Most of those who spoke said the same thing: this is a bad idea.
The report issued after the Newtown school shooting by the state's Office of the Child Advocate cites the importance of having both school psychologists and social workers on a school's mental health team.
But Avon is going in a different direction. In June, the school board decided to replace all four social workers with school psychologists.
After requesting a public hearing, hundreds of residents and students packed the high school’s auditorium on Wednesday to ask that the social workers be reinstated. Roughly 40 people spoke in favor of keeping the social workers, including six students.
One of the students is Shannon Jordan.
“I just graduated from Avon High School last month, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to do that if it was not for the help that I received from the school social worker Laura Knee,” Shannon said.
Most of those who spoke said the same thing -- this is a bad idea. Speakers included school psychologists and psychiatrists who agreed that social workers are a necessary part of a school’s mental health team.
Dr. Catherine Lewis, a psychiatrist in Farmington, said the school board’s decision is “deviant, abhorrent and must be stopped.”
"One of the things we are concerned about is undiagnosed issues, particularly with younger children."
School Board Member Houston Putnam Lowery
“I think your decision is dangerous and puts the lives and welfare of your children at risk,” she said.
While nobody spoke in favor of the plan, the school board offered a different take. Board member Houston Putnam Lowery said there are different ways to address mental health issues.
“We’re never going to get the best way,” he said. “But we have to continually try to improve what we’re doing. One of the things we are concerned about is undiagnosed issues, particularly with younger children.”
But Kathy Marzano, a counselor at Avon Middle School, said she has worked with social workers for years and found them to be indispensable.
“If we need another school psychologist to conduct testing to determine the need for special education services, then hire another school psychologist,” Marzano said. “Don’t fire who we have and who are working well.”
In Connecticut, social workers are required to have at least 36 hours of course study in special education, which includes obtaining skills to help identify students who might qualify for special education services.
But according to a document drafted by Kelly Grant, Avon’s director of pupil services, school psychologists are better equipped to handle certain tasks, such as evaluating a student for special education, assessing behavior problems, and collecting and analyzing data.
School board Chairman Peggy Roell said school psychologists are different than social workers, but psychologists could eventually learn to do everything that social workers do.
“The psychologists could do the relationship-building also,” Roell said, adding that an administrator in another district said Avon’s plan was “progressive” and that “is was a very good way and other districts would be doing this in the future.”
When later asked to identify this person, Roell said she would respond later with that information. As of Thursday evening, she had not responded to requests for comment. Grant has also not responded.
Speaking with WNPR before the public hearing, Duquesne University psychology professor Tammy Hughes sounded surprised at Avon’s decision.
“Most districts around the country use psychologists, social workers and school counselors together, kind of for a comprehensive team,” Hughes said. “It’s not really an either/or approach.”
The governor-appointed Sandy Hook Advisory Commission reiterated this point in its March 6 report:
“For many children, however, schools offer the only real possibility of accessing services. School districts should therefore increase the availability of school guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other school health and behavioral health professionals during and after the school day as well as potentially on Saturdays.”
Wendy Howard was the only Avon school board member who advised rethinking this decision, and her comment was met with roaring applause. It remains unclear if and when the school board would revisit its plan to replace social workers with school psychologists.
