What were school social workers initially called?

• A. Visiting teachers
• B. School counselors
• C. Home visitors
• D. Social workers' aides

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding how school social work began. Historically, the first professionals in schools who addressed students’ welfare by going into families’ homes were known as visiting teachers. They visited homes to observe conditions that affected learning, help remove barriers to attendance, and connect families with community resources. This early practice laid the groundwork for what would become the role of a school social worker. The other terms don’t capture this origin: school counselors emerged later as a distinct guidance-focused role, home visitors is a broader label that wasn’t the specific historic designation for the first school-based social work professionals, and social workers’ aides refer to support staff rather than the original professional title.