Welcome to the Elementray School Psychology Homepage @ McGraw
Ever wonder what a school psychologist does? So did I, then I became one and I still can't answer that question directly because it changes everyday, just like the emotions and behaviors of our children and ourselves, which is one thing that I love about my job here at McGraw.
In college I studied, and I continue to learn, how to administer and use the data from educational assessments (IQ, academic, behavior rating scales, adaptive and daily living skills, and others). I also continue to learn about special education law, child development, behavioral interventions, and different abilities. (Some people refer to students as having "disabilities", but I like to consider that we all have "different abilities", because we all have our strengths, as well as our things to work on!) Additionally, I have a lot of experiences working and volunteering with people of different ages who have different abilities outside of school as well. I volunteer as a Special Olympic Alpine Ski coach and help out with the Area 17 Special Olympic swim and cycling teams.
At McGraw, you might see me:
In college I studied, and I continue to learn, how to administer and use the data from educational assessments (IQ, academic, behavior rating scales, adaptive and daily living skills, and others). I also continue to learn about special education law, child development, behavioral interventions, and different abilities. (Some people refer to students as having "disabilities", but I like to consider that we all have "different abilities", because we all have our strengths, as well as our things to work on!) Additionally, I have a lot of experiences working and volunteering with people of different ages who have different abilities outside of school as well. I volunteer as a Special Olympic Alpine Ski coach and help out with the Area 17 Special Olympic swim and cycling teams.
At McGraw, you might see me:
- Working with students. Sometimes I have to do the "testing" that I mentioned above. I like this part because it is like putting a puzzle together; I get to find out lots of different parts, and then work with the student, teacher, parent, and sometimes other therapists to try to figure out how the student can do their personal best. I also do some counseling and/or crisis intervention with students who are learning how to be successful students in school. Lots of times, it looks like we are playing, but really, we are working hard on things like developing self-control, being assertive (in an appropriate way), calming strategies, how to handle conflicts or when things don't go our way, and ways to feel good about who we are.
- Talking with teachers and/or parents. In order to learn about students and help them do their personal best, I get to work with their teachers and parents, and learn from them about their students and children. Interviewing parents and teachers, and completing rating scales, helps us understand the students better and try to meet their needs.
- Hanging out in classrooms. While it might look like I am just "hanging out", I am really watching the students to see how they learn, respond/react to other people and things, and figure out problems. These "observations" are shared with the teachers, parents, and sometimes the student, to help the student figure out the best way to learn and be a positive member of our school.
- Sitting at my desk typing reports or behavior plans, and/or scoring tests. Reports and behavior plans are shared with teachers and parents; like I said I get as many pieces of the child's puzzle that I can, write them up, and then work with the team to try and help each student do their personal best. This takes a lot of time, but in the end, it's worth it!
- In meetings. In order to share all the information as a team, we have to meet. Most weeks I have at least one day of Committee on Special Education (CSE), Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE), 504 Committee meetings, and/or Response to Intervention (RtI)/Child Study Team (CST) meetings. These meetings are important so that we can get everyone's input and develop plans to help students succeed.
- Teaching. This year, I have started teaching PSYC 103, a college level course available to our Jr. and Sr. students. I LOVE the chance to share some of my passion with these enthusiatic learners and look forward to learning from them as the year progresses.
updated 10/18/22
