A community of social workers support UT Public Schools. From left to right: Deja Gamble, the new UT Elementary/UT Charter School social worker; Andrea Menchaca, School of Social Work clinical professor; and Luke Kertcher, the new UTHS social worker.
 

Innovation Starts Here: Meet Luke Kertcher, UTHS Social Worker

At UT High School, Luke Kertcher, the school's newly hired lead social worker, is helping pioneer the future of school social work in virtual education. 

Kertcher is developing comprehensive programming, systems, and best practices designed specifically for online students and their families, an area of practice with few established models and limited research, though existing evidence points to a clear need for the role in virtual schools. A previous social worker had laid some groundwork, but that position was tied to a GED grant serving adults — a program and funding that no longer exists. 

As UTHS's first social worker dedicated to its high school students, Kertcher's work aims to address the social, emotional, family and life factors that can impact students' academic success while contributing to a growing body of knowledge about effective social work practice in virtual schools.
 

A Teacher Sees a Different Need

It helps that Kertcher is no stranger to the classroom. After interning in Washington, DC and earning a degree in International Relations with a minor in Asian American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, he realized he was drawn to education. He taught in Houston's Aldine ISD from 2019 to 2022 during the Covid years.

Teaching through the pandemic proved to be a turning point. "I saw a lot of needs of students and families that weren't being met by the systems we had in place," Kertcher says.

Watching a district struggle without the resources to pivot to remote learning and remembering the role social services had played in his maternal family's story as refugees resettled from Vietnam, he decided it was time for graduate school. That's how Kertcher landed at UT's School of Social Work. He was able to intern at UT Charter School and UT Elementary School.

Kertcher says the internship allowed him to work as a "true generalist." He worked with students individually and in groups at UT Elementary while also conducting a program evaluation on social and emotional learning practices at UT Charter School. The experience let him move through systems he'd never had access to as a teacher. His first licensed role followed at Manor ISD's New Tech Middle and High School.
 

Rethinking Social Work for a Virtual School

Now at UT High School, Kertcher is building a comprehensive school social work program. Kertcher's work centers on high school students and their families. The program will operate across three tiers: activities and events for all students; small groups organized around shared challenges or skill-building; and individual work with students and families, including case management and connecting people to resources.

To learn more about Luke's services, visit highschool.utexas.edu/social-work.

Kertcher has been creating social work forms, establishing emergency procedures for mental health crises, building referral processes, and working alongside educators and staff to define how school social work can best support students in the virtual environment. That education piece matters especially in Texas, where the role isn't defined by law. "Many people aren't sure of what a school social worker is or how to use the resource," he explains. Unlike school counselors, whose duties are specifically described in the Texas Education Code, school social workers do not have a comparable description. UTHS is defining the role around the needs of its students and families.

The virtual nature of the school adds another layer of complexity. On a traditional campus, a social worker might spot a struggling student during lunch duty or notice someone crying in a hallway. Kertcher must find those signals differently, leaning on teachers' live lessons and office hours for observation. He is building public-facing visibility through a new web page and flyers. He has used research from both traditional school social work programs and telehealth models since so little research related to online high school programs exists.

To meet the challenge of reaching families online, Kertcher creates his own outreach, offering training sessions for UTHS staff and incoming families alike. The response so far has been encouraging: families are already reaching out after his first round of sessions. Kertcher is also part of a growing community of social workers across UT Public Schools — UT Elementary and UT Charter School recently welcomed their own new social worker, Deja Gamble — giving him colleagues to compare notes with as the programs develop together.

Kertcher is also thinking beyond students. He's developing an internship program for graduate social work students and has been approved as a practicum instructor by the School of Social Work. He has also begun hosting mindfulness activities for staff, curious about how the school can prioritize employee wellness too. "Their enthusiasm about the social work program makes me motivated to create something great," he says.

Superintendent Michael Caudill sees Kertcher's ambition as exactly what the school needs. "Luke has come into UTHS with the enthusiasm, skill and knowledge to assist our students and families," he says. "His desire to develop a world-class social work program for an online, virtual school is exciting, and we look forward to helping him grow and expand our social work reach."

To learn more about Luke's services, visit https://highschool.utexas.edu/social-work.