Improving attendance and boosting the relationship between the Allegheny Valley School District and the community are some of the top goals for the district’s new social worker, Olivia Fyda.
Fyda, 27, of the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, began working as the district’s social worker Nov. 14.
She will be paid $44,836 per year.
She will alternate her time between the district’s two schools, Acmetonia Elementary School and Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School.
“I really like the culture,” she said of the district. “I liked everyone I had met. It felt like a place where I’d be happy.”
The district created the social worker position five years ago, said Melissa Holler, director of pupil services. She said the community has opened up to the position as a resource.
“They’re much more comfortable working with a social worker,” Holler said.
The school social worker position is not the same as a school counselor.
Holler said the district envisions its counselors to be more focused on college and career readiness, having daily conversations with students and working with schedules.
The social worker, on the other hand, serves as more of a community resource, linking students and families to outside mental health support and family-based resources. The social worker also acts as a liaison between the district and the community.
Fyda earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology in 2019 from Walsh University in Canton, Ohio. She worked at Children and Youth Services in Stark County, Ohio; and did community service coordination. She earned her master’s degree from Carlow University and also worked at UPMC Mercy.
“I think, working with children, you can make a bigger impact sometimes than meeting them as adults,” Fyda said. “You can get them off to a good start with school.”
Part of Fyda’s focus is on improving school attendance, which is something the district set as a goal for this school year.
“Being in school regularly is important not only to their education, but their social and emotional development,” Fyda said. “Having them here in the building is going to be beneficial to them, in creating those different skills.”
Other job responsibilities include connecting students and families to resources, be it for therapy, counseling or medical reasons.
Holler said Fyda picked right up where the district’s last social worker, Danielle Britton, left off.
“The community runs deep,” Fyda said. “I’m excited to get to know people and be a part of that.”
