Social Workers

Your school social worker is here to help!

Our school social workers are trained mental health professionals with a master’s degree in social work who provide supportive counseling and/or therapeutic services to individual students, groups of students and parents to promote optimal learning by addressing mental health and interpersonal skills.

Using their understanding of family and community systems, our school social workers link students and families to services that are essential to student success.
In addition, they work with students who are facing a variety of challenges such as:

• Truancy

• Social anxiety

• Aggressive behaviors

• Substance abuse problems 

• Sexual identity issues

Our school social workers also work with students to address immediate concerns such as:

• Coping with stress

• Parental divorce

• School avoidance 

• Grief and loss issues

Our school social workers collaborate with administrators, teachers, and families to promote and reinforce regular school attendance and serve as a liaison between the school and community agencies to promote the overall well-being of students and their families.

Your Mount Vernon School Social Worker is Shannon Southard

You can contact Ms. Southard at shannon.southard@acps.k12.va.us

Learn more about ACPS social worker services on the ACPS website.