LaVaughn Turner: Deeply Rooted in Social Work
When LaVaughn Turner uses words such as “wayward,” “unfocused,” and “emotional,” one might guess that he is describing some of the more challenging students whom he serves in his role as 11th grade social worker at Roosevelt High School in Northwest Washington, DC. Instead, Turner is describing himself as a young man, one who could not have imagined that he would one day devote his professional life to ensuring that teenagers in the same city where he grew up have the resources and support systems to thrive.
A native Washingtonian and the only child of a single mother from North Carolina, Turner spent his early years attending a now closed Catholic school in Southeast DC. By the time he was set to begin high school, Turner and his mom, who worked in social services, had moved to Landover, Maryland in hopes of a better school system and way of life. Turner, however, hadn’t completely bought into his mother’s goal. “I was a little different back then,” he reflects with a chuckle. “My mom put me in this very academic-focused program across town within Laurel high school, and that just wasn’t my thing at the time. My priorities were elsewhere, and those priorities didn’t match with what that program wanted from me.” During his sophomore year, Turner’s mother received a letter that LaVaughn was being disinvited from the college preparatory program. He was forced to transfer mid-year to his neighborhood high school.
While Turner was able to “scoot along” to an on-time graduation in 1992, the road for LaVaughn continued to be bumpy. His father, struggling with substance abuse, was in and out of Turner’s life, and his peer group wasn’t helpful to his focus and drive. “I found myself in bad situations, where folks may not have had my best interests at heart. I drifted off in the wrong direction.” So began a four-year period of dead end jobs, unstable housing, and run-ins with the law.
An uncanny awakening came at age 21, when LaVaughn decided to rise above his circumstances and make a change. It was at this point in his life that Turner was aided by a series of individuals who played critical roles in straightening his winding course. The first was a high school friend who was attending Norfolk State on a football scholarship. Turner visited him on campus, and proceeded to get an earful from the student athlete. “You have more potential than this, and you should be here on this campus with me,” Turner remembers his buddy saying to him. Something clicked on that visit, and LaVaughn came home ready to apply to college. He reached out to his mom to see what finances they might be able to pull together, and she told him about a gentleman who worked at a community center in Anacostia helping students with financial aid applications. Sadly, Turner can’t remember the man’s name today, but he attributes his success in completing all of his financial aid paperwork to this kind and knowledgeable soul. Bolstered by these two fortuitous encounters, he was off to Norfolk State as a 22-year-old freshman.
Life began anew for Turner on the campus of the historically Black university in Norfolk, Virginia. “Going the route of an HBCU was a perfect choice for me, as it is for a lot of the students I serve.” Remembering how little exposure he’d had outside of his immediate community, Turner is grateful for the nurturing environment that the university afforded. “Many of the professors felt like family - my aunts or grandmas. I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t intimidated. I did well.”
When it came time for Turner to declare a major, he chose the course of study that some might say was in his blood. LaVaughn was inspired by his namesake’s career as a clinical social worker, bolstered by early memories of spending time with his dad as the elder Turner mentored young people going through rough times. “There would be times he had kids going out to eat with us or had me tagging along to some awards ceremony for them; my dad went above and beyond for kids on his caseload, and still does today.”
Turner has served as a licensed clinical social worker in DC public high schools (Anacostia, Eastern, Dunbar, and Roosevelt) for over 20 years, having earned a graduate degree from Howard University along the way. Providing therapeutic services to students with disabilities, he works to extend his reach beyond the students to which he is assigned. Not only does that serve to destigmatize being seen by a social worker, but it also deepens his membership in the larger school community. Colleagues can find him in his office talking through an issue with a student, organizing and chaperoning a field trip to the Kennedy Center, or holding lunchtime reading sessions at lunchtime with his students and local elementary school boys.
After two decades and thousands of students served, he still speaks passionately about his work. “I love this job; I would do it for free. There are so many kids, so many personalities, it never lacks excitement. And I definitely draw some comparisons between myself and the young people I work with, particularly the young men.” One of Turner’s proudest projects is a mentorship group at Roosevelt that enrolls approximately 30 young men. Meeting every other week, they discuss topics of practicality and importance to the students (“stuff that gets the kids fired up!”) while centering their curriculum on respect, relationships, and community building.
A particularly special element of this program is that Turner co-facilitates the sessions with his own father, LaVaughn Turner, Sr. Having strengthened their own relationship, the father and son freely share their journey with the boys in the group. This year, the Turners decided to invite the fathers and father figures of the young men to a joint session at the school. “I wanted dads to come into the building during the school day for something positive.” Seventeen dads came to campus and deeply engaged in powerful and candid dialogue with their sons. “It was powerful. It was phenomenal, and a few tears were shed.”
While it may have been destiny for LaVaughn Turner to answer his calling as a social worker and mentor, it would not have been possible without the guidance of key individuals and a few strokes of luck along the way. Making it a point to stay in touch with students after graduation is critical, as they strive for post-secondary success through programs such as We Will All Rise. Turner considers it a privilege and honor to return the favor and support young people on the often bumping and winding road to wellness and joy.
