Who are school psychologists?

School Psychologists are uniquely qualified staff who help children and youth succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.  They collaborate with teachers, parents, school-based mental health professionals, and other educators in order to foster safe, supportive, and healthy learning environments for all students.  School Psychologists have expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior.  

What type of training do school psychologists receive?

School psychologists receive training in various domains which include:

• Instructional support
• Prevention and intervention services
• Special education services
• Crisis preparedness, response, and recovery
• Family–school–community collaboration
• Diversity in development and learning
• Research and program evaluation
• Professional ethics, school law, and systems
• Data collection and analysis
• Assessment
• Progress monitoring
• School-wide practices to promote learning
• Resilience and risk factors
• Consultation and collaboration
• Academic/learning interventions
• Mental health interventions
• Behavioral interventions

What do School Psychologists do?

Some of the things school psychologists help schools do include:

• Promote student motivation & engagement
• Conduct psychoeducational evaluations
• Provide recommendations for individualized instruction and interventions
• Assist teachers in managing student and classroom behavior
• Collect and interpret student and classroom data
• Assess student emotional and behavioral needs
• Promote problem solving, anger management, conflict resolution, positive peer relationships, and social problem solving
• Make referrals to and coordinate services with community-based providers; connect families with community service providers (when necessary)
• Provide culturally responsive services to students and families from diverse backgrounds
• Monitor and effectively communicate with parents about student progress
• Assist in bullying and violence prevention
• Support social–emotional learning
• Assist in implementing school-wide positive behavioral supports
• Provide crisis prevention and intervention services
• Help families understand their children’s learning and mental health needs
• Enhance staff understanding of and responsiveness to diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Monitor individual student progress in academics and behavior

**Information provided from National Association of School Psychologists