School Psychology

A Career That Makes a Difference

www.nasponline.org ©2008, National Association of School

Psychologists
“Being a school psychologist means
providing equitable education for all
students and supporting their social,
emotional, and academic needs.”

— Wendy Scott, EdS, NCSP

School Psychologist, Vista, CA
If you want to…
• Help children reach their potential
• Promote children’s mental health
• Work collaboratively with others
• Develop interpersonal and communication
skills
• Have a variety of career options

then …

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 School Psychology
could be the career for you!

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What is a School
Psychologist?
School Psychologists understand
that all children learn when
given:
• Adequate supports and resources
• Recognition of their individual needs
• Connection to and trust in adults
• Opportunities to achieve
• Acceptance and encouragement
• Cooperation between school and home

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School Psychologists link mental
health to learning and behavior
to promote:

• High academic achievement

• Positive social skills and behavior
• Healthy relationships and connectedness
• Tolerance and respect for others
• Competence, self-esteem, and resiliency

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When Do Children Need A School
Psychologist?
• Learning difficulties
• Behavior concerns
• Attention problems
• Problems at home or with peers
• Fears about war, violence, terrorism
• Depression and other mental health issues
• Coping with crisis and trauma
• Poverty, violence, or life changing events
• Advocacy of their learning and mental
health needs

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What Is the Role of a School
Psychologist?
• Assessment
• Consultation for student and systems-level
change
• Prevention
• Intervention
• Staff, parent, and student education
• Research and program development
• Mental health care
• Advocacy

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Assessment
School psychologists work with children, parents and
staff to help determine a child’s:
• Academic skills
• Instructional level
• Learning aptitudes, strengths, and weaknesses
• Personality and emotional development
• Social skills and behavioral concerns
• Learning environment
• School climate
• Special education eligibility

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Consultation: Child-Centered
School psychologists:
• Provide knowledge to help improve student
learning and mental health outcomes
• Implement and manage academic and
behavioral interventions
• Help teachers, parents, and other
professionals understand a child’s
development and learning
• Meet or communicate with others involved
with a child to determine the best way of
managing or improving a particular concern

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Consultation: Consultee-Centered
School psychologists:
• Collaborate with teachers to help them
identify classroom-based problems and
implement data-based interventions
• Support implementation of effective
instruction and behavior management at the
classroom level
• Assist parents to develop skills to help their
children succeed at home and in school
• Collaborate with the principal and other
school personnel to identify systemic
concerns and promote systems-level change
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Prevention
School psychologists:
• Implement programs to build positive
connections between students and adults
• Support early identification of potential
academic skill deficits and/or learning
difficulties
• Design and implement programs for at-risk
children
• Foster tolerance and appreciation of diversity
• Create safe, supportive learning environments

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Intervention
School psychologists:
• Work directly with children, teachers,
administrators, and families
• Develop individualized classroom, and school-
wide interventions for learning and
adjustment
• Design and implement crisis response plans
• Provide counseling, social skills training,
academic, and behavioral interventions
• Develop strategies for modifying instruction to
optimize student progress
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Education
School psychologists provide teachers and parents
training in:
• Teaching and learning strategies and
interventions
• Parenting and disciplining techniques
• Classroom and behavior management techniques
• Working with exceptional students
• Strategies to address substance abuse, risky
behaviors, or mental illnesses that affect
students
• Crisis prevention and response

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Research and Program Development
School psychologists:
• Recommend and implement evidence-based
programs and strategies
• Conduct school-based research to inform
practice
• Evaluate effectiveness of programs and
interventions independently and as part of
a school-based consultation team
• Contribute to school-wide reform and
restructuring

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Mental Health

School psychologists:
• Deliver school-based mental health services
such as group, individual and crisis
counseling
• Coordinate with community resources and
health care providers to provide students
with complete seamless services
• Partner with parents and teachers to create
healthy school environments
• Promote mental health in the school setting
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Advocacy
NASP and state professional associations are
dedicated to advocacy. School psychologists
encourage and sponsor:
• Appropriate education placements
• Education reform
• Legislative involvement
• Community services and programs
• Funding for adequate resources
• Employment of highly qualified school
personnel

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“I enjoy building trusting and
caring relationships with
students, which I strongly
believe promotes learning and
positive choices in their
future.”

— Claudia Gomez
School Psychologist, Huntington Beach, CA
Where Do School Psychologists
Work?
• Public and private schools
• Private practice
• Colleges and universities
• Community mental health centers
• Institutional/residential facilities
• Pediatric clinics and hospitals
• Criminal justice system
• Public agencies

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Who Are Today’s School
Psychologists?
• 74% are women
• 47.5% are over 50 years of age
• Employed:
» 83.1% work in public schools
» 5.2% work in private schools
» 6.5% work in universities
» 4.1% work in independent practice
» 7.0% work in other

(Curtis et al., 2006)

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 Ethnicity of School
Psychologists
Ethnicity %

White/Caucasian 92.6

Hispanic/Latino 3.0

Black/African-American 1.9

Asian-American/Pacific Islander 0.9

American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.8

Other .8

Source: 2004-2005 NASP membership survey

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 Ethnicity of the U.S. Population
Ethnicity %

White/Caucasian 70.7

Hispanic/Latino 12.5

Black/African-American 12.3

Asian-American/Pacific Islander 3.6

American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.9

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

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Linguistic Diversity
• 17.9% of the U.S. population over the age
of five speaks a language other than English
at home
• Approximately 11% of the U.S. population is
foreign born

For example, more than 90 foreign languages

are spoken by students in the Los Angeles
Unified School District in California.

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Demographic Variation
• 26-61% of the population in Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
South Carolina, and D.C. is African American
• 25-42% of the population in Arizona,
California, New Mexico, and Texas is
Hispanic
• Only 5% of school psychologists are African
American or Hispanic (Curtis et al., 2006)

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

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“As a Diné (Navajo) school
psychologist, I am working back in my
ancestral homeland with my people,
using my cultural knowledge and
indigenous language to provide a
diverse service delivery. I am making a
difference by being accessible.”

— Elvina Charley, EdS

School Psychologist, Chinle, AZ
Career Opportunities
• Pending retirements have lead to shortage
of qualified practitioners
• Current shortage of qualified university
faculty in school psychology
• Wide gap between ethnicity of practicing
school psychologists and students served
• Serious need for more ethnic and linguistic
diversity in the field

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A Great Career Choice
• Work with children who need you
• Help parents and educators
• Enjoy a flexible school schedule
• Have a variety of responsibilities
• Receive training in useful skills
• Choose from a variety of work settings
• Have confidence in the stability of your
position

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Rise to the Challenge!
• Children in difficult situations need
solutions to difficult problems
• Parents need ideas for managing children’s
behavior and mental health
• Teachers need help working with students’
varied educational needs and behaviors
• Society needs mentally healthy, well-
educated children

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“I wanted a career that focused on
youth advocacy in the schools but would
allow me to integrate my passion for
cultural awareness, equity and
diversity into the school community.”

— Cristina Noel
School Psychologist, Dartmouth, MA
So how do I become a
School Psychologist?
Undergraduate Training
• Must complete a Bachelor’s degree
• Consider an education, psychology or
related field
• Take courses in
» Child development
» General and child psychology
» Statistics, measurement, and research
» Philosophy and theory of education
» Instruction and curriculum
» Special education

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Graduate Training
• Education Specialist
» In most states, certification as a school
psychologist requires training at the specialist
level.
» Specialist-level training includes 60 graduate
semester credits in school psychology
» Specialist-level degrees can be identified by
several acronyms including; Educational
Specialist (EdS), Masters (MA, MS, MEd) and
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies
(CAGS/CAS) etc.
- or -
• Doctorate (PhD, PsyD or EdD)

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Graduate Training- Program Length

• Specialist-level: 3-4 years (60+ semester

credit hours) of full-time training including
a 1200-hour internship*
• Doctorate: 5+ years or more (90+ semester
credit hours) of full-time training including
a minimum 1500-hour internship*, and
dissertation
» *At least (600) hours of the internship must be
completed in a school setting.

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Graduate Coursework
• Learning theory
• Psychological assessment and intervention
• Consultation skills
• Diversity and multiculturalism
• Normal and abnormal development
• School organizational systems
• Counseling theory and practice
• Statistics and research
• Applied behavior analysis

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Choosing a Graduate Program
• Specialist vs. Doctoral degree
• NASP approval/alignment and/or APA
accreditation
• Size of cohort and location of program
• Department of Education or Psychology
• Theoretical orientation
• Specialties (e.g., early childhood, low
incidence, urban, rural, bilingual etc.)
• Research opportunities
• Financial support (assistantships/fellowships)

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Applying to a Graduate Program
• GRE: Graduate Record Exam
» Some programs may require the GRE—Psychology
• Undergraduate transcripts
• Letters of recommendation
• Personal statement(s)
• Practice or research interests

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“School psychology is a career that
uniquely offers daily challenges and
rewards, all within a collaborative
setting.”

— Allison Nebbergall, Graduate Student

University of Maryland –College Park
Questions?
Job Outlook?
• Excellent both at present and long-term!
• Not enough graduates to meet demand
• Retirement will soon open many positions
• School Psychology was named one of the
“best careers” for 2008 by US News and
World Report

www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2007/12/19/school psycholo
gist-executive-summary.html

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 What types of salaries do School
Psychologists receive?
• Median salaries range from $47,880.00 to
$67,070.00, while top salaries can exceed
$100,000.
• Mean per diem salary for practitioners at
the specialist level is $287.00 and $350.00
at the doctoral level.
» However, many school systems do not
make salary distinctions between
doctoral and non-doctoral school
psychologists.
• Salaries for school psychologists vary by
state and region.

(Curtis et al., 2007)

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FAQ: How does a School
Psychologist differ from a
school counselor?

School Counselor School Psychologist

At least 2 yrs grad school At least 3 yrs grad school

Trained in ed./counseling Trained in ed./psychology

Individual and group counseling Assessment, consultation,

addressing a variety of issues, behavioral/academic intervention,
career planning, and course crisis prevention/intervention,
scheduling individual /group counseling, and
program evaluation

Employed in public schools and Employed in public/private schools,

university private practice, mental health
advisement centers centers, and universities

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FAQ: How does a school
psychologist differ from a child
psychologist?
School psychologists focus on how social emotional
issues, family problems, neurological factors, and
mental illness affect learning
Child clinical psychologists:
• Usually work in a hospital, mental health center,
private clinic, or university setting
• Are not typically trained in education, instruction,
or classroom management
• Do not focus primarily on the multiple factors that
affect learning

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“In School Psychology I found a way to
indulge my interest in schools,
psychology, sociology, leadership, and
team work.”

— Ryan Estrellado
School Psychologist, Chula Vista, CA
References/Resources
Curtis, M. J., Lopez, A.D., Batsche, G. M., & Smith, J. C. (2006,
March). School psychology 2005: A national perspective. Paper
presented at the annual convention of the National Association of
School Psychologists, Anaheim, CA.

Curtis, M. J., Lopez, A. D., Batsche, G. M., Minch, D., & Abshier, D.
(2007, March). Status report on school psychology: A national
perspective. Paper presented at the annual convention of the
National Association of School Psychologists, New York City.
Fagan, T. K., & Wise, P. S. (2007). School psychology: Past, present,
and future 3rd Ed. Bethesda: NASP.
Hosp, J. L., & Reschly, D. J. (2002). Regional differences in school
psychology practice. School Psychology Review, 31, 11-29.
Thomas, A. & Grimes, J. (2008). Best practices in school psychology
V. Bethesda: NASP.

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For more information, contact: National
Association of School Psychologists
(301) 657-0270 www.nasponline.org