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Board recognizes school social workers and promotes literacy programs including Roland Read
Summary
School social workers and literacy programs were acknowledged: staff described social workers’ roles, a drop in homeless student counts attributed to district coordination, and library/media leaders reported 1.5 million minutes logged in district reading challenges.
The Topeka Public Schools board recognized school social workers in honor of Social Work Month and heard updates on district literacy initiatives, including Read Across America and the Roland Read program.
Susan Mills, who coordinates social work in the district, Regina Franklin and a group of social workers described their roles in crisis response, connecting families to community resources and training student teachers. The superintendent noted that under a staff leader’s efforts the district’s identified homeless student count decreased from roughly 600 to “between 200 and 300,” with the district coordinating with Impact Avenues to connect families to housing resources. District staff said Regina Franklin will represent the district on an interagency “all hands on deck” homelessness effort.
The board viewed a social work video illustrating day‑to‑day problem solving in schools and applauded staff for their work. The district also highlighted Read Across America activities: Tiffany St. Clair (library/media services coordinator) and a district literacy leader said the district’s students and staff logged about 1,500,000 minutes of reading since August toward a two‑million minute goal for the year; the Roland Read family literacy initiative is in its fourth year and will host local authors and illustrators during the event week.
Why it matters: Social workers are central to district efforts to remove barriers to attendance and learning; staff described cross‑agency coordination that addresses homelessness and family needs. Literacy initiatives are districtwide and intended to boost early reading engagement.
Board members thanked social workers and library staff and asked clarifying questions about outreach and partnerships; staff described partnerships with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and community groups.
