2026 School Social Work Symposium

Theme: School Social Work: Maximizing Impact in Challenging Times 

Date: Friday, October 16, 2026  

Time: 8:00-2:30 pm
4.5 CEUs 

Join school social workers, educators, and behavioral health professionals for the School Social Work Symposium 2026: School Social Work: Maximizing Impact in Challenging Times on Friday, October 16, 2026. This engaging 4.5 CEU event will explore how school social workers can strengthen their impact through equity-centered, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive practices that support students, families, and communities. Featuring a keynote and plenary session by Kendra V. Johnson, J.D., Ed.D., attendees will examine the role of cultural humility, racial equity, and anti-racist practice in advancing social justice and improving outcomes across systems. Participants will also choose from specialized workshops focused on supporting immigrant students and families, working with transracial adoptive families through play therapy, or addressing adolescent mental health in the age of social media. Through practical strategies, interactive learning, and meaningful discussion, attendees will leave equipped with tools to navigate today's challenges and create more inclusive, supportive, and equitable school environments.

Cost:

• NASW Member: $80
• Non-Member: $115
• Unemployed: $0
• Reduced Income: $40
• Retired: $55
• NASW Staff: $0
• Student:$30

Agenda

Welcome Address

Time: 8:30-8:45 am
Presenter: Karessa Proctor, BSW, MSW

Keynote: Humanity Over Comfort: Reimagining Social Work Through an Anti-Racist and Equity-Centered Lens

Presenter: Kendra V. Johnson, J.D., Ed.D.
Time: 8:45-9:45am
Synopsis: This keynote challenges social workers to confront the tension between maintaining system comfort and advancing human dignity. Drawing from manuscript Humanity Over Comfort, the keynote explores how implicit bias, structural racism, and institutional inertia shape decision-making across schools, child welfare, healthcare, and housing systems. Participants will examine how cultural humility and anti-racist practices can disrupt inequitable outcomes and reposition social workers as transformative agents of social justice. This keynote calls practitioners to move beyond awareness toward courageous, equity-driven action that centers the lived experiences of marginalized communities.

Please note: This keynote session earns 1 of 3 Cat I CEUs required by the MD BSWE in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice (Anti-Racism) for license renewal.

Plenary: From Awareness to Action: Operationalizing Anti-Oppressive Practice Through Cultural Humility and Racial Equity

Presenter: Kendra V. Johnson, J.D., Ed.D.
Time: 10:00am- 12:00pm 
Synopsis: This interactive plenary builds on the Humanity Over Comfort framework to help social workers translate anti-oppressive values into daily practice. Participants will critically examine how implicit bias and systemic inequities influence assessment, intervention, and policy decisions. Through real-world scenarios across social service systems, attendees will explore strategies to embed cultural humility, disrupt racial inequities, and advocate for systemic change. The session emphasizes actionable tools that move beyond performative commitments toward measurable impact in advancing social justice.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Analyze how implicit bias and structural racism influence decision-making and client outcomes across social work systems.
2. Apply principles of cultural humility to build authentic, respectful partnerships with individuals and communities from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds.
3. Evaluate current practices and policies through a racial equity lens to identify and address disparities.
4. Implement anti-racist strategies that disrupt inequitable systems and promote social justice in daily practice.
5. Develop actionable steps to align professional practice with the Humanity Over Comfort framework, prioritizing dignity over institutional convenience.

Please note: This plenary session earns 2 of 3 Cat I CEUs required by the MD BSWE in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice (Cultural Humility) for license renewal.

Lunch 12:00-1:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Workshop A: Supporting Immigrant Students and Families in K-12 Schools School

Presenter: Kerri Evans
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm
Synopsis: During this training, participants will engage in an interactive activity, critical thinking and discussion, and an action planning session that focuses on working with immigrant students and their families (including US born students of immigrant parents) in public school settings. There are more than 44.5 million immigrants in the US (Migration Policy Institute,2019), and one out of every four children in this country are part of an immigrant family (Urban Institute, 2019). Therefore, preparing teachers, school counselors/social workers/psychologists, principals, and other support staff to welcome immigrants and build upon their strengths is critical. 
The NASW Code of Ethics calls for us to serve immigrants through statute 1.05. Social workers have a responsibility to advocate for and serve this vulnerable and marginalized group of people (Cleaveland, 2010;de Silva, 2006). Nonetheless, research indicates that social workers, across all workplace settings, need more training to meet the needs of immigrant clients (Evans et al., 2018; Evans et al., 2020; Lehman Held et al., 2016).
Through the activity and conversation, the participants will: understand the critical role that collaboration plays in success, understand the varied experiences of different types of immigrants, see the humans rights violations immigrant students face when it comes to equity in the US school system (Booi et al., 2016;Jaffe-Walter, et al., 2019;McCorkle & Bailey, 2016; Shillingford et al., 2018), and understand the support systems available to immigrant students (and teachers/families) in local schools and communities (Crawford & Witherspoon, 2017;Evans & Reynolds, in press;Kumi-Yeboah, 2020;Michaels, 2017).
Following the interactive activity, the facilitator will engage in a conversation to bring to life the lessons learned. The session will end with an action planning activity where participants apply the content to their specific role in the school and try to set goals for making their work more welcoming for immigrant students.
See the varied experiences of different types of immigrants pre-arrival to the US and the human rights violations they experience in our educational system.

COMAR Focus in this workshop:
Learning Objectives:

1. Explore support systems available to immigrant students, US-born students of immigrant parents, and immigrant caregivers/family members (and teachers/families) in local schools and communities
2. Discuss possible action steps within the respective schools you work at and/or collaborative advocacy and opportunities for change

Workshop B: Supporting Transracial Adoptive Families Using Play Therapy

Presenter: Sabra Starnes
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm
Synopsis: This training will allow clinicians to discuss and explore the significance of race and ethnicity in their lives and the lives of clients with whom they work. And the importance of understanding attachment theory in working with transracial families. 
This presentation will discuss and explore how to best support transracial Adoptees and their families using attachment-based therapies. And how to work with adoptive parents/caregivers about the issues of race and culture involved in foster care and adoption. 
During the presentation, there will be opportunities to discuss working with Adoptee and their families in a supportive and honest way to educate parents while effectively protecting children's cultural needs. 
Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to:

1. List the unique joys and challenges Adoptees and their families may be experiencing in individual and family therapy sessions.
2. Discuss the term: "racial identity" and give two examples of issues that individuals who are transracial/transcultural Adoptees may experience at different times in their life, concerning racial identity in family play therapy. 
3. Identify several   barriers that transracial Adoptees and adoptive families may experience in discussing race with their clinician in family play therapy sessions. 
4. Assess the importance of parents, caregivers, and mental health professionals in understanding their attachment experiences and implicit biases in family play therapy

Workshop C: Adolescent Mental Health in the Age of Social Media

Presenter: Marilyn Garin, MSW
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm
Synopsis: Multiple studies have shown that adolescent mental health took a sudden decline in the early 2010s. As smart phones became ubiquitous, rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among teenagers all saw dramatic increases.
This training will review the research that demonstrates a connection between adolescent social media use and adolescent mental health. It will also offer strategies school social workers can implement to help reduce exposure to social media for children and adolescents. Finally, it will review policies that social workers can advocate for within their schools to support students’ learning and mental health by reducing their access to smart phones and social media within schools.