PAGE 5 School Psychology’s Next Generation: Hello, EQ -- Bye-Bye IQ By Anthony Pantaleno, Ph.D. May, 2007 wearing our diagnostic assessment “hat”, we Like many of my “senior” School Psychology have not taken on the broader leadership chal- colleagues, my own professional training took lenge of system-wide change that would affect place from the mid-1970’s through the mid- the learning, mental health and well-being of 1980’s. With the passage of Public Law 94-142, the larger population of children whom we also the Education For All Handicapped Children’s serve. Act, public schools began the slow but steady As all public school districts face budget votes process of transitioning thousands of students this week, all educators are aware of the mis- with disabilities from segregated, often out-of- sion: do more with less – keep the tax increase district regional special education placements as low as possible, maintain programs, and for into local school district resource rooms and self- Pete’s sake, don’t even think of using the “S” contained classes. The field of school psychology word ( as in adding staff!!). In the larger scope began the daunting task of defining learning of budgets presented to local voters, one sees disabilities, which remains as hotly contested large proposed budget increases for technology today as it was in 1975, and beginning to refine upgrades, so that Johnny can have the fastest our understanding of autism among many other highest-speed internet connections possible. One disability classifications. The advent of cross- sees the ever-present increases in capital projects battery assessment and the evolution of the for updating building facilities long overdue, response-to-treatment models have given a new and those ghastly increased costs associated with generation of practitioners some new tools and special education. Parents, classroom teachers, new formulations to make the political wheels and administrators all live the daily reality of of service delivery continue to turn, and through increased requests for mental health services, it all, school psychology training programs have without the commensurate increases in school continued to graduate students who have spent budgets to provide these services. significant amounts of time learning how to When national headlines are grabbed by stories diagnose disability but not how to step outside such as the Virginia Tech shooting, college of the box and begin to examine the develop- administrators weigh in on the issue as well. ments within the larger field of psychology as Psychologist, Dr. Sherry Benton, assistant director these changes apply to the mental health of counseling services at Kansas State University, development of all children. has conducted research concluding that stu- For over thirty years, school psychologists have dents’ mental health problems are more com- been inextricably tied to the process of special plex and severe than twenty years ago. “We’re education, and even been deemed the “gate- well aware that problems are getting worse, but keepers” of that realm. At least in New York what hasn’t happened is increased funding for State, Committees on Special Education (CSEs) mental health services,” she said. “Most centers still require the participation of a school are now overwhelmed. Business has gone up psychologist for making “initial” classifications and up, but budgets have remained the same of children with disabilities, or when changing or been cut, and that’s a huge problem.” One service levels to more restrictive placements. Not factor, Benton said, is that mental health services that this is a bad thing – since the school are usually not among the categories assessed psychologist is, without doubt, the most highly during colleges’ periodic accreditation reviews. trained mental health professional within the If school needed good services to remain school system, uniquely capable of integrating accredited, they might invest more, she said. educational, psychological, and other family and So how does the profession of school psychology classroom data to shed light on the learning respond to this need? In the face of an increased abilities of the whole child. But, somewhere need for crisis intervention services, family coun- along the way, in our zeal and ambition to meet seling, and violence prevention programs, just to all of the roles and responsibilities inherent in (Continued on page 6) PAGE 6 School Psychology’s Next Generation: Hello, EQ -- Bye-Bye IQ By Anthony Pantaleno, Ph.D. (Continued from page 5) name a few, can we afford to continue seeking Do we all remember our colleague Dan Goleman, comfort in our Wechsler protocols, web-based IEP and his basic theory that one’s emotional quo- goals, and Annual Review schedules? In the face tient (EQ) is the more significant variable in pre- of our daily reality of stress overload and staffing dicting adult success outcomes – more significant shortfall, what contribution will our generation even than one’s IQ? Simply stated, EQ meets the of practitioners leave to the next generation? road to the classroom door in the SEL movement. Will school psychologists in 2037 be cranking out When one begins to attack the massive SEL liter- WISC-VII profiles and still debating which chil- ature (go “to www.casel.org ) or read the semi- dren are learning disabled? Will school psycholo- nal work of Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor in gy programs teach to disability identification or describing barriers to learning (go to to the identification of the mental health needs http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu), one senses that the of the larger educational system? future of mental health for children will not lie Just before he left office this past December, in the expansion of the system of special educa- Governor George Pataki signed a piece of histori- tion services, but in a new direction altogether, cal legislation which has the potential to not only paved by the inclusion models of recent years change the face of education for all of New and fired by the desire of those educators who York’s school-age children, but the manner in know that the heart of true emotional education which ALL school-based professionals will be lies within our unique school environments, that trained to face the increased need for creating a is, with our classroom teachers. With a kind word mentally healthy climate for our children. The or a smile of encouragement, the teacher can Children’s Mental Health Act of 2006 underscores make a child’s day one to remember and cherish. the importance of putting children and families On the flip side, however, the words of criticism in the forefront of the children’s mental health or the look of doubt can sow the seeds that will system, and recognizes that the social and emo- bring detachment and a stunted self-acceptance tional well-being of children are essential. Other twenty-five years later. NYSED initiatives, notably the P-16 plan (pre- Charles Shultz, the creator of “Peanuts” has a school through college) calls for the development widely circulated inspirational article on the of voluntary guidelines that incorporate social internet – it coaxes readers to try and recall the and emotional development into elementary and five wealthiest people in the world, or the last secondary school programs. five Nobel or Pulitzer Prize winners, or the last So what exactly is social and emotional (SEL) decade’s worth of World Series winners. If your learning all about? One can begin to answer this memory is anything like mine, you’d fail this question by asking another question…namely, quiz. But ask some different questions…can you what constitutes a quality education? With what list a few teachers who aided your journey skills and competencies must today’s high school through school? Can you name five people who graduate emerge to achieve success in a multi- taught you something worthwhile or a few peo- national global marketplace and maybe even ple who made you feel appreciated and special? find a little peace of mind as well? A research This second quiz asks us to look at schools study by Casner-Lotto & Barrington, (2006) through the lens of SEL. Most of us would do addressing the knowledge and skills employers much better on that second quiz!! identify as crucial to success in the workplace SEL is the process of developing social and emo- concluded that employees need the following, in tional skills in the context of safe, caring, well- rank order, (1) critical thinking/problem solving, managed, and engaging learning environments. (2) information technology application, This skill-based model includes the direct teach- (3) teamwork/collaboration, (4)creativity/innova- ing of the ability to (1) recognize and manage tion, (5)diversity, and (6)leadership. Knowledge emotions (2) care about and respect others (3) domains – foreign language, mathematics, writ- make good decisions (4) behave responsibly and ing, reading comprehension, and science were ethically and (5) develop positive relationships. ranked numbers 12 through 16. (Continued on page 7) PAGE 7 School Psychology’s Next Generation: Hello, EQ -- Bye-Bye IQ By Anthony Pantaleno, Ph.D. (Continued from page 6) For those who would question the need for Board members of the Suffolk and Nassau widespread SEL instruction in schools, consider County Psychological Associations, and the New the Centers for Disease Control (2003) report York Association of School Psychologists came which states that 28% of youth surveyed report- together with the leadership of the Long Island ed feeling so sad or hopeless every day for two Social Emotional Literacy Forum (LISELF), a group weeks or more that they stopped doing their of educators that spanned both Eastern and normal activities, and that 12% of youth sur- Nassau County BOCES, local school districts in veyed had made a plan to commit suicide some- Nassau and Suffolk counties, and university train- time during the last twelve months.