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Nov. 8-12 is National School Psychology Week

Nov. 4, 2021

 

let's get in gear national school psychology week banner

 

During the week of Nov. 8-12, schools throughout the United States will celebrate National School Psychology Week to highlight the important work school psychologists and other educators do to help all students thrive.

 

This year's theme is "Let’s Get in GEAR." The theme’s acronym provides a challenge to grow both personally and professionally, to engage in best practices, to advocate for children’s access to mental health and learning supports, and to rise with resilience and renewal despite the challenges of the past.

 

Through getting in gear and working together with stakeholders, our school psychologists create positive synergy that builds and becomes greater than any single effort. Our school psychologists serve as team members of school improvement, Student Support Services PLTs, Intervention Teams, and special education. School psychologists partner with school communities to provide data-based problem solving and intervention within a multi-tiered system of support, consultations to teachers and families, and evaluations of students for special education. 

 

Our WCPSS School Psychology Department is home to 94 full-time school-based psychologists, 13 preschool psychologists, 7 part-time school psychologists, and 3 full-time interns. We pride our service delivery in a model of 1 school psychologist to 2 schools and we have a student to school psychologist ratio of approximately 1 school psychologist to 1760 students. 

 

Our school psychologists have a long history of being recognized as excellent practitioners and leaders in the field. In the last five years, WCPSS is home to the:

  • 2022 North Carolina School Psychology Association President, Brianna Bradsher
  • 2021 North Carolina School Psychology Association President, Jackie Zins
  • 2020 NCSPA State Practitioner of the Year, Dr. Kristen Lewis
  • 2019 National School Psychologist of the Year, Leigh Kokenes
  • 2019 NCSPA State Practitioner of the Year, Dr. Jennie Hyde
  • 2018 North Carolina School Psychology Association President, Heather Lynch Boling
  • 2017 NCSPA State Practitioner of the Year, Leigh Kokenes

We are grateful to our school psychologists who “get in gear” daily to support the behavioral health and academic needs of ALL students in WCPSS. We are grateful for our school psychologists and are proud to honor them during National School Psychology Week.