School Psychologist

School Psychologists perform a comprehensive set of support services for students who have, are suspected of having, or who may develop disabilities that adversely impact school performance. Recognizing that, it is their mission to; work cooperatively with families, schools, and communities; foster an educational climate that is conducive to the growth and development of all children, placing an emphasis on prevention as well as remediation; address the social, emotional, academic, and other educational needs of students whenever those needs interfere with student’s ability to benefit from general or specific education programs.

Duties

Assist district personnel in developing, implementing and interpreting the results of school-wide, universal screening procedures.

Identify which students require short-term consultation or individualized support; targeted, supplemental instruction; intensive intervention; or referral for a comprehensive case study evaluation using universal screening data.

Participate as members of child-focused problem-solving teams, IEP teams and other building-based committees at the request of district administrators.

Consult and collaborate with parents, school personnel and outside agency personnel regarding academic, mental health, social or behavioral concerns associated with individual children.

Perform consultations which may include; analysis of intervention needs, functional behavioral assessment, behavior intervention planning, direct service to students paired with progress monitoring and reporting of results.

Assist district personnel in the development, implementation and monitoring of a range of student support services.

Design, implement and coordinate comprehensive evaluations to identify students with severe learning needs in collaboration with parents and other related services personnel.

Make recommendations of services to support students with severe learning needs using evaluation feedback.

Implement assessment methods as part of a multi disciplinary team using components relating to the assessment of cognitive abilities, academic performance, learning strengths, learning needs, processing skills, social-emotional status, observation of classroom performance, observation of the learning environment, review of work products, learning strategy use, attention to task, child interview, parent interview, career or transition interests, adaptive behavior and determining the functional or communicative intent of behavior.

Prepare a written report of psychological assessment results, including a statement specifying whether or not the characteristics of each child are consistent with eligibility criteria, a rationale for eligibility or non-eligibility for students suspected of having a learning impairment, including reason for referral, current educational functioning, child interview, observations of the learning environment, behavioral observations, review of previous test results, indication of current evaluation instruments, report of current test results, discussion and recommendations.

Interpret psychological evaluation results to parents, school staff and others as needed.

Refer to appropriate personnel for further evaluation if difficulties are seen in other areas of development such as motor development or speech and language development.

Attend and participate in eligibility conferences, or IEP meetings convened for the purpose of determining eligibility for special education services and to support the provision of appropriate special education programming, goals and objectives.

Make recommendations that guide IEP teams in developing effective educational interventions and individualized programming decisions.

• Attend and participate in IEP conferences as necessary.
• Maintain case records on all referred students.

Participate in activities designed to continue, enhance and improve professional training and skills and to help ensure quality service provision.

Serve on committees, attend staff meetings, attend interagency meetings, and perform other duties as requested by the Executive Director.

Consult and collaborate with parents, school personnel and outside agency personnel regarding mental health, behavioral and educational concerns of general and special education students.

Provide skill enhancement activities such as in-service training, parent counseling and parent education to school personnel, parents and others in the community as needed.

Engage in individual or group counseling designed to enhance the mental health, behavior, social competency and/or academic status of children.

Participate in the peer consultation/mentoring process for the purpose of ensuring effective staff performance.

Report suspected child abuse and neglect cases as required by state statute and district policy. Assist district personnel to understand their responsibility in this area.

• Maintain appropriate records of work activities.
• Review and follow all Tri-County Policies and Procedures.
• Report incidents of suspected fraud or concerns about grossly inappropriate behavior to the Executive Director or Assistant Directors.
• Perform other duties as directed.

Qualifications

Hold an IL Professional Educator License (PEL) with a School Support Personnel Endorsement in School Psychologist.

Hold a Masters, Specialist, or Doctoral Degree in Psychology or Educational Psychology.

Must have completed at least one school year of full-time supervised experience in the delivery of school psychological services.

Must have valid driver’s license and access to a reliable, insured vehicle to drive between service provision locations in various member districts.

Must be familiar with the use of computers including but not limited to electronic mail, the Internet, word processing, and electronic spreadsheets.

Establish and maintain effective and courteous working relationships with those contacted in the course of work (students, parents, and staff).

• Ability to understand and follow basic oral and written instructions.
• Ability to communicate to students, parents and staff in an acceptable/courteous manner.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 20 lbs.
• Ability to push and pull up to 10 lbs.