A Day in the Life Of ... a School Social Worker Advocating for students throughout the district, school social workers have been instrumental in implementing strategies and assisting students, families and teachers with addressing and eliminating barriers and leading students to success. As part of the Social Services department’s dedication to fostering the social-emotional well-being of all children and youth, nearly 130 school social workers are impacting the lives of more than 5,000 OCPS students this school year. Vanessa Eichman has been a school social worker for nearly 20 years. Before joining OCPS, she worked at Johnson Street Global Studies, a K-8 magnet school, in High Point, North Carolina, and as a McKinneyVento School social worker who supported families experiencing homelessness at the K-8 Bruns Academy and Walter G. Byers School in Charlotte, North Carolina. For the past seven years, Eichman has been mentoring and supporting students at Apopka High, Hungerford and Lake Silver elementary schools. She also has been the lead school social worker of the North Learning Community for four years. “I have been passionate about working with children since I was in high school and enjoy providing my students and families with guidance and hope for a brighter future,” said Eichman, who received her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Name: Vanessa Eichman Role: School Social Worker Years with OCPS: 7 Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota 10444
Eichman was honored with the Florida Association of School Social Workers’ School Social Worker of the Year award in October 2021 for her commitment, community involvement, leadership and perseverance. The Orange Peal staff recently spent the day shadowing her at Lake Silver Elementary in observance of National Social Work Month.
8-8:38 a.m.: Eichman has a mentor/mentee virtual check-in meeting with OCPS School Social Worker Sylvia Revangile. She prepares Revangile for an eligibility meeting and evaluation and provides tips on how to write about interventions in a report.
10 | Orange Peal
8:45-9:10 a.m.: Eichman observes a third-grade student in a classroom. 9:15-9:45 a.m.: Eichman has a one-on-one with the third-grade student in her office. They discuss what is going on in the child’s life while coloring and using stress-relief fidget toys.
