SCOPE

CONTENTS:

• President's Message
• 2024 WSASP Award Recipients
• What School Psychologists Can Do to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

WSASP is an all-volunteer organization that relies on contributions from school psychologists around the state. The SCOPE is published three times a year, and requires a commitment of just a few hours for each edition. This is a meaningful way to contribute to our profession and support colleagues around the state. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact the WSASP Communications Committee.

Kristen was described by her colleagues as an excellent supervisor, lead, and colleague who takes time to answer questions and consult in a fact-based and approachable manner. She is an excellent leader of psychologists, as well as to practicum and internship students. Kristen displays a wealth of knowledge and friendly demeanor, and she is approachable and trustworthy. She utilizes knowledge of the law and practicality of school systems to educate and consult with colleagues, graduate students, and other educators. Kristen promotes equity, inclusion, and diversity in her role by adhering to best practices in referral and intervention requests, especially those that are under-represented in special education. She seeks out resources and intervention tools to support all students. Congratulations, Kristen!

Jo was described by her colleagues as a strong advocate for students who has an immense amount of experience and institutional knowledge. She is kind, thorough, and responsive when speaking for the team of counselors. She can be counted upon to give great feedback or have ideas that will help students. Jo goes above and beyond in her work with families, staff, and fellow psychologists. She supports staff in navigating mental health crises amongst students, helping families with accessing local resources, and new psychologists regarding their caseloads. Jo leads with empathy, curiosity, and a desire to do what’s best. Congratulations, Jo!

Rachel was described by her colleagues as someone who implements culturally responsive practices in assessments and interventions, ensuring all students feel seen and valued. She incorporates culturally relevant materials and uses multiple sources of information to ensure that students from various linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds receive fair and accurate assessments. Rachel has faced a high level of tricky cases and done a great job navigating each case while employing best practices in the decision-making process, assessment planning and implementation, and recommendations of services that support academic and social skills development. Congratulations, Rachel!

Mark was described by his colleagues as someone who speaks at staff meetings and MTSS meetings about ways to make different strategies work. He volunteers to run SDI groups, and his goal is to make sure that every child has the support they need in order to be successful at school. He employs culturally responsive assessment techniques to provide individualized interventions. Mark quickly offers services when a student need is identified but there may not be an adult available to provide the specific intervention. When Mark realized that the school team was struggling to make individual interventions work, he offered to provide the very specific support needed, and he made a huge impact on the students. Congratulations, Mark!

Marc was described by his colleagues as having a high level of integrity and thoroughly completing each assessment. He is currently leading a committee of school psychologists to review literature and make recommendations for writing interventions and progress monitoring tools. He has a distinguished ability to translate research-based practices into daily practice and has directly strengthened student programming. Marc provides in-depth evaluations that identify with specificity the gaps in a child’s learning. He shows depth in explanation and understanding of effective interventions and provides practical guidance that influences the practice of individual teachers and the culture within the building. Marc’s knowledge of research and evidence-based practices raises the bar for everyone. Congratulations, Marc!

K’Leia is a consistent learner in being able to dismantle racist systems that do not encourage LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students nor staff to thrive. She provides consultation in MTSS systems, equity, and positive behavior support at the staff and community level across two school districts. K’Leia’s colleagues appreciate her ability to provide a safe and non-judgemental space. In her role as a counselor, K’Leia frames her support within a culturally responsive lens to mental health services. As a district Equity lead and school psychologist with expertise in data, she is able to provide her staff and community with academic and social emotional assessment data to interpret and understand how to center students furthest from educational justice. K’Leia also has her own private practice, Mood Check Therapy. Congratulations, K’Leia!

Mary was described by her colleagues as someone who offers support to colleagues, school psychologists, teachers, staff, and families time and time again. She takes it upon herself to support various departmental responsibilities that lend to improving the department and special education services. Her Leadership is obvious and kindness is clear, she is the first person to reach out to offer support to new psychologists. Mary offers her time to answer questions or collaborate about various issues, and she supports connection activities across the department and organizes group lunches. She is the go-to for all things school psychology! Mary mentors, encourages, and supports others, serves as a supervisor, and is a vital member of the team. Congratulations, Mary!

Aloma was described by her colleagues as someone who treats all staff, students, and families with dignity and grace. She completes evaluations and consultation in a culturally-affirming way that focuses on student strengths and growth. She was on the writing team for the new SLD technical assistance papers. Aloma gently encourages individuals and teams to make meaningful changes to improve equitable outcomes for students without judgment or shame. She has developed forms and resources for the district team to complete evaluations in a culturally responsive and affirming way. Aloma is generous with her time and expertise in consulting on evaluations of CLD students. Congratulations, Aloma!

Heidi was described by her colleagues as someone who shows extensive knowledge of teaching and intervention systems with previous experience as a special education teacher. She always has interventions and instructional practices ready for building stronger MTSS at secondary schools. Heidi offers direct services in screenings and observations for supporting intervention goal setting. She participates in research projects that increase knowledge for supporting individuals with ADHD. Heidi’s professionalism is exceptional, and she continues to hold herself to the highest standards. She shows continued pursuit of professional development and willingness to push herself to a higher standard. Heidi spends time ensuring she uses sound practices to assess students whose native language is not English. She works in a low-income and high-needs school and makes sure her practice is equitable for all students and families. Congratulations, Heidi!

Chitra was described by her colleagues as someone who is a well spoken and excellent representative of our profession in all advocacy efforts. She has not only been a reliable committee member of WSASP GPR, she has gone above and beyond, attending online meetings with various partners including agencies and legislators in order to advocate for school psychologists. Chitra has specifically promoted EDI in the work of GPR. She has drawn specific attention to the challenges of certification for an immigrant school psychologist who was educated in another country. She can be relied upon to lift the voices of others and ensure we are considering all children and all school psychologists. She has consistently participated in WSASP advocacy beginning in Fall 2021 with the Social Justice Task Force and transitioning to GPR. Congratulations, Chitra!

This award recognizes individuals for outstanding service to the Association. The award was set up in honor of L. Thompson who was one of the primary persons in establishing WSASP. She held multiple leadership roles in school psychology and was recognized for her dynamic personality, extraordinary drive and determination from the beginning of her career in 1967 until her sudden and unexpected death in 1982. She received the NASP Special Presidential Award in 1980, and in 1981 was named the WSASP Psychologist of the Year. The recipient must be a member of WSASP and one whose contributions, commitment, quality of service and accomplishments represent those of L. Thompson. This award contrasts with the School Psychologist of the Year Award in that it focuses on the boundless variety of the Association affairs rather than on direct services to children, teachers and parents. The selection committee shall include the Immediate Past-President, President and at least two previous Thompson Award winners or School Psychologist of the Year Award winners.

Tracy was described by her colleagues as a consistent and reliable member of the WSASP Executive Board. She has served as President in the past, and she has led several committees, including Mental Health and more recently Professional Development. As PD Co-Chair, Tracy has increased accessibility for professional development by expanding virtual access and accommodations for attendees.

She has also overseen an increase in the diversity of professional development offerings. Congratulations, Tracy!

This award may be awarded to a School Psychologist who demonstrates excellence across a broad range of domains, which may include assessment, intervention, consultation, education supervision research/ evaluation, and advocacy for their clients, community, or profession. The nominee should have personal characteristics, which include high ethical standards, effective interpersonal skills, and a dedication to improving conditions for children, families, schools, and communities. Nominees will need to have been trained as School Psychologists and be primarily engaged in the practice of School Psychology in Washington State during the year prior to receiving the award.

Hayley was described by her colleagues as someone who is the lead of one of the strongest special education teams in the district. She is a leader among psychologists across the district. She is a key member of the building students educational team, which analyzes the needs of students who potentially receive Tier 2 services. Hayley understands the necessity of providing early intervention to students. She shows dedication to the profession, clients, and community. She exemplifies excellence across all domains of school psychology and has had a profound and positive impact on students, staff, families, and her district. Hayley adds positive energy to the school environment by encouraging others. She provides professional development regarding best practices in serving students with special needs, and she has led initiatives such as development of the ELL CDP and introduced calming corners in classrooms. Hayley utilizes a variety of evidence-based tools and techniques to provide comprehensive and culturally responsive evaluations. She has extensive experience and a passion for students. Congratulations, Hayley!

Since the civil rights movements of the 1960’s, increasing awareness to promote the rights of historically marginalized populations, including individuals with cultural and gender differences, have been a focus of social change in American culture. Such awareness has been built to impact domestic and employment rights, in both public and private sector places of work, protection from discrimination, promoting both work-related (P.L. No. 88-352, 1964) and domestic improvement of quality of life (P.L. No. 90-284, 1968).

During lockdowns following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, outrage followed when George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody because of mistreatment upon apprehension. That incident followed multiple such examples within recent history where the discriminatory treatment of black Americans has been a consistent matter of frustration in promoting equitable rights of all individuals. Such discrimination involved police brutality and overreach, and deaths of Philandro Castile, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, among others, and Tamir Rice, a 13-year old. Discrimination leading to focus on equity and diversity of multiple populations of Americans who have experienced discrimination has led to social policies to magnify such practices and promote ongoing change.

Matters of social justice stem beyond broad societal discrimination. Within specific areas of focus, including the field of school psychology, matters of social justice permeate decisions on behalf of students leading to disparate educational opportunities for students with disabilities. Cavendish, et. al. (2015) argued the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) may be legitimizing social injustice as reflected proportions of special education students from minoritized populations, leading to subsequent overrepresentation in identification as students with disabilities, particularly with social/emotional and behavioral disabilities are primary focuses.

Overrepresentation of minoritized populations as having deficiencies in cognitive development similarly has contributed to lack of equitable access to basic education. Morgan (2020) opined the result of identifying cognitive as well as behavioral and social/emotional deficiencies has been focused on placement over service, especially in locations where stigma of being classified a special education student is higher. These findings contrast with identification of students with specific learning disabilities, a disability category with greater likelihood of access to general education environment instruction (Morgan and Farkas, 2018).

Broad emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies (or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies depending on context) continues to hold magnified attention in the wake of conflict in American culture at home and abroad. There is a need for individuals to consider what can be done to promote such values outside of promoting broad social change when individuals are limited in the scope and reach of being able to intervene (NASP, 2024). Awareness of structural systems of oppression and addressing them is valid in promoting equitable societal change, as much as possible, is just as valid to consider what the individual can do as a catalyst of systemic change. Such focus is especially valid in the field of school psychology when school psychologists are typically the sole participants of evaluation groups and IEP teams in this role. School psychologists serve to guide and engage educators, parents and others interested in a student’s welfare to advocate for the student’s educational needs. As school psychologists, we are only able to advocate and inspire others as much as the constraints of our positions allow, as defined in our job descriptions and generally expected as a component of the duties of our roles.

This focus for school psychologists becomes especially complicated during a professional’s formative years when one attempts to learn expectations of the role and works to develop skills needed to be competent and accepted. Competency in school psychology is in the mastery of one’s expected role, demonstrating success in building and establishing working relationships, and in making connections promoting the well-being and the quality of life of the students we serve. We strive to balance responsibilities in learning our roles and being effective with sensitivity to social inequities, especially impacting diverse and disadvantaged students with limited resources and support for educational success.

Specific to EDI, goals pertaining to equity and diversity very much emphasize focus on structural change. Inclusion focuses on promoting social engagement and involvement. For school psychologists, this understanding is commonly equated with interpretations of inclusion that surround least restrictive environment legal requirements. However, there is overlap between the least-restrictive environment and structural understandings of inclusion as a concept. From a least-restrictive environment perspective, inclusion focuses on involvement in the general education environment for a student with a disability to the maximum extent appropriate. From an EDI perspective, that definition also applies when the focus is one of how we make decisions, both in program planning and placement of special education students.

Inclusion involves welcomed participation in all aspects of the roles each individual plays in advocating for students. Inclusion also involves systemic involvement, welcoming others from historically marginalized populations to participate equitably. Inclusion is for all individuals to feel a sense of belonging regardless of race, gender, or other circumstances which may prevent one from feeling divided and disassociated from participating in one’s life.

School psychologists must learn to recognize when individuals in small groups are being marginalized, similarly to discriminatory practices on a societal scale. Within small groups, including IEP teams and other evaluation groups within school systems, there is a tendency for select members with the ability to influence others to wield indiscriminate amounts of influence and power. For individuals with that capacity, to be ethical is to be equitable in managing that tendency to take control. It is not appropriate for individuals with influence to expect to be in control of all aspects of social discourse. A school psychologist will wield strength when encouraging others to participate as much as possible, while framing discussions as inclusive as possible for all.

A task for school psychologists is to answer these questions pertaining to inclusion:

• What does inclusion mean in the context of a social justice framework and how does inclusion play out as a challenge for school psychologists?
• How does inclusion as a least-restrictive environment (LRE) matter differ from inclusion as a matter of social justice?
• How is inclusion relative to LRE intertwined with inclusion relative to social justice?

Answering these questions may not immediately change what individual school psychologists are able to do to influence their working circumstances. In time, however, school psychologists can influence systems in place. Within the confines of our roles, ensuring that historically marginalized students are not overrepresented in special education is an appropriate first step. Additionally, emphasizing avoiding lower expectations for educational success for all special education students, especially those from historically marginalized populations, would be an appropriate point of emphasis. School psychologists of all backgrounds and regardless of experience can do that much, at least. Though we will maintain structural understandings of discrimination and marginalization, we also have the opportunity to do more for students than merely assessing and identifying students as having educational disabilities. How much we want to push ourselves beyond merely assessing students for special education is a decision all school psychologists will confront. From an ethical perspective, that is an obligation we share because we are ultimately here to support students and their needs.

References

• Cavendish, W., Artiles, A.J., and Harry, B (2015). Tracking inequality 60 years after Brown: Does policy legitimize the racialization of Disability: Multiple Voces for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 14, 1-11.
• Losen, D.J, and Skiba, R.J. (2010). Suspended education: Urban middle schools in crisis. UCLA: The Civil Rights Project: U rban Middle Schools in Crisis. UCLA: The Civil Rights Project, Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8fh0s5dv.
• Morgan, P.L. & Farkas, G.(2018): Are too many students identified as disabled? Or are some who need services overlooked: Washington Post, May 4.
• Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964).

Over 2000 school psychologists and other educators currently receive the SCOPE

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