Comprehensive School Psychologists

• Introduction
• Program Overview
• Benefits of Comprehensive School Psychologist Services
• Program Outcomes
• Program Outcome Progress Data
• Students Served
• Top 5 Services Provided
• Priority Services
• 23-24 End of Year Comprehensive School Psychologist Report

Dear PPS Leaders,

Thank you for your support of the comprehensive school psychologist program. Your support of this program was foundational in our successful application for the US Department of Education School Based Mental Health Services grant. Through this $5.5 million dollar five year grant we have scaled up the comprehensive school psychologist program to eleven Title I schools during the 23-24 school year. This grant will provide full time school psychologists from diverse backgrounds to provide culturally affirming MTSS and mental health services to PPS’ Title I K-5, K-8 and Middle schools through the duration of the grant period. It also expands PPS’ Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program to Title I MS. This mid-year report provides an overview of the program.

Comprehensive school psychologist services have supported both of the primary goals of the Student Success Act: meeting students’ mental and behavioral health needs; and increasing academic achievement and reducing academic disparities for, students of color; students with disabilities; emerging bilingual students; and students navigating poverty, homelessness, and foster care; and other students that have historically experienced disparities in our schools. During the 23-24 school year, comprehensive school psychologists provided 7,714 Tier II and III services, 90.4% of these services were provided to students who have been historically underserved. This is in addition to the special education services they provide to students with disabilities.

The continuing impact of the pandemic, gun violence, and racial injustice crises have intensified the unmet mental health needs of students. The Department of Education, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association all recommend increasing mental health services in schools to address this crisis. (Department of Education, AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency). More than one-third of youth who receive mental health services, receive them in schools and youth from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds are more likely to receive services at school. Staffing school psychologists, who are existing school based qualified mental health professionals, assists in meeting this need.

The comprehensive school psychologist program has maximized school psychologists' time in schools in order to provide preventative services at all three tiers of a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to better meet student needs. Positioning school psychologists to provide preventative services assists with increasing MTSS implementation in schools and disrupting the current patterns in PPS of disproportionate special education identification and discipline of Black, Indigenous, Students of Color and Multilingual students.

Many professionals help to support students’ positive mental health at all tiers; including comprehensive school psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses, other specialized instructional support personnel and community partners. School psychologists are uniquely trained in the provision of both core academic and social emotional and mental health evidence-based practices at all three tiers of MTSS. School psychologists are also especially skilled in program evaluation to determine effectiveness of services as well as the provision of inclusive services for students with disabilities that are consistent with special education law. The comprehensive school psychologist program has positioned school psychologists to collaborate with their teams to provide coordinated student services. Collaborative student support teams composed of these roles, who bring different training and experience ensures comprehensive and effective delivery of services across tiers. (PPS Successful Schools’ Student Service Provider Framework). We are grateful to partner with so many dedicated student service providers to improve conditions for students who have been historically underserved and marginalized.

Warmly,

Cynthia Velasquez, Comprehensive School Psychologist Program Administrator

Elaine Hidalgo, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Student Services School Psychologist

Kristin Irwin, NCSP, School Psychologist on Special Assignment

• An additional 0.4 FTE in seven K-5 and K-8 CSI schools to provide preventative MTSS and mental health student services funded by the Student Success Act
• $5.5 million dollar five-year Federal Department of Education School Based Mental Health Grant to scale up the comprehensive school psychologist Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program to Title I schools
  
• Supervision of school psychologist intern or practicum students

• Principal Perspective: Benefits of Comprehensive School Psychologist Services
  

• Benefits of Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Comprehensive School Psychologist Services
• Comprehensive School Psychologist Perspective: Benefits of Comprehensive School Psychologist Services

• So many!!!! Leadership Team, Strategic planning, Neighborhood School

• Highly relational and strategic in school improvement efforts

• Calm and caring, knowledgeable about processes and support options, enters into any conversation, planning session with students at the center, asks questions, maintains an equity lens
  

• specialized expertise that is needed!

• Ability to see potential SPED improprieties and skill development needs with staff and systems

• Families with complicated history's/ Trauma - and negative school experiences have had positive meetings with goals and clear plans for next steps to follow with timeframes

• SIT process coordination

• The ability to proactively provide classroom push-in support has had additional value, particularly in classrooms where multiple challenging behaviors are presenting.
  

• Direct student support both 1:1 and in small groups, consultation with staff and families
  

• An increased centering of the unique academic developmental characteristics of students who are communicating in school using a language they are unable to use with caregivers at home has brought about positive change in how our school views and understands the needs of linguistically diverse students, their families, and all learners of multiple languages. This has especially been noticeable throughout the student intervention process; an increased sense of equity through focusing on students' lived experiences has been a part of all discussions.

• I appreciate the genuine willingness to collaborate and communicate about students, and the deeply held understanding and action around equity for our historically underserved students that guides those discussions.

• Without an embedded school psychologist who can communicate and collaborate regularly and thoroughly with stakeholders, educators and their team colleagues are left feeling siloed, and feeling poorly equipped to make serious decisions and judgment calls that are well outside the scope of our professional training and academic background. While all educators have an understanding of child psychology and development, the school psychologist has the years of training and knowledge necessary to guide educators in their understanding of extremely complex academic issues around instructional differentiation, neurodiversity, and specialized instruction. Having personally experienced both having a full time psychologist this year and having a part-time or no psychologist in the past, it is easy to see the many positive outcomes for students and team members that this position brings about.

• Increase MTSS Fidelity including Tiered Foundational Reading Instruction & Assessment
• Reduce Racially and Linguistically Disproportionate Special Education Identification & Discipline
• Increase MTSS and mental health services and school psychologists from diverse backgrounds

The comprehensive school psychologist program is in its fourth year of implementation. Implementation science indicates it takes 2-4 years under optimal conditions to implement a program and realize progress towards program outcomes (NIRN).

• 60% 23-24 and 71% 24-25 selected comprehensive school psychologists are racially diverse, 20% 23-24 and 42% 24-25 are linguistically diverse
  
• 100% 23-23 & 24-25 of school psychologist interns are racially diverse, 60% 23-24 and 33% 24-25 are linguistically diverse
• 100% of comprehensive school psychologists including comprehensive school psychologists of color have been retained for 23-24 & 24-25

90.4%% of services were provided to students who have been historically underserved

• Check in Check Out
• Tier II Counseling Group
• Consultation
• Support with Regulation
• Individual Counseling

Principals identified the following top ten priority comprehensive services:

• Facilitating/Participating in MTSS team (e.g. SIT, ILT, ASERT)

• MTSS Data Analyst

• Tier III Individual Counseling

• Tier I SEL/PBIS

• Staff Consultation

• Tier II Intervention Coordinator

• Providing Tier II SEL Interventions

• Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Support Plans

• File Review Difference vs Disability

• Suicide Screening and Safety Planning

Principals identified the following as a top priority school psychologist practicum or internships student service:

• Providing Tier II SEL Intervention

• File Review Difference vs Disability

• MTSS Data Analyst

The 23-24 End of Year Report includes the purpose of the program, student services provided, demographics of students served, principal testimonials, and baseline data for program outcomes.

We appreciate feedback about the report structure and content, feedback survey. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kristin Irwin, School Psychologist on Special Assignment, kirwin@pps.net.