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Home , School psychology, Special education

THE ROLE OF THE IN GENERAL

School provide a unique appropriate learning objectives contribution to the educational system. for children, planning They are dually trained in the areas of developmental and remedial and education. With such a programs for pupils in regular background, they are able to provide and special school programs, input to school personnel and parents and the development of regarding both the social/emotional and educational experimentation and learning challenges facing children, as evaluation. well as provide expertise in the area of b) Consultation with teachers in the systems change. Far too often school development and psychologists are relegated to the area implementation of of , spending much of methods and procedures their time assessing students to designed to facilitate pupil determine eligibility. This is in part due learning and to overcome to funding models utilized by many learning and behavior disorders. districts. However, these models fail to c) Consultation with parents to make full use of the wealth of assist in understanding the information and expertise that school learning and adjustment psychologists can offer. processes of children. d) Consultation with community The California Education Code (E.C. agencies, such as probation 49424) provides a definition and departments, description of school psychology clinics, and welfare departments, services that delineates a broad based concerning pupils who are being role for school psychologists: served by such community agencies. A school psychologist is a credentialed e) Consultation and supervision of professional whose primary objective is pupil personnel services the application of scientific principles of workers. learning and behavior to ameliorate f) Psychoeducational assessment school-related problems and to facilitate and diagnosis of specific the learning and development of learning and behavioral children in the public of , including, but not California. limited to, evaluation, recommendations for To accomplish this objective the school remediation or placement, and psychologist provides services to periodic reevaluation of such children, teachers, parents, community children. agencies, and the school system itself. g) Psychological counseling of and These services include: other therapeutic techniques with a) Consultation with school children and parents, including administrators concerning parent education. This paper attempts to further explain This entails: (a) the identification of the the background and training school problem impeding the ’s progress psychologists possess and the full range academically and/or socially; (b) of services they can provide to schools, analyzing the collected data, and (c) districts, county offices of education, assisting and collaborating in the parents and the community. It is divided development of a plan to help the into 14 areas, some of which may student succeed. Once the plan is in overlap in various aspects. place, the school psychologist supports the general education staff by ASSESSMENT developing a progress monitoring School psychologists have knowledge process for the student’s behavioral and skills that will be of much use to support plan. districts in responding to the current educational focus on assessment and CONSULTATION accountability (such as API and AYP School psychologists can serve as scores). They are experts in valuable consultants to support many construction, aspects of schooling. Most importantly, Our district is too small administration and since they are uniquely trained in the to support an interpretation. As understanding of thinking, memory, and assessment such they cognitive and motivational processes, department. Who can understand the school psychologists can also offer their assist us in interpreting qualities of knowledge base in a variety of other issues including: social-emotional data and tying it to psychometrically sound development; positive pro-social skills; classroom measurement, conflict management; and crisis performance ? how to collect and recovery. With the increasing emphasis integrate multiple in schools on testing, psychologists can sources of data, how to link data to consult with teachers and parents to classroom performance and deal with test in students, and to interventions and how to interpret and assist in understanding the communicate data findings. School psychometric results of various psychologists have training and assessments. School psychologists experience in the use of assessment have the expertise to assist individual data to improve student learning. Such students, , and entire expertise is of marked benefit to schools schools to enhance the schooling working toward implementing experience for all. assessment systems whose purpose goes beyond accountability to improving CRISIS INTERVENTION student outcomes. School psychologists are trained to coordinate intervention strategies for CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR management of individual and school- MANAGEMENT wide crises. They have knowledge of current theory and School psychologists support general research about crises Who can assist education staff to include all children in in schools and our school in their educational program. When communities; are able dealing with the behavioral to provide crisis accidental intervention services; I have an extremely challenges occur, death of a staff and frequently disruptive student in my the school member or a psychologist can collaborate with school class. Who can help me student? lead the problem personnel, parents, and plan some behavioral solving process. the community in the aftermath of crises interventions? (e.g., suicide, death, natural disasters, by making initial contacts with various murder, bombs or bomb threats, agencies. When a child is represented extraordinary violence, sexual by multiple agencies, the school harassment, etc.). psychologist facilitates communication between the agencies so that the team The California Association of School works together in order to provide the Psychologists (CASP) has developed a most comprehensive and supportive Crisis Specialty Group which consists of services. a network of school psychologists throughout California who are trained in PARENT EDUCATION evidence-based prevention and With their background in mental health intervention strategies. Members of this issues and learning, committee provide direct consultation to school psychologists Who can help districts throughout California in the are able to provide me deal with aftermath of school tragedies, and train parents with a wealth of my child’s school site personnel in prevention information, training temper strategies. and resources on a tantrums? variety of topics. These GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION include helpful School psychologists possess expertise solutions for individual concerns in such in the areas of cognitive assessment areas as: behavioral interventions for and learning which enable them to and school age children; assist schools in the identification of learning strategies that parents can gifted students and utilize with their children; referral to I have a GATE provide consultation community resources; home student in my class to assist these interventions for ADHD; and lists of who won't complete students in book references on various topics. his work. What can I maximizing their School psychologists also provide do to motivate him? potential. This trainings for parents at the school site includes training teachers to differentiate level as well as the district level on the , which is a useful topics such as: dealing with your ADHD strategy for students with all levels of child; learning and ; parenting academic ability. School psychologists skills; and issues related to G.A.T.E. understand the special social/emotional students. needs of gifted and talented students and can assist school staffs in both PREVENTION AND EARLY understanding and helping to address INTERVENTION RELATED these needs. TO SCHOOL FAILURE There is more information now than ever INTERFACING WITH COMMUNITY on why students fail. Students drop out AGENCIES of school for a A child’s ability to learn is often myriad of reason We have too many impacted by factors including home including grade students being climate, health, and social/emotional retention, illiteracy, recommended for stressors. The school psychologist helps failure to form retention. How can to support students and families who important bonds require services beyond a school’s with school staff we provide capabilities by interfacing with and/or lack of effective early community agencies and maintaining a achievement intervention? resource list of appropriate services. motivation. Less is known about the The school psychologist may help to exact ingredients for achieving school connect parents with potential resources success except that prevention and early intervention are more likely to curb topics; various suicide prevention school failure than later attempts. programs; whole class affective School psychologists’ knowledge of the education programs; peer counseling academic and affective skills that programs; and school-wide bully contribute to school success is an prevention programs. In addition, they invaluable resource for developing help develop school-wide programs preventive and early intervention such as training of conflict managers. initiative. For example, school School psychologists have the expertise psychologists can assist schools and to provide invaluable input into districts in establishing multi-gating discussions on school climate. screening procedures that identify and direct interventions to students at-risk PROGRAM EVALUATION for school failure. Early detection of Every school experiences the need for difficulties in acquiring skills such as program evaluation. Through their or social skills is essential to training and experience in assessment, intervening before the delays become measurement, entrenched and difficult to remediate. learning theories, We just implemented School psychologists can assist in research and a new reading selecting appropriate screening evaluation, school intervention instruments and interpreting this psychologists are program. Who can assessment information to ensure that uniquely equipped assist us in the focus and intensity of the to assist and even evaluating its interventions match the individual needs coordinate program effectiveness and of the students. evaluation activities. recommending Much of school improvements? PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION IN psychologists’ daily THE AREA OF CHILD MENTAL activities involve determining the HEALTH effectiveness of a particular program for As many as 30% of students have had an individual child. School psychologists experiences that place them at-risk for may assist schools engaged in program social/emotional problems. At some evaluation by identifying critical program schools, the figure is even higher. These outcomes and defining these outcomes problems impact not only in a way that can be measured. Once Our school is the mental health and the goals of the program are clearly experiencing an interpersonal articulated, psychologists can assist in increase in relationships of students, developing surveys, interviewing bullying but also their academic stakeholders, and examining extant data behaviors at achievement. School (e.g., student test scores, attendance recess. How do psychologists, with their rates, discipline activity, etc) in order to we turn this mental health evaluate the efficacy of a program. around? background, are key personnel to address RESEARCH AND GRANT WRITING these issues in the educational setting. School psychologists contribute an array Prevention programs are well known to of knowledge, technical skills, and be more cost effective than later professional competencies regarding intensive intervention programs. Some research and evaluation that are of the most successful prevention and invaluable in applying for and early intervention programs in which implementing school-related grant school psychologists are involved projects. Conducting research and include: the Primary Prevention evaluation is essential in the Program; Student Assistance Programs implementation of most grant projects in providing support groups on a variety of the schools. Such efforts require knowledge about principles of design, which ultimately aid in the pursuit of methodology, measurement, and securing every child’s right to learn. analysis; such skills are required in “Where a real connection is made school psychology graduate training between students and teachers in the programs. School psychologists may be pursuit of meaningful accomplishments, leaders in the evaluation of local school the possibilities for developing lifelong programs and in interpreting their capacities for learning, doing, and findings to educators and to the public. relating to others are greatly expanded.” (Darling-Hammond, 1997) SAFE SCHOOLS Providing school-wide Positive Behavior STAFF DEVELOPMENT Support (PBS) allows a school to use With the breadth and depth of research validated practices linked to knowledge school psychologists localized, data-based decision making. possess, they are key assets in In essence, it is a way to address the providing staff development on a wide behavioral needs of the entire school variety of topics. These include, but are population, from school-wide systems, not limited to: issues around Federal to individualized 504 regulations; classroom Our schools are safe, behavior management; applied behavioral and we want them to intervention analysis and classroom strategies; stay that way. Who can plans. PBS effective Student Study Teams; take the lead in our provides schools social/cognitive deficits; grading; grief addressing the with the workshops; stress reduction; and behavioral needs of our opportunity to alternatives to retention. school? efficiently organize CONCLUSION resources and support the adoption of School psychologists receive broad- effective practices. The role of the based training in the areas of child school psychologist in this process is development, learning, consultation, crucial. Team building, social-skills assessment, research, counseling, and instruction, behavioral competency, and human relations. Unfortunately, only a the interpretation of site-based data are portion of this expertise has been areas in which the school psychologist tapped. This is due to funding and time can be especially valuable. In fact, the constraints, as well as lack of sufficient school psychologist may have more of information about the broad range of the training necessary for PBS services school psychologists are implementation than any other single trained to provide. We hope that this team member. report will bridge the information gap with the Legislature, the -WIDE REFORM Department of Education and school School psychologists are well informed administrators. School psychologists and positioned in schools to participate have the background to provide in school reform efforts. School invaluable input to the entire school psychologists understand the social program. complexities of their school communities. They can assist schools in Darling-Hammond, L. (1997) The Right To becoming more democratic Learn. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. environments in which to encourage the understanding of differences, participate Edited by Susan Goldman, CASP Board in collaborative situations, Member. Copyright CASP 2003. and utilize research based information Accepted by the CASP Board of Directors – to drive instructional practices and policy August 2003.