Jennifer Mejia is the School Social Worker at the Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) at Hockanum School who works to meet student and family needs every day. She finds creative ways to build students’ social/emotional skills, even at 3-5 years old, that they can take with them as they continue to learn and grow.
Mejia has been in her current role for about a year, but previously worked in other support roles at ECLC.
“I think she's destined to work with children and families and support. She's very nurturing, and she’s always very eager to help in any way she can,” said ECLC Assistant Principal Katelyn McDonald.
As the school social worker, she provides classroom support, works with individual children, assists families, and works to support students’ social/emotional needs overall. McDonald said Mejia is always bringing new ideas for helpful lessons or resources, including creating a sensory classroom at ECLC for social skills classes.
“This year and last year, she's been pulling students out of their rooms so they can go to a new, calming space and use that for their lessons. And then she also opens that space up to the teachers to be able to bring their classrooms in and explore the room, if they feel like their class needs a break from their space,” explained McDonald.
School leaders say Mejia is always looking to do what’s right for kids, and she has the personality and work ethic to make her excel in her role.
McDonald said, “[Mejia] is a really upbeat, happy, happy-go-lucky person. She's very positive with everyone. So, every situation that she faces, she's always eager to come up with a creative solution.”
Learn more about Jennifer Mejia in the Q&A below.
What brought you to the role of school social worker at ECLC?
Mejia: So, at first, I started as a Family Service Coordinator here at ECLC with the Head Start program. I just had finished my Bachelor's degree and I didn't know what I really wanted to do with this degree. And then I started being in the classrooms, just to cover for a little bit, then I was like, “Oh, I think I want to do teaching.” And then I was like, “Maybe I could do social work.” Because by then, I had switched my role to the Bilingual Family Support Specialist, and that was more working with home and school communication, working on the attendance piece with families and working to help parents with resources. I was getting my degree during that time, and then I somehow got into the position of the school social worker here.
It was nice because I've been here for a long time. I love working with this age group, and it was something that I noticed a lot of kids who are at three and four, they do need social work, and that social/emotional piece is very, very crucial at this time.
What does a typical day look like for you now?
Mejia: Being the school social worker, you think you're going to come in, sometimes I'm like, “I'm going to do this.” And then your day just turns completely different. And I think that's the good thing about this job, because it's not always the same. So yes, I'm going to see students. Yes, I might work with the teacher, but sometimes there are parents that come in and they want to speak with you. And then, an incident happens and you need to go over to that classroom. I have different hats during the day. So, I'm doing a lot of teaching, but also social/emotional work and small groups with those students, but also doing administrative things and then also trying to relate with these parents. It changes. It's very different, but I enjoy it. I like that fluidity.
What are some of the tools and strategies you utilize for social/emotional learning with preschool students?
Mejia: One of the tools that I use is the feelings board. It’s hard with three, four and five-year-olds, they are at different stages in their language. So, some of them are not talking. I can clearly ask like, “How do you feel?” and they won't respond. So, the board is helpful because they can see this feeling is happy, this feeling is sad, and then they can tell me. It actually works, and that's how they learn how they feel and they can identify and they can show without even speaking sometimes. And then, it's a speech and language kind of thing too, because then they start learning. They’re learning how to communicate.
Another thing that I like to use is social/emotional stories. Because a lot of kids, at this age, you can't just do the one-on-one counseling and like, “How do you feel and what do you do when you're mad?” So, I do a lot of social/ emotional stories. That's how I get them to understand coping mechanisms or identifying a feeling. Like, “How does this character feel and what did she do?”
And then I do like to use the ViewSonic board too. You know, they love technology and they love to click the board. And just the trampoline here and other sensory tools, that’s a way that they can just let out their energy, get those wiggles and sillies out, to help reregulate them or redirect how they’re thinking or feeling.
What is your goal when you’re working with students? What do you hope they get out of their time with you?
Mejia: First is building relationships so that they have another person that they can feel that they can confide in. Yeah, they’re three, four or five, they have their parents, but they love to come in here and see another adult and know that I’m here to help them through whatever they're going through.
And also setting the language for social/emotional learning and just getting their feet wet with, what is a feeling and how do I cope with these feelings. And at this age, they have so many feelings, so I think it's good to start now. It’s those very critical skills that they're going to need when they're older. In preschool, that's what we're doing. We're doing a lot of the groundwork, so when they go into elementary school and middle school and high school, they have the skills.
What do you love most about your job and coming to work every day?
Mejia: Well, I love being with the kids. As much as it's hard sometimes dealing with behaviors, ultimately, I really like engaging with the students who do have a hard time, because they keep me on my toes. But there's a lot of love there and they're looking for love from you.
So, I think it's being with the kids and also connecting with parents because I did grow up in East Hartford. I think it's nice giving back to my community and being on that side, connecting with parents and saying, “Hey, I was there before,” or “My mom was there before.” “I understand and these are the right ways to go about certain situations or some resources we have in town.” I think that’s what I really enjoy about this role.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.