The week of November 10- November 14 is recognized across the country as School Psychology Awareness week. Typically awareness weeks are associated with conditions, not professions, but the field of school psychology is little known to many people. It isn’t an unusual experience for a School Psychologist to be introduced to people as a teacher or school counselor or hear “I didn’t know our school had a School Psychologist.”
The field of School Psychology has been in existence for over two hundred years. Currently there are approximately 32,000 School Psychologists practicing in the United States. The role of a School Psychologist varies from state to state and school district to school district, but overall a School Psychologist exists to use principles of psychology and education to improve outcomes for students through supporting parents, school staff, and the students themselves. One WCPS Elementary School Counselor summed this up well in stating: The role of our School Psychologist is integral to our school building in many ways. Working collaboratively with school leaders, our School Psychologist brings to the table expertise and professionalism in helping students, teachers, and families better understand the nature of a variety of issues and how to develop a systematic plan for success.
The theme for this year’s School Psychology Awareness week is ‘Strive. Grow. Thrive.’ For me that brings an image of a little seedling striving to break the surface of the dirt, growing towards the sun, and experiencing success once it reaches that goal. Children these days face so many challenges related to learning difficulties, medical or mental health conditions, poverty, or other personal issues. As caring adults it is our job to help children set goals and develop resiliency to overcome the setbacks that they experience as they push through the layers of challenges they face before reaching the sun.
The goal of this website is to increase awareness of the expertise that School Psychologists bring to Washington County Public Schools by providing resources that will be helpful for parents and teachers alike. We hope you find it to be of benefit.
The field of School Psychology has been in existence for over two hundred years. Currently there are approximately 32,000 School Psychologists practicing in the United States. The role of a School Psychologist varies from state to state and school district to school district, but overall a School Psychologist exists to use principles of psychology and education to improve outcomes for students through supporting parents, school staff, and the students themselves. One WCPS Elementary School Counselor summed this up well in stating: The role of our School Psychologist is integral to our school building in many ways. Working collaboratively with school leaders, our School Psychologist brings to the table expertise and professionalism in helping students, teachers, and families better understand the nature of a variety of issues and how to develop a systematic plan for success.
The theme for this year’s School Psychology Awareness week is ‘Strive. Grow. Thrive.’ For me that brings an image of a little seedling striving to break the surface of the dirt, growing towards the sun, and experiencing success once it reaches that goal. Children these days face so many challenges related to learning difficulties, medical or mental health conditions, poverty, or other personal issues. As caring adults it is our job to help children set goals and develop resiliency to overcome the setbacks that they experience as they push through the layers of challenges they face before reaching the sun.
The goal of this website is to increase awareness of the expertise that School Psychologists bring to Washington County Public Schools by providing resources that will be helpful for parents and teachers alike. We hope you find it to be of benefit.