The Nassau County Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building was lit with the color teal, as three Freeport School District social workers were honored by County Legislator Debra Mulé for National Professional Social Work Month. Alicia Brenneis, Cindy Misrock and Mariella Echegaray Ryan were honored for their dedication and service that has left positive impacts on Freeport students.
Ms. Brenneis has been a social worker in the Freeport School District since 2005 and has provided counseling and support for students, families and the staff. Currently working at Freeport High School, Ms. Brenneis is very involved and goes above and beyond to ensure that the needs of student mental health are being cared for appropriately. She is in charge of the mentoring programs for students and is involved in after-school groups to assist at-risk students. Ms. Brenneis brings informational assemblies to the students on physical and mental health topics and is able to provide families with the assistance they need to obtain vital services. She is a valued member of the Committee on Special Education and the Freeport High School Pupil Personnel Services team.
Ms. Misrock has been a social worker in the Freeport School District since 1990 and currently works in the Bayview Avenue School. Along with counseling individual and small groups of students and assisting students in crisis, Ms. Misrock also works in the classrooms to provide students with lessons on social emotional learning and mental health. She serves as a facilitator for the social work department and has been instrumental in the Adopt-a-Cop and Hooked on Firefighters programs. She is the mental health coordinator for the Primary Project program, which targets and assists kindergarten and first-grade students at risk for school anxiety. In addition, Ms. Misrock organizes assemblies with a focus on antidrug awareness and physical safety for children. She also runs the after-school Peace Jam Club. She is an important member of the Committee on Special Education and assists parents in accessing services to navigate the Department of Social Services and health systems.
Ms. Ryan has been an exemplary bilingual social worker in the Freeport School District for 10 years and currently works at Caroline G. Atkinson School. Ms. Ryan has been an amazing support for students, parents and staff. With that, she has been especially helpful to parents in accessing services, being the driving force behind the Grupo de Padres, which provides Spanish speaking families with instructional information and community resources on a monthly basis. In addition to providing individual and group counseling, Ms. Ryan works in the classrooms providing social-emotional learning lessons and antibullying messages. She also runs after-school programs during the school year and during the summer and has been very instrumental in the success of the Liberty Partnership program in connection with Nassau Community College.
The district is proud of the hard work and dedication these employees demonstrate every day to benefit all students, parents and the community.
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