Finding the Thyme: school psych

Showing posts with label school psych. Show all posts

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Comic Challenge

I was nominated by a fellow member of CASP to complete the Comic Challenge. The Comic Challenge aims to to raise awareness and use humor to begin conversations surrounding mental health and decrease stigma. I nominated CASP's President, Tom; a long-time friend and school psychologist, Anna; and SkoolPsychMo of the Burgeoning School Psychologist!

Until next thyme,
Erika

P.S. Is this considered a "vlog"?

P.P.S. I haven't posted in far too long. Perhaps I'll be better at it this school year....

Sunday, April 20, 2014

RIP April Vacation

I have no words knowing tomorrow is Monday and I will no longer be on vacation.

No more late nights, attending happy hour on a Wednesday, or sleeping until the late hours of the morning. Only 45 more school days until summer!

...wait, that's a full initial timeline. Who shall I refer tomorrow!?

Until next thyme,
Erika

Friday, March 7, 2014

The Lighthouse Award

My first blog post was way back in June 2010. I had just graduated from Saint Michael's and was looking for a way to chronicle post-grad life. I was going to graduate school for school psychologist, but also had a passion for food. In my early posts I tried to morph my adventures in school psychology with those in the kitchen. Posts highlighting my experiences in the profession were mixed with various recipes and restaurants I tried. I was really trying to use the kitchen as my self-care outlet. However, as grad school wore on, my recipe posts became far and few between. The only constant remained my work as a school psychologist.

After some spring cleaning in the fall to make my blog focus strictly school psychology, I have "officially" published 60 posts (61 if you count this!). I have plenty in my drafts that remain unfinished, but I hope to publish one day (re: when I have time). Posts have focused on the ups and downs in my journey as a student learning to be a school psychologist and my feelings of "fake it 'til you make it" as I struggled through my first year as an elementary school psychologist. If for nothing else, my blog has been an outlet to vent my feelings on education and the ridiculousness that can be school psychology; the positives and negatives. It is an added bonus to know that people actually read it! I'm amazed, honored, flattered, and humbled to report that I have 28,279 all time page views! Are you kidding?!

My top posts include:

Praxis Exam for School Psychologists (2, 458 views)
Importance of Recess (895 views)
Book Review: School Psychologists Survival Guide (745 views)

The reason for my reflection and nostalgia is because I have been nominated for the Lighthouse Award by The Burgeoning School Psychologist. @SkoolPsychMo was one of my first blogger/Twitter friends. She has "watched" (aka read) my journey. She has been a supporter, advocate, and confidant. I LOVE when I see her posts come through in my email, so I can be sure to read about her adventures. @SkoolPsychMo always helps to build me up when I am feeling my lowest. This nomination came at the perfect time as I, once again, am feeling defeat in this first year. @SkoolPsychMo described me as: "a juggernaut disguised as a burgeoning school psychologist. She's incredibly knowledgeable, capable and awesome!" Thanks for that pick-me-up!!

The rules of the nomination are:

Display the Award certificate on your blog.
Write a post and link back to the blogger that nominated you.
Inform your nominees of their award nominations
Share three ways that you like to help other people.
There is no limit to the number of people that you can nominate.
HAVE FUN!

Three ways that I like to help aspiring and veteran school psychologists include:

Sharing my successes and downfalls in order to demonstrate that while we are "all-knowing" we don't know all. I have to keep this in the forefront of my mind constantly in order to get through the year/month/week/day/meeting. We have a lot of knowledge in our brains to share, BUT we can also learn more and empower others to learn along with us.
I like to post about things people want to know or need. We all run into that time or case when we need to put our finger on something to support those in our building(s). I work to compile resources for others whenever I have run into a case that I do some research. I hope that in compiling these lists, I take some burden off other school psychs looking for information on the exact same topic. My lists are not always perfect, but they are a starting point.
Piggybacking on reason 2, I love connecting with other school psychs on the web; they are my family who actually get what I do! I can process with my co-workers, fiance, and family about the major struggs I encounter on the job. Just like with TEVAL observations, we need someone who gets what we do in order to problem-solve and regain some sanity.

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for! Many of my favorite school psych blogs have already been nominated by @SkoolPsychMo, so I am going to highlight those that did not make her list that I think are awesome resources. My nominations are:

Notes from a School Psychologist: Dr. Branstetter was the first blog I read about school psychology. I loved the idea of blogging about my travels in order to connect with others in the biz. She is an incredible school psychologist and is not afraid to wave her nerd flag! (@StudentsGrow)

Psyched About School: Sarah is a colleague in CT and an amazing school psychologist! She has lots of posts about resources available for families in CT, which I love! In person, she is a funny and dedicated member of the profession, and is always looking for a way to advocate for students. A must follow for those in CT (@PsychdAbtSchool)

The Wright Psych: Jason is an excellent resource of all things school psych and special education. His site is chock full of resources ranging from legal issues to getting help for your child to RtI. Be sure to check him out on Twitter (@TheSchoolPsych).

Rationales, not rules: This blog is by Lauren, an intern and third year student at Tufts. I love reading her blog as it keeps me focused on best practices. She has some great posts about advocacy, interventions, and interesting research. Be sure to follow her on Twitter for some great articles (@LaurenRosenbaum).

Elementary School Counseling: I know this is not a school psych blog, but I really love following school counselor pages as they have some GREAT ideas for groups and individual counseling. Marissa shares product reviews, intervention materials, lesson plans, and videos. Be sure to check out her page and other school counselor blogs! (@ESCorg)

TGIF!

I don't know about you, but this week has been crazy busy! I have had meetings, testing, consults, phone calls, emails, and crises out to the wazoo! Not to mention all that other "stuff" I/we do as the building school psychologist. I also developed a cold Thursday of this week; fourth one of the year. Just that little way for the school psych gods to let me know they are still watching and scheming to make this the toughest first year on record!

Anyway, I came across two memes this morning and I couldn't help but share. They exemplify how I am feeling as of late and made me smile knowing that I am not the only feeling like a looney bird!

Shared by School Psychology Tools

Shared by Sincerely, School Psychologist

Happy ~~report writing~~ weekend!

Until next thyme,

Erika

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Supporting Students in Grief: Elementary School

It is with a heavy heart that I compiled a list of resources for working with students dealing with loss. My school community has experienced two losses in a very short amount of time. As we prepared for the return of two students following the loss of a parent, I was asked to compile resources to share with the staff and others who needed guidance. Additionally, we have a few students who we consider at-risk as they have experienced a significant loss recently and would need additional support.

Thankfully, I had the resources of the National Association of School Psychologists at my fingertips. It is an incredible resource and worth every penny spent on a membership. They have handouts, position statements, and information available on a wide range of topics at the click of the mouse.

New York Life has developed resources for parents and educators working with children dealing with loss. I provided these to my administrator as well.

I hope that some of these resources are helpful in the case that you also have to support students during a time of loss and grief.

Until next thyme,

Erika

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

How I Feel About Snow Days.

Until next thyme,

Erika

Monday, February 3, 2014

#CTedchat

This year I was welcomed to the Connecticut Association of School Psychologist (CASP) Executive Board as a Co-Chair of the Social Media Ad-Hoc Committee. As part of this position I work alongside a fellow school psychologist to help manage our social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. As part of the upcoming issue of "The Connecticut School Psychologist" I wrote a blurb about one of the newest education Twitter chats: #CTedchat.

As professionals we are always working to expand our skill set and engage in much needed professional development. Since beginning graduate school I have developed a large group of educator professionals with whom I have corresponded through blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. Their support and expertise helped to expand my understanding of school psychology and education beyond the experiences I had in my textbooks and classes. I was able to share thoughts, ideas, tips, and tricks with the members of my own professional learning network (PLN) and learn from their daily experiences as a school psychologist.

In the ever-growing world of social media there are a variety of ways to develop and get involved in your own PLN. One specific way to expand your PLN is through Twitter chats. A Twitter chat is when a group of individuals come together online to engage in meaningful discussions on a specific topic or interest area. These chats are flagged using hashtags, which is recognized on Twitter by using the pound key (#). Moderators help to guide the discussion during the hour long chat in order to encourage participation and learning. Questions and answers are also identifiable by using a “Q1, A1” format. A steady stream of dialogue, discussion, and learning happens, which are all linked together using the specified hashtag.

Given the increasing popularity and convenience of Twitter chats, a new education-based chat has emerged with a focus on bringing together educators in Connecticut: #ctedchat. Conversations take place on Thursday nights from 8:00-9:00 and are co-moderated by Tom Brant (@TomBrant) and Charles Dumais (@CharlesDumais). Tom Brant is a school psychologist at Newtown High School and President of CASP. Charles Dumais is the current Newtown High School principal and incoming Region 5 Superintendent as of March 1, 2014. Members of the education community are encouraged to guest moderate a chat in their area of expertise. Invited Twitter chat participants range from school psychologists, principals, and teachers to students, their parents, and others interested in discussing education.

The inaugural #ctedchat took place on December 12, 2013 with the focus question of “what is the appropriate amount of pressure for students?” Since the inaugural chat topics have included student leadership, final exams, school vacations, school climate and global education. Over the next two #ctedchat sessions, participants will cover social-emotional learning and teacher evaluations. Both of these are hot topics in education. We hope to see you there!

To join the conversation, check out this how-to guide created by Thomas Murray (@ThomasCMurray), the co-founder of #edtechchat and the Director of Technology and Cybereducation in the Quakertown Schools. For more information on other education Twitter chats, check out the following links: weekly Twitter chat and 13 Twitter Chats Every Educator Should Check Out.

I hope to see you there for conversation and professional development! See you Thursdays at 8 EST!

Until next thyme,

Erika

Monday, January 20, 2014

Bibliotherapy

As a first year school psychologist I had a lot to prep over the summer in order to be ready to go for the first day of school. (see "First Year Office").

One area I found that needed "beefing up" was my library, especially because my school's focus (or student learning objective 1 aka SLO 1) for teacher evaluations was on improving reading comprehension. I needed to find a way, as a school psychologist, to improve the skill areas needed for reading comprehension, such as answering "What" questions, making predictions, and understanding character thoughts and feelings. In order to address student needs based on their IEPs AND find a way to improve reading comprehension with a small cohort of students, I decided to use bibiliotherapy as my vehicle.

However, I had zero funds to develop a library of books to target the varying grade levels and skills levels of this cohort of students. I spent time perusing the district elementary school's library catalogs and local libraries to find the books I needed. However, options were limited. It was also difficult to track down a book and have to complete a lesson by its due date. I found myself renewing books constantly in an attempt to squeeze lessons in. Don't get me started on finding books that are tailored for specific populations, such as "Whole Body Listening Larry!"

Then, as though a message from the school psych gods, I received an email for a grant application offered in my district. I used this as an opportunity to get what I needed for my students. I applied for $350 to purchase materials in order to improve students social-emotional competencies using text. Within my proposal I outlined my spending for half of the monies I was asking for. I figured that I should ask for more than I needed for immediate use in order to support any areas that pop up during the school year.

Right before Christmas break, I learned I had been awarded money for my grant proposal! And, to my surprise, I was awarded my amount in full: all $350! In preparation for this moment I had begun hoarding book titles on a Pinterest board. I also found the blog Books that Heal Kids to be extremely helpful. She has great descriptions of the books and what she likes about them. I spent some time picking and choosing the ones I was most interested in and that were most relevant to my students. I also strove to link books to our Mood Meter and other RULER anchors.

Needless to say, I had such a fun time loading up my Amazon cart! Before I knew it I was close to my $350! I decided to save items for another purchase order if I didn't need them immediately, or if I knew our school library had them. I spent approximately $250 and have a few other books to buy on specialized sites, like www. socialthinking.com.

So, without further ado, I present my new bibliotherapeutic library!

Crankenstein (Berger, Samantha)

Double Dip Feelings: Stories to Help Kids Understand Emotions (Cain, Barbara)

This Morning Sam Went to Mars: The Book About Paying Attention (Carlson, Nancy)

My Mouth is a Volcano (Cook, Julia)
My Mouth is a Volcano: Activity and Idea Book

Personal Space Camp (Cook, Julia)
Personal Space Camp: Activity and Idea Book

Soda Pop Head (Cook, Julia)
Soda Pop Head: Activity and Idea Book

Its Hard to Be a Verb! (Cook, Julia)
Its Hard to Be a Verb: Activity and Idea Book

Making Friends is an Art (Cook, Julia)

Teamwork Isn't My Thing, and I Don't Like to Share! (Cook, Julia)

Wilma Jean and the Worry Machine (Cook, Julia)

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain! (Deak, Joann)

Llama Llama and the Bully Goat (Dewdney, Anna)

Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets (Esham, Barbara)

How Do You Doodle (Gravel, Elise)

Zach Gets Frustrated (Mulcahy, William)
Zach Apologizes (Mulcahy, William)

The Rainbow Book (Ohrt, Kelly)

Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy (Sornson, Bob)

Happy (Van Hout, Mies)

The Grouchies (Wagenbach, Kelly)

Kindergators: Hands Off, Harry! (Wells, Rosemary)

Until next thyme,

Erika

Thursday, January 9, 2014

First Year Reflection

My poor blog has been neglected for far too long. As has my Twitter. As has my personal life. As has my gym membership. Le sigh.

I had imagined that I would be blogging up a storm in my first year. Passing on my words of wisdom if you will. Well that didn’t happen the way I planned.

The truth is I felt as though I had no words of wisdom to pass onto you. I was (and still am) treading water so I don’t drown (completely). My first year has been one obstacle after another and I have barely been able to keep it together. I have cried (and laughed, I promise!). I have had long days and longer nights. I dream about kids and the mountains of paperwork and the kids I don’t get to that I should. I worry about going to “PPT jail” for mistakes I may or may not have made. This learning curve was far steeper than I ever imagined it would or could be. Overtime, I have learned to be okay with that. I like learning; I really do. But…if I could have had a little bit more time to settle into my school and role, I would have been far happier and confident. Don’t you wish there was a pause button on life!

At the end of this past summer I was interviewed by my alma mater about my experience in the program and how it prepared me for my first job. I had forgotten about the interview until the photographer emailed me to set up a chance to get some “action shots.” Well, seeing as I was 2 hours away from Boston, we agreed to meet on an upcoming visit home and take photos outside a local school. After this encounter I, again, forgot about the article until one day a friend texted me a photo of myself on a mailer for my program. I immediately emailed the women who had contacted me from the start and managed to get my hands on the article and additional mailers I was featured on (scroll approximately halfway down in the link).

As I read the article, I couldn’t help but wonder who the young woman was that was describing her experience. It sure wasn’t me. She was far too confident. Far too sure of herself. It couldn’t have been me.

Well, it was. Before I had any real experience, I thought I could conquer the world. I had it all under control and I was going to make a difference! Little did I know that my daily life would be paperwork, meetings, and little interactions with students. I felt sad that my “dreams” of what a school psychologist did were slipping away.

Rest assured, I KNOW I am all of those things. I KNOW I can make a difference and do every day. You forget this until you have someone remind you of it or you have a success story to share. There is always a challenge, always copies to make, always a crisis to handle. There are pressures and stressors that I never imagined, including teacher evaluations, which are an added weight to my already heavy load. (I have trouble understanding how I can be evaluated on my work with children when I rarely get to work with children. But that is a conversation for another day!).

This post is not meant to be a sad and depressing one, but rather a vulnerable account of a reality check I have had this year (well, I guess it is kind of sad/depressing #debbiedowner). Things are not always the way we imagine them. We are dealt a deck of cards and we need to figure out how to best organize and triage and service needs. I want to be in the classrooms more. I want to work with kids far more often than I am. However, that is not my first year. I can only do the best that I can do. I am setting too high of expectations for anyone to attain so early in their career (or maybe ever!). I cannot be my version of the perfect school psychologist, but I can be someone else’s version. Instead, I will be my “best self each and every day” (taken directly from our school pledge!). This year is a learning year; to figure out the moving parts. Next year I will conquer something different and so on for years to come.

I want this post to serve as a reminder for all of us, the newbies and the seasoned professionals, that we are always learning and adapting. We must push ourselves every day, but understand that we can only do so much. At times (or most times) our job feels like it is an impossible task for one individual. In response, I challenge you to advocate for what you need, seek supervision, and remember your best you! I have to remind myself this daily, especially the part about asking for help J. I really love having the backing of all my school psychs from near and far to be supportive of and support me. I can now see that I retreated when I needed them most. I hope you all can forgive me…pretty please!

Now that I've dragged you down, time to pump you up!