Photo: Petrina Fowler is the SSWAG School Social Worker of the Year for 2024

by Rebecca Gaunt

Petrina Fowler has been named the 2024 School Social Worker of the Year by the School Social Work Association of Georgia.

She has worked for the Cobb County School District since 2002. Fowler currently serves at Acworth Intermediate, Barber Middle School, and McCall Primary School.

“You are a true leader and a shining example in the field of school social work. Your tireless efforts have made a significant impact on the lives of countless individuals, and your dedication to improving the well-being and success of students is truly commendable,” Rasha Portis, the awards committee chair, and Jacqueline Brown-Pinkney, SSWAG president, wrote in the award letter.

“Our role is to bridge the gap between home and school,” Fowler told the Courier.

A typical day might include visiting the homes of students with attendance issues, assisting families experiencing homelessness with finding financial support, dropping off food baskets, and working with students on prosocial behavior and conflict resolution.

Fowler started a group called Boys 2 Men.

“I take these young men out into the community once a month,” she said. “They assist at the Acworth Business Association luncheon on a monthly basis to bridge the gap to help them to see other men who look like them, who own businesses in the community where they live, so they can help mentor these boys and help put them on the right track.”

She also works with teachers to help them understand the challenges a student living in a car or coming to school hungry might face.

The need for more social workers, school counselors and psychologists, three very different jobs that share the goal of improving mental health, has been a national conversation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators across the country have proposed bills to put more in the schools.

The nationally recommended ratio for social workers to students is one social worker per 250 students, or one to 50 students if there are students with intensive needs on the caseload. Fowler estimated she serves around 2,300-2,500 students at all three schools with around 600 kids on her caseload at any given time. 

“A lot of times it’s working with the families. It could be a situation like they’re experiencing homelessness, needing food, a student might need clothes, a parent might need assistance with their bills, a student might need glasses. And these are just some of the things I’m thinking of that just happened this week,” she said.

Fowler will be formally recognized at the SSWAG spring conference.