Hi! I am a school social worker who has worked primarily in K-8 schools for the past 10 years. I would love to transition to high school, but so far I've gotten one interview.

My elementary experience has been primarily in an urban setting, where I have worked with kids going through (typically) high school aged issues - suicidal ideation, cutting, drug use, gang involvement, etc.

Is there anything that I should do, inparticular, to highlight my skills? Do high schools hire people from elementary settings? Is there a bias?

Any thoughts are welcome and appreciated!

[eeza]

I think you've had good experience with your time in elementary. I think stating how your skills are universal and can be utilized at any age level is important. During the interview you could share a really good strategy for an individual or group setting and say how you could tweak it to apply to high school.

And really, high school kids are still kids and need as much adult support as elementary kids. It's just in a different way!

Do high schools hire people from elementary settings?

Sure! I was a teacher in a K-5 school before becoming a school psych at a high school (and I love it!).

[GraceKrispy]

Welcome to the board! I hope you stay and post often

I agree that you have great experience that will go over well in a high school setting. In my experience, high school administrators most certainly hire specialists (like social workers or counselors or school psychs) from elementary and/or middle schools. The kind of training those positions get is usually not as specialized for an age level as teacher training, and the certifications for those positions are usually K-12.

I guess what I would do in your position would be to see if you can learn what the school needs/what struggles a particular school has, and highlight the skills/experience you have that would benefit the school in your cover letter (without pointing out that they have these deficits, of course). A solid cover letter is hopefully what will get you interviews, and then you can sell yourself in person. Good luck!!