At Communities In Schools of Richmond, we often say that relationships are the work. During National Social Workers Month, we celebrate the professionals who build those relationships day after day — many of whom serve as our Site Coordinators in schools across the region.
Social workers are trained to see beyond the surface. They listen for what isn’t being said. They notice when a student who is usually loud becomes quiet, when attendance slips, when behavior signals stress rather than defiance. But more than anything, they show up — consistently, compassionately, and without judgment.
At CIS, that looks like greeting students by name in the hallway, sitting beside them during hard moments, making phone calls home that start with “Tell me about your child,” and staying long after the bell rings to make sure someone feels safe enough to go home.
Many of our Site Coordinators began their journey as social work interns. They arrived eager to learn and quickly discovered that this work is as much about heart as it is about skill. They saw firsthand how one caring adult can change the trajectory of a young person’s life — and they chose to stay. Today, those former interns are leading programs, coordinating supports, and mentoring the next generation of helpers.
Social workers serve as connectors between home, school, and community, helping remove barriers that can keep students from learning. But what makes their work truly transformative isn’t just the services they coordinate — it’s the trust they build.
Sometimes that trust looks like crisis support: helping a family secure food, housing, counseling, or transportation. Other times, it looks deceptively simple: playing a game, eating lunch together, celebrating a small victory, or reminding a student for the hundredth time that they are capable of more than they believe.
These moments may seem small, but they accumulate into something powerful — resilience, belonging, hope.
Across Richmond, CIS social workers are running social-emotional learning groups, helping students manage anxiety, guiding families through difficult systems, and advocating for what children need to succeed. They stand in the gap until other supports can step in — and often long after.
And sometimes, something even more extraordinary happens.
When students are asked, “What’s next?” many don’t name a job title or college major first. Instead, they turn to the adult who has walked beside them and ask:
“How do I get to do what you do?”
In that question lives the full power of the CIS model.
Because our work doesn’t just help students graduate — it helps them imagine who they can become. It reflects back to them a vision of adulthood rooted in purpose, service, and compassion. It shows them that success can look like giving back.
This is the Five Basics in action — especially a personal one-on-one relationship with a caring adult, a marketable skill to use upon graduation, and a chance to give back to peers and community. Students don’t just receive support; they begin to see themselves as future supporters of others.
National Social Workers Month exists to recognize the essential role these professionals play in strengthening communities. At CIS of Richmond, we see that impact in real time every day.
We see it in the student who finally trusts an adult enough to ask for help.
In the parent who answers the phone because they know it’s someone who cares.
In the senior who crosses the graduation stage knowing someone walked beside them the whole way.
And in the young person who decides they want to come back and do this work for someone else.
Most of all, we see it in the quiet consistency of people who refuse to give up on young people — even on the days when students have given up on themselves.
To every social worker on our team, and every intern learning this work: thank you. Your presence creates safety. Your advocacy opens doors. Your relationships change lives.
Because at CIS of Richmond, support isn’t a program.
It’s a promise: no student has to navigate life alone.
