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Frequently Asked Questions from Parents, Teachers, and Students:
What do school psychologists do?
What education is required for a school psychologist?
What does a normal day look like for a school psychologist?
Do school psychologists work only with special education students?
How can school psychologists help me learn more about my child’s learning style and development?
What are all these acronyms that school psychologists use?
Are you a school counselor?
Perhaps this is one of the most frequent questions we get asked as school psychologists. While we do receive training in counseling techniques and work with students individually and in groups, counseling is a portion of what school psychologists do on a regular basis.
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What do school psychologists do?
School psychs consult with teachers, parents, administrators, and community mental health providers about learning, social, and behavior problems. We assist educators in implementing safe, healthy classroom and school environments.
School psychs also teach parenting skills, problem-solving strategies, substance abuse, and other topics pertinent to healthy schools. Assess and evaluate the wide variety of school-related problems and assets of children and youth in assigned schools.
Intervene directly with students and families through individual counseling, support groups, and skills training.
SPs also communicate results of psychological evaluations to parents, teachers, and others so that they can understand the nature of the student’s difficulties and how to better serve the student’s needs. Did you know we also engage in crisis prevention and intervention services? Overall, we work with a wide range of student emotional and academic issues by serving one or multiple schools in a school district.
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What education is required for a school psychologist?
Master’s? Doctorate? Well, most states require something in between: a specialist-level program in school psychology, which is typically 60+ hours and a 1,200-hour internship. Many programs also offer a doctorate in school psychology, which included 5-7 years of graduate work, a 1,500-hour internship and completion of a dissertation.
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What does a normal day look like for a school psychologist?
Normal day? Ha! One of the most exciting things about being a school psychologist is that our days can vary widely from one to the next. Today I may be sitting in a small room administering an IQ assessment to a 4-year-old. Tomorrow, I may be helping a teacher develop a plan to manage classroom behaviors at the high school. If I had to pin down a typical day, here’s how it would go:
8-8:30 Meeting to update a 504 plan
8:30-9:30 Catching up on emails and phone calls to parents and teachers
9:30-11 IEP meeting with a team of parents, teachers, and admin
11-11:30 More paperwork
11:30-12 Counseling with a student
12-12:30 or 1 Lunch, catching up on emails, reading articles, and/or meeting with a student
1-2 Team meetings
2-3 Counseling or conducting an assessment with a student
3-4 Following up with teachers and/or parents and wrapping up for the day
4-4:30 Any last minute things to handle
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Do school psychologists work only with special education students?
I love this question because the role of school psychologists is constantly evolving! In the past, school psychs spent a majority of their time “testing” students for special education. Today, depending on the school district and the needs of the students, you may find me in a general education classroom helping a teacher with classroom management. Or, I may be working with a student who is having trouble with test anxiety but does not appear to require specialized instruction. I work with teams of teachers and administrators to put early interventions into place to help students be more successful in the general education classrooms. Then of course I do spend time administering assessments for special education and meeting with teams to review placements, goals, and accommodations. I’m sure I’ve left something out, but there’s so much more to a school psychologist’s job than testing for special education these days.
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How can school psychologists help me learn more about my child’s learning style and development?
School psychologists apply their knowledge of child development and learning to assess
children’s abilities, how they process and remember information, and the role of social, emotional, and behavioral factors in their school performance. By virtue of their training, school
psychologists assist in integrating information from teachers, other professionals, and parents in
order to provide a comprehensive picture of the total child.
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What are all these acronyms that school psychologists use?
IEP: Individualized Education Plan, or a plan for students in a special education program, which specifies services, goals, and accommodations
RTI: Response to Intervention is an approach to support students with varying levels of academic and/or behavioral needs
ID: Intellectual Disability, marked by limitations in intellectual functioning across veral and nonverbal areas
SLD or LD: Specific Learning Disability, typically marked by strengths and weaknesses in academic areas relative to intellectual development
ADHD: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which may be categorized as inattentive type, hyperactive type, or combined type
OHI: Other Health Impairment, or a chronis health problem which results in limited alertness to the educational environment
ED: Emotional Disability, or learning difficulties not related to intellectual, sensory, or health factors; difficulties with interpersonal relationships and maintaining appropriate behaviors or feelings in normal situations; pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression with or without physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
Any others?
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school psychologist's office 