1. School Psychology A Changing Role for Changing Needs
Moira McKenna, PhD Kim Hosford, MS
OR-RTI Conference, Bend, Oregon
May 23-24, 2014

2. Learning Targets & Outcomes
Current Context of Education
Historical Perspective on School Psychology
Accountability in Education – The Bigger Picture
Current Practice/Expectations: NASP Practice Model
Implications for System Development
Identify and grow the capacity of what a school psychologist can do to impact your system
Self assessment as a school psychologist, areas where you may want professional development
If you’re a teacher or an administrator, areas where you could ask your psych for support

3. Historical perspective
Traditional role of psychometrician considered essential, with the earliest studies of practitioners – 1914
Primary Role, “Sorter”
Eventual expansion of role included interventions, remedial instruction, and counseling – 1930
Secondary role, “repairer”
Fagan and Wise (2000). School Psychology: Past, Present, and Future (2nd Ed). Bethesda, Maryland: National Association of School Psychologists

4. Brief History of School Psychology
“Overall, the practice of school psychology is shifting from one of primarily special education evaluation and placement to one of analyzing the system for its overall effectiveness. School psychologists play a key role in shaping the system so that it provides quality education, implemented with fidelity, that demonstrates adequate growth over time in the entire student population.”
Reschly, D. J. (2008). School Psychology Paradigm Shift and Beyond. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 3-15). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

5. Accountability through Legislation
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ~ 2001
Prior to and following NCLB, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Individuals with Disabilities Education and Improvement Act ~ 2004
Common Core State Standards ~ 2009
Oregon Senate Bill 290 ~ 2011
Strengthens expectations for educator evaluations and professional growth
ESEA Flex ~ 2012
ESEA Reauthorization Bill, Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 (S ), approved reauthorization Bill ~ June 2013
No immediate timeline to reach Senate Floor for a vote
ESEA Reauthorization Bill, Student Success Act (H.R. 5), July 2013
Passed by House of Representatives
2012 – “Do nothing” Congress – 14 month lag in legislation for reauthorization of ESEA. Response to impending 100% expectations through NCLB prompted waivers..11 States were initially provided waivers with an ESEA flex plan; 2013 has allowed for rolling admissions. (
Reauthorization legislation (

6. Contextualizing School Psychology Practice
Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1977)
Breadth of practice engages in systems-level prevention and systems-program development
Solve “Big Problems” that affect systems
Review of school-wide assessment data to define academic and behavior supports
Depth of practice within assessment and intervention
Approach to intervention and problem analysis
Assessment, Intervention, Collaboration, Consultation
School Psychologists as evaluators, teachers as instructors
Burns, M.K. (2013). Contextualizing school psychology practice: Introducing featured research commentaries. School Psychology Review, 42,
Most psychs involved in Tier 3; SPED eval, delivering intensive individual interventions, 1:1 counseling

7. The Current Context
“Increasingly, there is consensus that schools must find solutions to address the relatively poor outcomes for students of color, those from backgrounds of poverty, children and youth with mental health concerns, and non-native speakers of English”
School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice III
National Association of School Psychologists ~ 2006
Jo Robinson – getting to 100% through the bottom 20%.

8. National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Practice Model
~ What we have been doing is not the only thing we’re capable of doing ~
Improve Academic Engagement and Achievement
Facilitate Effective Instruction
Support Positive Behavior and Socially Successful Students
Support Diverse Learners
Create Safe, Positive School Climates
Strengthen Family-School Partnerships
Improve Assessment and Accountability
NASP practice model organized by 6 principles that link to broader organizational principles for effective schools.

10. NASP Practice Model 10 Domains of Practice
Practices that Permeate All Aspects of Service Delivery
1. Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
2. Consultation and Collaboration
Direct and Indirect Services for Children, Families, and Schools
Student-Level Services
3. Interventions and Instructional Support to Develop Academic Skills
4. Interventions and Mental Health Services to Develop Social and Life Skills
Systems-Level Services
5. School-Wide Practices to Promote Learning
6. Preventative and Responsive Services
7. Family-School Collaboration Services

11. NASP Practice Model (continued)
Foundations of School Psychological Service Delivery Model
8. Diversity in Development and Learning
9. Research and Program Evaluation
10. Legal, Ethical, and Professional Practice

12. Practices That Permeate All Aspects of Service Delivery
Domain 1: Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
Domain 2: Consultation and Collaboration

13. Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
Breadth
Development of services and programs
Conducting needs assessments including surveys for staff and student feedback
Depth
Assessments to determine educational progress and instructional needs
Data collection
Monitoring growth over time (discrete or global academic skills, behavior)

14. Consultation and Collaboration
Breadth
Universal, data-based decision-making
Models and strategies to communicate with Individuals, Families, Groups, Systems
Depth
Individual problem solving and analysis
Methods to promote effective implementation of supports/services

15. A Continuum of Supports
Breadth and Depth
From systems level to individual student level
From universal, data-based decision-making to individual problem solving
From general education through intervention to special education
From community to school to home
From legal, ethical to medical to social-behavioral to developmental to cultural to academic to instruction
Knowledge and application of best practices and evidence-based practices in real time

16. Direct and Indirect Services for Children, Families, and Schools
Student-Level Services
Domain 3: Intervention and Instructional Support to Develop Academic Skills
Domain 4: Interventions and Mental Health Services to Develop Social and Life Skills

17. Interventions and Instructional Support to Develop Academic Skills
Breadth
Development of policy and procedure for decision-making
Depth
Operationally defining the problem
Determining the baseline
Defining the ‘best fit’ intervention
Defining the parameters for implementation
Regular, frequent data collection, data review and interpretation
Modifications to intervention in line with decision rules

18. Interventions and Mental Health Services to Develop Social and Life Skills
Breadth
School-community connections with mental health and medical supports
Systems-level social-emotional-behavioral skills instruction, expectations, data collection and use of data
Depth
Group level social-emotional-behavioral skills instruction and progress monitoring
Individual level social-emotional-behavioral evaluation and instructional plans, progress monitoring and data-based decision- making

19. Systems-Level Services
Direct and Indirect Services for Children, Families, and Schools (continued)
Systems-Level Services
Domain 5: School-Wide Practices to Promote Learning
Domain 6: Preventative and Responsive Services
Domain 7: Family-School Collaboration Services

20. School-wide Practices to Promote Learning
Breadth
Evidence-Based Practices; Meta-analyses; Learning Theory
Behavior
Instruction
Curriculum
Roadblocks to learning, how to remove them, identification of efficacious programs and practice
Use of screening data for global decision-making
Academic, Social-Emotional behavior, executive functioning
Depth
Instructional consultation
Behavior-classroom management and consultation

21. Preventative and Responsive Services
Breadth
Systems level crisis response
Systems-level preventative and resilience building supports
Acquisition of social-emotional-behavioral data on all students
Data analysis for systems development and/or change as indicated
Depth
Individual counseling
Crisis support
Coordination of wrap around services

22. Family-School Collaboration Services
Breadth
Knowledge of family and school systems
Working within the school system to create and provide
Teacher training
Parent training
Home-school collaboration
Connections with health providers in the community
Depth
Intervention components
Incorporate communication between school and family
Develop supports that facilitate systems and routines at home
Cultural considerations in defining specific supports

23. Foundations of School Psychological Service Delivery
Domain 8: Diversity in Development and Learning Domain 9: Research and Program Evaluation Domain 10: Legal, Ethical, and Professional Practice

24. Diversity in Development and Learning
Breadth
Understanding of what is developmentally appropriate
Learning differences that are appropriate to accommodate
Systems approach that accurately targets ‘true positives’ for intervention, given language development and cultural differences
Depth
Knowledge of the array of individual learner differences that effect learning and outcomes
Understanding of a variety of factors from development, medical, socio-cultural, etc. that have an impact on students as learners
Accounting for language and culture in assessment and evaluation

25. Research and Program Evaluation
Breadth
Knowledge of statistics, measurement and research design
Allows for analysis and interpretation of research, programs, curriculum
Supports analysis of data collection tools and methods
Supports analysis of collected data
Depth
Needs assessment of systems and programs
Inform gaps and specific adjustments to systems and policy

26. Legal, Ethical and Professional Practice
Breadth
Knowledge of ethics in schools and the law
Effective guidance within the school setting to support compliance
Depth
Inform and consult regarding Procedural Safeguards for IDEIA 2004
Support legal and ethical decision-making for student safety

27. Intended Outcomes of School Psychologist practice within systems
~ Breadth and Depth ~
Build Capacity of Systems
Improved Competencies for All Students
School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice III
National Association of School Psychologists ~ 2006

28. Local School Districts Can Help…
Present the NASP Practice Model to the Board of Education, central administrators, parents, and other interested stakeholders • Conduct a needs assessment about current SP practices and identify discrepancies from the NASP Model in policy and practice • Assist school psychologists in accessing professional development needed to reduce discrepancies between current practice and the NASP Practice Model
Skalski, A.K. (April, 2014). The Evolving Role of the School Psych: Embracing the NASP Practice Model. Presentation at the meeting of Oregon School Psychologists Association and Portland Public Schools, Oregon

29. Local School Districts Can Help…
Infuse the NASP Practice Model standards into district policy including job descriptions and personnel evaluation process • Provide mentoring and supervision to help improve practice and alignment with the NASP Practice Model standards • Include school psychologists in school accountability and school reform initiatives • Set as a goal adoption of the NASP Practice Model standards (professional practice & organizational principles) and align resources as needed to support this practice
Skalski, A.K. (April, 2014). The Evolving Role of the School Psych: Embracing the NASP Practice Model. Presentation at the meeting of Oregon School Psychologists Association and Portland Public Schools, Oregon.

30. School Psychologists….
Support teachers’ ability to teach and students’ ability to learn
Are a ready resource to help ALL students achieve their best
Support all aspects of systems improvement
Academic Achievement
Positive Behavior development
Social-Emotional well being

31. We all want to make a difference
Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.
Steve Jobs

32. Presenter Contact information
SOESD SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS Moira McKenna, PhD, Kim Hosford, MS,