Wing Providers: School social workers help LPS students soar into successful skies

March 7, 2025

Ursula Vernon-Hansen, Kathryn Hull and Mandy Berlin-Coyle are giving Lincoln Public Schools students the wings they can use to soar into successful skies.
 
The three school social workers are helping students rise out of challenging situations with their talented skill sets. They are among the most veteran members of the LPS school social worker team, which provides services at every building in the district.

 
The trained mental health professionals assist with behavioral and attendance concerns and social issues such as poverty, homelessness, abuse and trauma. They also support children with mental health topics such as anxiety, depression and suicide prevention.
 
All three said they enjoy their roles as wing providers for LPS students. Vernon-Hansen and Hull both began working in LPS buildings in 1999 and Berlin-Coyle came to Lincoln in 2008.
 
“It’s so great when I see kids that I’ve worked with over the years, and when they graduate, I’m like, ‘Yes, they did it!’” Hull said. “It’s the best, because I believe in education. Public schools have just done so much for so many kids and families.”
 
“It’s that hope factor of getting to see what they do as adults,” Berlin-Coyle said. “Some of them are really going to make the world a pretty cool place, so we just support them as best as we can and then we watch them fly and see what they do. That’s pretty fun.”

 
Vernon-Hansen works with children at Wysong Elementary School and Moore Middle School, Hull helps students at Dawes Middle School and Zeman Elementary School, and Berlin-Coyle works with Northeast High School students in grades 10-12. They said establishing trust with everyone they see at school is a foundational element of their job.
 
“When I’m meeting with students, you really get to build some trust with them for a while before you figure things out,” Berlin-Coyle said. “It takes some time. It’s important to be a reliable person that they can connect with. It’s about giving them a safe space to just come and talk out loud.”

“Being able to be part of their lives is the most rewarding thing,” Vernon-Hansen said. “I just see it as a privilege that I get to work with them at probably some of the best times of their lives and some of the hardest times too. Getting to know them and getting to know their families is just really what motivates me.”

 
School social workers develop the same crucial connections with teachers, families and community organizations daily. Hull said that teamwork is a critical part of the process.
 
“I love that I get to work with so many different kinds of people in so many different roles,” Hull said. “I love partnering with administrators, I love partnering and teaming with counselors, psychologists and the teachers and then bringing the family on board. I love bringing people together to communicate because I just feel like you can move the ball down the field quicker.”
 
A rise in childhood anxiety is one of the biggest changes the three veterans have seen in their careers. For example, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report said that 30 percent of United States high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2013. That number had risen to 40 percent in 2023. Those needs are also present in elementary and middle schools.

 
“I currently have a high number of students struggling with anxiety and depression, which seems different than 25 years ago,” Vernon-Hansen said. “Is the increase in anxiety caused by social media, stress and family issues? It seems to be a combination. It has definitely increased.”
 
“We did a really in-depth study of our attendance and a lot of it tracked back to anxiety,” Berlin-Coyle said. “It’s that under-the-iceberg stuff. You see that kids aren’t in class, and then you start looking at it and you’re like, ‘Oh, this social thing happened and this thing and this thing,’ and then you understand why the attendance issue is happening.”
 
School social workers are also spending more time on technology issues such as cyberbullying and students making unhealthy comparisons on social media. This creates pressure for children who may feel unwelcome or unworthy because of what they are reading. School social workers restore their self-esteem and help them realize that they are valuable, which leads to successful academic, emotional and behavioral results.
 
“We’re in a world where every day somebody’s on a phone and somebody’s typing something, and there might be an issue,” Vernon-Hansen said. “Especially in middle school, somebody has written something and there’s bullying involved.”
 
LPS has responded to these needs with increased investments in school social workers. More than 45 professionals are providing their expertise to students and families. Instead of being spread across four or five buildings, which was the case 25 years ago, each social worker is now responsible for one or two schools. This has led to many positive outcomes.

“Having more time in the schools gives you more time to build those relationships, which is the whole backbone of everything,” Hull said.
 
Each school social worker at LPS is a licensed mental health practitioner, but they have different professional backgrounds in areas such as crisis work or behavioral health. This gives them multiple ways to serve students.
 
“Between all 45 of us, we know the resources that are available and we know the people at those resources,” Berlin-Coyle said. “If I’m working in an area and need help, I can send a Zoom out and find someone who works with childcare agencies, for example. We can really make a lot of connections when we pool our resources together.
 
“It’s a pretty cool team to be a part of. We’re able to come together and that’s really helpful for kids.”

 
Hull said she and other LPS school social workers are grateful for the chance to create hundreds of life-changing wings for students throughout the city.
 
“It’s just a privilege to work with people in this way and to see people grow and be a part of their lives,” Hull said. “It’s a privilege for people to even let you in. I enjoy it. It’s a great job.”
 
Visit home.lps.org/socialworkers/ to learn more about the many ways school social workers support LPS students.
 
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