Recognizing School Social Work Week

March 3-7, 2025 marks National School Social Work Week. In Osseo Area Schools, social workers at elementary, middle and high schools work each day to advocate for students' well-being, providing emotional support, resources, and guidance to help them overcome challenges and succeed academically and personally.

Kenyari Wright-Osseo Area Learning Center

At the Osseo Area Learning Center (OALC), Kenyari Wright works with students each day to remove any barriers that they have to succeeding in school. Social work was a family path for her, as all of the women in her life had caretaking positions and her mother worked as a social worker as well. Wright has worked as a school social worker for 13 years, with ten of them in the district. 

She worked a few years as an elementary school social worker, but enjoys working with the students at the OALC as they are managing real life as young adults and balancing life events. A highlight for Wright is when she sees a student put in hard work and feel supported, and then be successful and graduate. 

“It is a lot of student contact and trying to help them find their voice to advocate for themselves, and supporting them in their own problem solving rather than trying to fix everything for them,” Wright said. 

Wright enjoys her job because it is different each day, and she has to stay sharp because she doesn’t know what problem she will be asked to solve. She enjoys working with the great support team at the OALC, who work each day to make students feel supported, and seeing the impact that they have on students and families. 

“Social work is a really important position in schools. We do a whole lot, and it is important that those positions remain funded,” Wright said. “It is important at all of the different stages, both elementary and secondary. Social workers are so necessary, and I love that our district has made that investment while not all districts do.”

In her free time, Wright enjoys spending time with her family and her two sons.

Libby Lorron- Osseo Middle School 

At Osseo Middle School (OMS), Libby Lorron works with special education students each day, working with kids on life skills, helping to build resilience and strength and creating an inclusive spot where students want to come to and feel safe. In college, Lorron thought she may want to be a teacher, until she took an introduction to social work class and loved the opportunity to work with students in a smaller setting and make a meaningful impact that way. 

“I love that I can really get to know the students that I work with and build those relationships,” Lorron said.

Lorron has worked as a social worker for seven years, with four in the district. She worked a few years at elementary schools before switching over to OMS this year. She has really enjoyed working with middle schoolers so far and appreciates the fun banter with the kids, and seeing all of the progress that students make. 

“It is really fun when I can see a gain that a student makes, even a small win. Sometimes we don’t see huge progress each year, but I know that I am planting seeds and eventually as they grow older, some of those skills will start to connect,” Lorron said. 

Lorron works with special education students at OMS, working with them on their IEPs and connecting with families and parents to make sure that they have what they need. Her favorite thing about her job is working with kids on real life skills that are hopefully going to continue to grow as they get older. 

“School social workers are so important in buildings. We make a big impact,” Lorron said. “We need more school social workers. It is a great line of work to get into if you like kids.”

In her free time, Lorron enjoys the outdoors, including skiing, kayaking, hiking, biking and camping.