School Social Worker

Karner Blue Education Center

Located in Circle Pines, Minnesota, Karner Blue Education Center serves students in grades K-8 who have Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and Developmental Cognitive Disabilities (DCD). Environmental supports create a controlled space for students to learn, play and relax. The focus on nature provides a calming atmosphere, and educational philosophies tied to nature build a student's connection to their world. The Karner Blue Education Center employs the Compassionate School model, which fosters physical and emotional well-being by enabling students to build relationships, self-regulate, and achieve success in both academic and non-academic contexts. To learn more about Karner Blue Education Center, click here.

Position Information

This position is a 1.0 FTE position (184 days). Starting salary is based on education and years of experience. This position is fully benefit eligible, please click here to review the full contract and benefits offered. Anticipated start date for this position is mid-August.

Nature of Work
Incumbents provide support services to current and prospective students. Responsibilities may include educating staff in trauma informed strategies; responding to student behavioral crises; monitoring student progress toward IEP goals; performing assessments; and developing restorative plans.

Typical Class Responsibilities

• Develops and implements behavioral and crisis interventions; administers and analyzes student needs assessments; conducts interviews with students, family, and school staff; conducts observations; creates related plans of action to meet the individual needs of students; collaborates with staff, families, outside agencies, and others in the management and support of interventions.
• Plans and conducts individualized sessions with students to develop, teach, and implement social and emotional support tools; discuss prevention, problem solving techniques, academics, peer relations, and issues creating barriers for their academic success; and reviews progress.
• Evaluates and makes referrals to outside providers, community resources, social services, and other programs; and collaborates and communicates with school staff, students, families, and outside resources.
• Collaborates, facilitates, and attends meetings with administrators, teachers, staff, related service providers, families, TAP services, McKinney Vento liaisons and others to coordinate and provide services; and educates and trains staff on related topics including trauma informed strategies.
• Prepares documentation, reports, and/or other correspondence including assessments, evaluation reports, progress reports, and other related paperwork; and ensures compliance with applicable local, state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.
• Monitors attendance and truancy issues; communicates truancy issues to guardians; and contacts applicable external agencies and resources as necessary.
• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.

Functional Class Responsibilities

• Provides psychoeducation to caregivers to understand how factors in a child's home, school, and community influence their learning, and supports caregivers in building strategies to strengthen their child's skills and success.
• Collaborate with school personnel through a mental health lens to better understand how factors such as family, culture, socioeconomic status, and physical and mental health can affect students' academic performance and behavior.
• Collaborate with Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and work closely with classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and student support teams. This role also includes providing ongoing, site-based professional development.

Training and Experience Requirements

Master's Degree in Social Work or related field; two years related experience. Licensed through the Minnesota Board of Social Work as a LGSW (clinical) or LICSW. Licensed or able to obtain a license from the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board as a School Social Worker.


Preferred Qualifications

Five years of related experience. Experience working in a school setting; multi-age training and experience with high school and at-promise students; cultural competency; background in behavior disorders and mental health; DSM and Diagnostic; understanding of special education due process, familiarity working with county systems to connect resources to individuals; and third party billing.

Knowledge Requirements

• Social work principles and techniques
• Human behavior in the social environment
• High academic standards
• Knowledge and understanding of current instructional theory and practice
• Crisis intervention strategies and techniques
• Problem solving techniques
• Community resources
• Case management principles and practices
• Child development and learning
• Applicable local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations
• Recordkeeping principles
• Computers and related software applications

Skill Requirements

• Effective collaboration
• Conducting interventions and assessments
• Providing counseling services
• Managing crises
• Identifying and resolving problems
• Applying local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations
• Preparing and maintaining records and reports
• Operating a computer and applicable software applications
• Communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisor, the general public, etc. sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction

Physical Requirements

Positions in this class typically require: climbing, balancing, stooping, reaching, standing, walking, fingering, grasping, talking, hearing, and seeing.

Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that for Sedentary Work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated for Light Work.

Special Education Profile:

Special Education programs and services in Northeast Metro 916 are central to the Intermediate District's mission and fully integrated in its structure and decision-making processes. Programs provide special education and related service support to students from early childhood through age 21 with emotional/behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorders, developmental and cognitive disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing disabilities, and learning disabilities.

Our highly structured, safe learning environments share these characteristics:
Classrooms of 4-10 students supported by 1-4 trained education assistants.
Behavior management support, on-site mental health professionals, due process and curriculum support staff.
In-house collaborative teams include: audiologists, behavior specialists, deaf/blind specialists and interveners, autism specialists, developmental adaptive physical education teachers, education assistants, health specialists, occupational therapists and assistants, physical/other health disabilities teachers, physical therapists and assistants, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers, speech/language pathologists, and sign language interpreters.

Commitment to Equity

At Northeast Metro 916, equity means that everyone has access to what they need in order to learn, grow and thrive.


Northeast Metro 916 will not discriminate against individuals based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, parental status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, age or sexual orientation.