SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST

Under the direction of the director, Special Education and Pupil Services , the school psychologist is responsible for provision of psychological techniques to enhance teaching and learning. The school psychologist supports and implements policies and administrative regulations of the Board of Trustees/ Superintendent as they relate to the implementation of school site and district wide school psychologist services. Major Duties and Responsibilities: • Provides staff development in effectively implementing behavioral plans to support teachers with full inclusion students. Provides early identification of students’ potential difficulties by designing programs to help identify students with special needs and address those needs before students experience costly failures. • Provides teacher training and support for including participation in school-site Student Study Teams to mobilize classroom resources and develop early intervention strategies to assist students. • Assesses and trains staff in assessing the cognitive abilities, academic performance, emotional functioning, sensory-motor functioning, interpersonal competence and adaptive behavior of individual students. • Trains people in and helps develop appropriate educational and/or mental health care interventions and services for students with special needs based upon interpretation of assessment data. • Makes recommendations for Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives and special education services and placement. Facilitates referrals and works collaboratively with County Mental Health, AB 2726 and other community agencies such as Regional Center, Child Protective Services, Department of Social Services, California Children’s Services. • Provides psychological counseling and teacher training for assisting full inclusion of an individual student or a group of students to help them function more effectively in school and to overcome the impact of emotional or behavior difficulties that interfere with school performance. • Provides psychological interventions and consultation to staff and students in response to crisis events such as natural disasters, death of a classmate or staff member, and personal family tragedies. • Provides professional development to teachers and other staff to promote improved classroom management, better instructional approaches, and increased understanding of the educational and mental health needs of all students. • Provides parent education in areas such as child development, psychological adjustment, communication, study techniques, behavior management, understanding the unique needs of students with disabilities, and intervention activities. • Other services/ duties as assigned.