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School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators, Professional Development, Resources

Choosing a Contract Company to Fill School Psychology Vacancies: 5 Tips for District Administrators

As a Special Education Director, you know firsthand the importance of having qualified and experienced school psychologists on staff. So what do you do when you have vacancies for this critical...

School Psychologists, Insights, Professional Development, Downloadables, Tools, Resources

How to Up Your School Psych Game with Downloadable Resources and Self-Rating Tools

As school psychologists ourselves, we understand our role in supporting students, educators, and families is multifaceted yet vital for the overall success of a school community. Let’s be honest: The...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators, Professional Development

Building a Supportive Supervision Culture: Tips for Special Education Directors

As a special education director, creating a supportive supervision culture that fosters growth and development among your staff can feel daunting. However, building a positive work culture for your...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators, Professional Development

6 Benefits of Customized Training and Coaching for Your Team

As research and best practices are updated, what we know about effective education for students with special needs continues to evolve. That’s why it’s more important than ever to ensure that your...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators, Professional Development

6 Tips for Effectively Planning Professional Development and Making the Most of Your Professional Development Time

In the world of education, the significance of professional development cannot be overstated. As a Special Education Director, you shoulder the responsibility of overseeing effective professional...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

How to Maximize Onboarding for Special Education Team Members: The Importance of Training and Coaching

As a Special Education Director, you want your special education team to be fully staffed with team members who become rock stars in their schools and their work with students, families, and other...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Professional Development Planning For Special Education Directors: Challenges and Solutions

As a Special Education Director, your list of critical responsibilities is a long one—including leading, managing, and supporting your team in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. One of...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Building a Strong Special Education Team: Hiring, Training, and Professional Development

As a Special Education Director, fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students is at the heart of your responsibilities. A crucial aspect of achieving this goal is...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Simple ways to foster closer home-school collaboration

Home-school collaboration refers to school staff, students and families working together to improve students’ academic, social and emotional outcomes.

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

How school psychologists can support executive functioning in students

Executive functioning has been the subject of extensive research over the years. We now know more than we ever have about the ways our brains regulate, manage, and organize both complex and simple...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

What to know before assessing students for mental health needs

We recently addressed the why, the when, and the how of mental health assessments, as well as other evidence-based practices in school psychology. But school psychologists, administrators and other...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Why, when, and how should schools perform mental health assessments?

Even if we know mental health support is essential to the work we do with school kids, it can be hard for school principals and directors, and even psychologists, to gauge exactly when to do formal...

School Psychologists, Insights

School psychologists and ethics: What do you do when you get stuck?

We want to do right as school psychologists – but when it comes to ethical considerations, it is easy to find ourselves in hard-to-navigate places.

School Psychologists, Insights

How the project-based service model benefits school psychologists

The project-based service model is a new and innovative way to practice school psychology that is responsive to the changing needs of psychologists, students, and schools. In this model, school...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

Why virtual pocket coaching is a strong parent resource

There’s plenty of discussion about the support offered to kids through telehealth. But can parents receive support with virtual coaching, too? We’ve written before about the benefits of virtual...

School Psychologists, Insights

For school psychologists, there’s power in collaborative report-writing

It’s estimated that school psychologists spend more than 7 hours a week, on average, writing reports. And it’s a safe bet that most of them are looking for more effective and impactful ways to convey...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

There’s an easier way for psychs to have stress-free IEP meetings

Individualized education plans (IEPs) are essential for the success of students with special educational needs, but conveying them can be complicated for school psychologists.

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Special education and online learning: What’s the verdict?

Over the past two years, there’s been a considerable amount of concern about the impact of remote and online learning on students’ academic and social-emotional development. But what about students...

School Psychologists, Insights

Managing post-COVID anxiety in educational settings: Four thoughts for school psychologists

To make an incredible understatement, this has been quite the past two years for students and school staff.

School Psychologists, Insights

Every child has potential. School psychology services help them realize it.

Adults don’t go to work and leave their personal lives, problems and feelings at the door. Neither do kids at school.

News, School Psychologists, Administrators

Psyched Services Launches Learning Management System For School Psychologists

Online courses support continuing education and professional development.

News, School Psychologists, Insights

Recapping NASP’s Annual Conference: Lifelong Learning And Inspiring Interactions

Every year, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) holds its Annual Convention, an event that allows school psychologists from all over the country to gather for learning...

School Psychologists, Insights

A Therapist’s Perspective: The Best Learning Apps for School-Aged Children

Technology has enhanced communication pathways to teachers in school – and parents can support those efforts. Not only can teachers easily monitor their child’s grades and performance at school, but...

School Psychologists, Insights

Returning to School after COVID: Navigating Triennial Evaluations

Formal testing is not legally required for every triennial special education evaluation. So why have many districts automatically required it? Does it always help children? And what new...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Make Your IEP Team Happy with a Collaborative Assessment

Assessment Needs With the perpetual uncertainty of COVID-19, schools are scrambling to keep up with psychoeducational evaluations for special education. School psychologists want to know how to...

School Psychologists, Insights

Triennial Evaluation: Is Testing Always Needed?

By Psyched Services

School Psychologists, Insights

What is LRE?

Least restrictive environment isn’t just a box to fill out in IEP paperwork, and it isn’t just the law, either. It’s arguably the most meaningful conversation an IEP committee can have, yet it is...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

What is a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses?

By Maria Gregory and Marysa Enis What is a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses? A pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) is one approach for determining specific learning disabilities (SLD). As...

School Psychologists, Insights

In Search of a Strength-Based Approach to Special Education

Outdated and Stigmatizing Systems Here is the final report. It’s weakness-based. Let’s talk at length about what this child can’t do.

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Larry P. v. Riles, Part Two: Culturally Responsive Assessment

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory May 2019 School psychologists do a disservice to the field, and more importantly, to children when they fail to acknowledge the realities of how children develop and...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Is it a Learning Disability in Written Expression?

By Maria Gregory and Marysa Enis An Overlooked Disability It’s high tide in referral season and if you are reading this, chances are you know a student who is being assessed for special education....

School Psychologists, Insights

Assessment of Learning Disabilities: It’s Not What You Think

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory What Is the Best Method for Assessment of LD? Not Everyone Agrees. There are debates brewing about how to assess for learning disabilities, and unless you are a...

School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Inclusive Practices That Work: Tips for Paraprofessionals

Listen up, sped team – we’ve got a challenge for you. Okay yes, we know that challenges are a dime a dozen in your world, but hear us out. This one is different. This one is something you can...

Families, News, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

In the Wake of Fire: Caring for California’s Children

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory It’s been a traumatic week for California school children. There is no escaping the mood or hazy sky. There is no escaping the ash. At best, students can still go to...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

California Dyslexia Guidelines: Assessment and Intervention

In the first article of this series, we outlined research-based interventions that schools can use to help struggling readers while also following the California Dyslexia Guidelines. We left you with...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

California Dyslexia Guidelines: What Next?

As many one in five people — male and female alike — have the learning disorder dyslexia, says the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. The implications are staggering. Research shows that people...

School Psychologists, Insights

Mindfulness in Schools: An Evidenced-Based Approach to Social-Emotional Learning

If your staff is overwhelmed by the sheer number of behavior problems they face every day in the classroom, it might be time to give mindfulness a try. Not only is it affordable, but it is an...

School Psychologists, Insights

5 Best Practices for Bilingual Assessment

Compared with other states, California has the highest number of English Language Learners (ELLs) at 21 percent of the student population. As the number of bilingual students in our public school...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

ABA Techniques for Teaching Social Skills

It is vital for all kids — not just those with exceptional needs — to practice their developing social skills as they grow. While our children with exceptional needs may need more intensive support,...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

How To Use Visual Checklists

You can never overestimate the power of a plan and structure for all kids, but especially for those that have challenges with executive functioning.

School Psychologists, Insights

The Journey from Referral to Assessment

Let’s take the case of Susie, a fictional student, a third-grader who is still struggling to read fluently. She also has difficulty sitting still and paying attention for more than ten minutes while...

School Psychologists, Insights

Surfing the Digital Age Wave

In the swift current of today’s rapidly advancing technology, the ‘high-tech’ equipment of the not so distant past—just twenty or thirty years ago—seem ancient. Just a decade ago, psychologists were...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

5 Ways to Support Students with Executive Function Issues

We’ve been getting a lot of questions from teachers and Bay Area parents about how to help kids with executive functioning. Weaknesses in executive functioning are often found in both ADHD and...

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