School Psychologist

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

School psychologists help students succeed academically socially and emotionally. They collaborate with educators administrators families and other mental health professionals to create safe healthy and supportive learning environments for all students and strengthen connections between home and school. Reports to the Lead School Psychologist and Exceptional Children Director.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. FOUNDATIONS OF SCHOOL

PSYCHOLOGY School Psychologist:

Professional Legal Ethical and Professional Practice

• Practice in ways that meet all appropriate ethical professional and legal standards.
• Understand and apply federal state and local policies and regulations in the delivery of school psychological services.
• Maintain confidentiality of student records and information.
• Use technology in ways that are consistent with ethical and responsible professional practice.

Student Diversity in Development and Learning

• Recognize issues of diversity that affect routine interactions with other people and organizations.
• Modify or adapt routine practice to effectively meet these diverse needs.
• Demonstrate sensitivity and skills needed to work with families students and staff from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Information Technology

• Establish and maintain expertise in using technology such as data management report writing web pages literature reviews and data analysis.
• Use spreadsheets or other software programs to organize and graphically display data and monitor progress when appropriate for use at the system building and individual student level.

Research and Program Evaluation

• Evaluate and synthesize a cumulative body of research findings as a foundation for effective service delivery.
• Collect analyze and interpret program evaluation data in applied settings.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of schoolbased intervention plans.

School Systems Organizational Change Policy Development and School Climate

• Understand the organization of schools and systems change to provide leadership in developing and implementing early intervention and prevention programs.
• Demonstrate knowledge and leadership when assisting in the development of school policy that impacts student learning and safety.
• Demonstrate knowledge of school and classroom climates and use such knowledge to assist in developing school improvement plans and classroom interventions.

1. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

COMPETENCIES School Psychologist: Home/School/Community Collaboration

• Use empirically supported strategies to design implement and evaluate effective policies.
• Employ practices that promote home school and community partnerships and enhance learning and mental health goals for students.
• Identify diverse cultural issues situations and other factors that influence family school and community interaction s and address such issues when developing and providing serv1ces.

Enhancement of Student Wellness Social Skills and Life Competencies

• Demonstrate knowledge regarding the social affective and adaptive domains of child development.
• Identify and apply sound principles of behavior change within these domains to assist in designing and implementing prevention and intervention programs.
• Enhancement of Student Cognitive and Academic Skills
• Help schools develop challenging but achievable cognitive and academic goals for all students.
• Collaborate with others to develop appropriate cognitive and academic goals for students with different abilities disabilities strengths needs and develop interventions to achieve these goals.
• Implement appropriate and alternative ways to monitor and assess the effectiveness of interventions and individual student progress toward goals.
• Assess students cognitive abilities using a variety of instruments and techniques that are appropriate for the individual student.

SystemsBased Service Delivery

• Provide leadership in developing a safe caring and inviting school with a sense of community where contributions of all persons are valued where there are high expectations of excellence for all students and where homeschoolagency partnerships are valued.

DataBased Decision Making and Accountability

• Demonstrate expertise in collecting managing and interpreting various types of individual and group data.
• Apply sound principles of databased decision making to all aspects of practice (e.g. designing interventions monitoring student progress consulting with school administrators and disseminating intervention research findings within the school setting).

Consultation and Collaboration

• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work communicate and collaborate effectively with teachers other school staff and families as part of a team within the school setting.
• Ensure that students and families know about community services and programs and assist them in accessing these as appropriate.

Prevention Early Intervention and Crisis Management

• Participate in planning and implementing prevention programs to address the social and affective needs of students (e.g. programs to address bullying school violence and school safety).
• Have knowledge of universal screening as well as early reading and math literacy.
• Participate in designing prevention and intervention methods to address programs that influence student learning.

Group and Individual Counseling Techniques

• Provide direct services to individuals or groups of students (e.g. counseling crisis interventions mentoring and individual safety plans when appropriate).
• Consult and confer with teachers staff and families about strategies to facilitate the social and affective adjustment of students.

Promoting Safe and Effective Learning Environments

• Participate in planning and/or implementation of school or systemlevel crisis response.
• Identify resources and coordinate services with other professionals and/or agencies to address students behavioral affective or social needs.

ADDITIONAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Performs other related work as required.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

60 hour Masters degree in school psychology from an approved school psychology training program plus a one year internship providing psychological services; or any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge skills and abilities.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Must be certified as a school psychologist by the State of North Carolina. Must possess a valid North Carolina drivers license.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIREDTO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements:Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers copiers typewriters overhead projectors etc. Must be physically able to operate a motor vehicle. Must be able to exert up to 80 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to lift carry push and pull or otherwise move objects including the human body. Light Work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.

Data Conception:Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable functional structural or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data people or things.

Interpersonal Communication:Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving instructions assignments or directions to assistants or subordinates.

Language Ability:Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondences reports forms requisitions referrals manuals etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence reports forms records proposals appraisals etc. using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation grammar diction and style. Requires the ability to speak to people with poise voice control and confidence.

Intelligence:Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems collect data establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Verbal Aptitude:Requires the ability to record and deliver information to explain procedures to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of technical or professional languages including psychological terminology.

Numerical Aptitude:Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; multiply and divide; utilize decimals and percentages; and to apply the theories of descriptive statistics and statistical theory.

Form/Spatial Aptitude:Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length width and shape.

Motor Coordination:Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using office equipment.

Manual Dexterity:Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Color Discrimination:Requires the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.

Interpersonal Temperament:Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with emergency situations.

Physical Communication:Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.). Must be able to communicate via telephone.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Considerable knowledge of federal state and local policies and procedures regarding psychological services.
• Considerable knowledge of psychological services appropriate for school age children. Considerable knowledge of appropriate actions to be taken in emergency situations.
• Considerable knowledge of the current literature trends methods and developments in the area of school psychological services.
• General knowledge of the ethical guidelines applicable to the position as outlined by professional organizations and/or federal state and local laws rules and regulations.
• General knowledge of the principles of supervision organization and administration.
• Ability to interpret student behavior system policies and state procedures.
• Ability to coordinate large programs.
• Ability to develop counsel and support staff.
• Ability to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and make recommendations for improvements.
• Ability to use common office machines and popular computerdriven word processing spreadsheet
• and file maintenance programs.
• Ability to maintain complete and accurate records and to develop meaningful reports from them.
• Ability to effectively express ideas orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments.

DISCLAIMER

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties responsibilities and qualifications required of employees to this job.