Community Partner Spotlight: William Penn School 49
My name is Sarah Gould and I am a school social worker at William Penn School 49. Our school is part of the Indianapolis Public School district and is located on the southwest side of Indianapolis. We have PK-8th grade students in our building. Our total enrollment was 682 students for the 2019-2020 school year. Roughly, 75% of our students qualify for free and or reduced-priced meals. We offer English as Second Language support in addition to a wide variety of academic programs. Our special education programs include both primary and secondary Life Skills classrooms. In addition, we have the Phoenix program. This program is an alternative education program for students within the IPS district. Mental health school-based services are provided for our tier 3 students by Hamilton Center. Our school is a community school and we partner with numerous partners including the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center, Brooke’s Place, and Girls’ Inc.
I have been at my school for 20 years and I have had a student intern for the last 6 years. I am employed at our school full time and we also have a middle school counselor. I work very closely with the school counselor to provide services for our students. I believe that it is truly beneficial to partner with IUSSW and I have truly enjoyed having a student intern throughout the years. I have had both BSW and MSW students placed at my school for their practicum experiences. It is very important for me to partner with the university and allows the students to experience the role of a school social worker for an entire school year. I often see much growth in their skills and abilities throughout the year. My interns spend much time with the students and provide both individual and group counseling.
Our school district is looking for school social workers who are well equipped in providing mental health services, SEL lessons, crisis intervention, community resources, and much more. The day-to-day job is different every day. Future social workers need to be flexible too. There will be some days that you may not get to everything on your schedule. The most important thing is to offer support and resources for your students, teachers, and families on a day to day basis and some things can wait. The job of a school social worker is not easy, but it is the most rewarding profession and I wouldn’t want to do anything else!
Visit our website at William Penn and follow us on Facebook at IPS William Penn School 49.
Please feel free to contact me at goulds@myips.org if you have any questions!