USC Grad Students Helping Temecula's Military Kids Cope

On July 1, 2010, the Temecula Valley Unified School District entered into a two-year partnership with the University of Southern California to assist local students whose mom or dad is serving in the military.

That work is expected to continue.

During Tuesday night’s Temecula Valley Unified School District governing board meeting, board members will be asked whether they want to extend the agreement with USC through June 30, 2013 at no cost to the district.

USC’s School of Social Work offers a Master’s of Social Work degree with a sub-concentration in military social work. The program is designed to help prepare USC students to become trained mental health professionals familiar with the unique mental health, physical and transitional concerns of active duty service members, veterans and their families.

In renewing an agreement with USC, social work interns from the university would be placed at five TVUSD schools that have concentrations of students from military families. The interns would work with students, with parent permission, on issues such as academic and emotional support.