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School psychologists are key to student success
If there's one thing Ina Nyko would like you to know about school psychologists, it's that they do a lot more than just evaluate students.
School psychologists work with both regular education and special education students in individual and group sessions to improve behavior and study habits. In other words, they can be the difference in whether certain students succeed or fail. "If a kid is not doing well, we meet with the student to find out, Why is that?" says Nyko, school psychologist at Broughton and Enloe high schools. "What's going on in their world? Is there some kind of home or personal issue that is preoccupying them? What about mental health needs?"
National School Psychology Week runs today through Friday. It's as good a time as any to be reminded of the key role psychologists play in WCPSS and in school districts everywhere.
There are about 95 full- and part-time psychologists in WCPSS. It works out to one psychologist for every two or three schools. Some are specialists, working with students with autism, say, or those who have suffered serious brain injuries.
Psychologists play a hands-on role with students. At Broughton, for example, Nyko works with groups of students who are struggling with organization and time management. After four to six weeks, the students usually are back on the right track. Psychologists like Nyko even go so far as to work with teachers to help students catch up on work they missed or even make up tests or reports.
She says appropriate behaviors are as or even more important than regular school attendance to a child's success. Remove stumbling blocks such as anxiety and anger, and you'll have a much happier and more successful student.
"Sometimes it's also a matter of just giving them the confidence, a little push, to try some of those skills," Nyko says.