13: A Social Worker’s Role in Interrupting Harm and Ending Violence in PreK–12 Schools

This chapter offers a deeply personal reflection on the role of school social workers in interrupting harm and ending violence within PreK–12 education. Drawing from nearly two decades of practice, the author shares narratives of students whose behaviors, often misunderstood as defiance, were instead communications of trauma, fear, or systemic neglect. Through stories of young children navigating unsafe home environments, adolescents burdened by racialized disciplinary practices, and students silenced by microaggressions, the chapter illustrates how violence manifests in both overt and subtle forms across schools. Central to the author’s practice is the radical act of listening, treating behavior as communication and creating spaces for compassion, accountability, and healing. Recommendations for social workers emphasize systemic disruption, coalition-building, and critical compassion, paired with strategies for sustaining oneself in challenging work. Ultimately, the chapter argues that interrupting harm requires honesty, humility, and collective action to build equitable and humanizing schools.