Sunday, November 15, 2020 - 4:08pm
Kromrey's Nichole Carlisle was recently named the School Social Worker of the Year by the Wisconsin School Social Work Association.
Carlisle, who started at Kromrey in 2017, was recognized as the WSSWA virtual fall conference earlier this month. She was nominated by 10 of her co-workers.
"My overwhelming feeling is gratitude,'' Carlisle said. "Gratitude to be in a position that can have such an impact on our kids, our families and our school system. Gratitude that the work that I do is valued by others. Gratitude at being recognized and honored with this award. Those who know me know how much I love the work that I do everyday. It is truly a privilege to be in the position that I am in, to support kids and families in our district and to be recognized by my community."
She has a bachelor's degree in social welfare from UW-Madison 2007 and a master's degree from UW-Madison in 2012.
Before coming to MCPASD, she worked as a social worker at Glacial Drumlin Middle School in the Monona Grove School District from 2014 to 2017. She also has volunteered as a tutor with Schools of Hope for more than three years. She worked as an AVID/TOPS tutor at Madison East for one year. She also worked for National Council on Crime and Delinquency for more than a year.
Carlisle said some of the work she is most proud about at Kromrey has been related to training staff on best practices to support LGBTQ+ youth and families and in clarifying and updating the District's policies and procedures for supporting student gender identity. The WSSWA also commended Carlisle for advocating for systems change to increase culturally responsive and trauma-sensitive practices throughout multiple systems while acting as a role model in these practices. She has demonstrated this by taking an active role into bringing restorative justice work at Kromrey.
She was also one of five finalists for the School Social Worker of the Year Award in 2019. That year's winner was Melanie Brick of DePere.
Learn more about the award on the WSSWA website.