also will advocate for student safety and welfare to ensure that the district responds to the needs of all children.“If the student’s basic needs aren’t being met, it’s going to make it difficult for them to learn, so we want to make sure those needs are being addressed, and we hope that this position will assist in that effort,” said Jones.The district anticipates having a candidate to present for hiring by the July 14 board meeting. The social worker’s salary will be determined by the board.Warren County R-III School District