School Psychologist

PSYCHOLOGIST

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Under general direction of the Director and Assistant Director of Psychological Services, a School Psychologist will administer psycho-educational services to promote student success, and will act as a resource to students, site administrators, school personnel, parents, and Student Services.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• School Psychologists work to deliver mental and behavioral health services to pupils in a school and find the best solution for each student and situation and use different strategies to address student needs and to improve school and district-wide support systems.

• School Psychologists provide leadership in initiating and facilitating constructive change in accordance with best practices by providing services as noted below.

• Consultation

• Collaborates with teachers, parents, and administrators to find effective solutions to learning and behavior problems to promote a safe and supportive learning environment.

• Helps others understand child development and how it affects learning and behavior.

• Strengthens working relationships between educators, parents, and community services.

• Facilitates the collaboration between regular education and special education.

• Provides support to school staff on procedures and professional topics.

• Prevention

• Designs programs for children at risk of failing in the educational environment.

• Promotes tolerance, understanding and appreciation of diversity in the school community.

• Participates in developing programs to make schools safer and more effective learning environments.

• Develops partnerships with parents and educators to promote healthy school environments.

• Participates in planning for and implementing a response to a crisis at the school.

• Intervention

• Participates in problem solving teams to develop academic and behavioral strategies to ensure student progress, including home-school collaboration and adjustments to the instructional environment.

• Provides psychological counseling to help resolve interpersonal or family problems that interfere with school performance.

• Works directly with students, families, and educators to help resolve problems in adjustment and learning.

• Provides training and social skills in anger management.

• Helps families and schools deal with crises, such as death, illness, or community trauma.

• Evaluation

• Administers applicable assessments to pupils.

• Supports educators and parents in data collection for identifying and verifying problems that require intervention.

• Supports educators and parents in collecting data to monitor student progress and the effectiveness of interventions and educational programs.

• Uses a wide variety of techniques at an individual, group, and systems level to evaluate academic skills, learning aptitudes, personality/emotional development, social skills, eligibility for special services, and learning environments and school climates.

• Research, Planning, and Training

• Evaluates the effectiveness of academic and behavioral management programs.

• Identifies and implements programs and strategies to improve schools.

• Uses evidence-based research to develop and/or recommend effective interventions.

• Trains educators, students, and parents on topics including: data collection for problem solving purposes, instructional and behavior management strategies, substance abuse, crisis management, and working with students who have disabilities or unique talents.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of education and experience that could likely provide the required knowledge and skills is qualifying. A typical way to obtain knowledge and skills would be:

• Education: Masters, Ed.S. or doctoral degree in a field that meets Nevada state requirements for obtaining a Nevada School Psychologist certificate.
• Experience: A minimum of 2 (two) years working with elementary or secondary students is desirable.
• Licenses/Certificates: Possession of a Nevada School Psychologist Certificate by time of placement. Possession of a Nevada School Psychologist License is required.

COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OF JOB DUTIES

Knowledge of:

• Compliance with current best practices based on professional literature, resources and/or professional organizations.
• Current professional standards and ethics.
• Current legal requirements and regulations dealing with the Americans with Disabilities Act and special education law.
• Federal, state, and district guidelines, policies and procedures relating to providing psycho-educational services.
• Family influences that affect students wellness, learning, achievement.
• Current literature on various aspects of education and child development.

Skill:

• Work independently to complete psychoeducational assessments and other work duties.
• Manage ones own time and workload to meet state and federal timelines for evaluations.
• Complete assigned tasks in a timely fashion and in an acceptable format.
• Communicate in a manner that makes assessment results understandable to non-practitioners.
• Demonstrate appropriate client-school psychologist relationships
• Interaction with peers, colleagues, staff, trainees, etc. in an appropriate and professional manner.
• Conduct a variety of assessments and use data to write psychoeducational reports that provide appropriate and helpful recommendations for staff and students.

Abilities:

• Develop and implement prevention and intervention programs for students with a wide range of needs and disorders.
• Form partnerships between parents, educators, and the community.
• Define current problem areas, strengths, and needs (at the individual, group, and systems level) through assessment, and measure the effects of the decisions that result from the problem-solving process.
• Listen well, participate in discussions, convey information and work with others at an individual, group and systems level.
• Be aware of, appreciate, and work with individuals and groups with a variety of strengths and needs from a variety of racial, cultural, ethnic, experiential, and linguistic backgrounds.
• Understand the school and district as a system and work with individuals and groups to facilitate structure and policies that create and maintain schools as safe, caring and inviting places for members of the school community.
• Develop as professionals and practice in ways that meet all appropriate ethical, professional, and legal standards to enhance the quality of services, and to protect the rights of all parties.

WORK ENVIRONMENT / PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work environment and physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

• Exposure to weather: Occasionally
• Exposure to loud noises: Occasionally
• Working in confined spaces: Occasionally
• Working at heights: Rarely
• Working with hazardous materials: Never

Physical Demands

• Lifting/Carrying: Frequently
• Standing/Walking: Frequently
• Bending/Stooping: Occasionally
• Reaching: Frequently
• Pushing/Pulling: Occasionally
• Climbing: Rarely
• Fine motor skills: Continuously

Definitions:

• Never: The activity or condition does not occur.
• Rarely: The activity or condition occurs less than 10% of the time.
• Occasionally: The activity or condition occurs 10-30% of the time.
• Frequently: The activity or condition occurs 30-60% of the time.
• Continuously: The activity or condition occurs more than 60% of the time

THIS JOB SPECIFICATION SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED TO IMPLY THAT THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE THE EXCLUSIVE STANDARDS OF THE POSITION. INCUMBENTS MAY BE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW ANY OTHER INSTRUCTIONS, AND TO PERFORM ANY OTHER RELATED DUTIES AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY THEIR SUPERVISOR.

The Washoe County School District is committed to providing a safe and respectful learning and working environment for all students, staff, and visitors. The District prohibits bullying, cyber-bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, and/or discrimination based on an individuals actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, veterans or military status, marital status, disability or the presence of any sensory, physical or mental handicap in any of its educational programs/activities and employment, or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The District prohibits discrimination against any youth group listed in Title 36, as a patriotic society, (i.e. Boy Scouts of America) from access to public school facilities use.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Washoe County School District is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Washoe County School District is committed to providing all applicants and employees equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, military status, or other characteristics protected by applicable law. Here at Washoe County School District, we are a diverse group of people who honor the differences that drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our students and employees. We believe that through a culture of inclusivity, we have the power to reflect on the community we serve.