CCS School Psychologists in the News!
CCS Podcast
Dr. Danita Thornton, CCS School Psychologist Supervisor, participated in a discussion with CCS leaders regarding mental health and the impact it can have on students and staff. Dr. Thornton shared the importance of engaging in restorative practices and self-care.
National School Psychology Week
On November 8th, 2023 during the Columbus City Schools Board of Education meeting, the district celebrated National School Psychology Week. CCS school psychologists Jill Smith and Marci Kiper accepted the recognition and emphasized the vital role they play in creating a supportive educational environment. Supervisor Robyn Floyd and the Executive Director Mikki Nelson of Student Support Services were also in attendance. This event highlighted the dedication of school psychologists and underscored their essential contribution to enriching the overall educational experience within Columbus City Schools. Invited but not able to attend the recognition was Margaret Price.
Shout Out to Dr. Bremer in The CCS Core Report
News and information for Columbus City Schools and staff.
Helping CCS Students Through Research
Dr. Rhodesia McMillian presented at Oxford Education Research Symposium at St. Hilda's College, University of Oxford (Oxford, England) in March, 2023. The title of her presentation is Discursive Violence Analysis: An Epistemological Shift Towards Operationalizing Inequities in Education. Dr. McMillian works as a .25 CCS school psychologist and a full-time assistant professor at The Ohio State University in the Department of Educational Studies.
In addition to presenting at the University of Oxford, Dr. McMillian has been awarded a 5.2 million, five-year grant to help improve mental health services within CCS! We're so proud of Dr. McMillian and her amazing contributions to the field of education both as a practitioner and researcher! CCS is VERY lucky to have you!! For information on the grant go to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education website.
At Devonshire Elementary School, young girls are learning the value of academics and empowerment when it comes to self-esteem and leadership. The goal is to help these students become more confident and assertive.
The Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) program at Devonshire equips young girls with the skills to lead confidently and explore conversations to help them navigate their relationships, experiences, and decisions.
"ROX is about empowering girls to live strong, independent, and courageous lives," said Sara Timms, Columbus City School psychologist.
Take the typical challenges young girls face and add moving to a new country with little or no language fluency. These are the challenges confronted by girls at Columbus Global Academy (CGA), but they aren’t doing it alone. School Psychologist Jessica Irwin and School Counselor Angela M. Smith are working hard to equip CGA girls with the skills needed to navigate these challenges. They are trained and licensed facilitators for Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX).
ROX is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create generations of confident girls who control their own relationships, experiences, decisions, and futures. They train and license school counselors, social workers, and licensed educators to deliver evidence-based programs to girls in grades 5-12 in their schools and community organizations.
“Margaret Price has a fierce passion when it comes to advocating for English as a Second Language (ESL) students and their families,” said John Cook, CCS School Psychologist Supervisor.
Price, who is bilingual in Spanish and English, has practiced school psychology for the last 27 years, including the last eight years in CCS. She believes when assessing ESL students, it’s important to use multiple evaluations, and just because there may be a language barrier with the student that doesn’t necessarily mean there is a disability.
Elementary students at Maize Elementary are learning to recognize and manage their emotions, thoughts, and actions through the practice of mindfulness. In terms of curriculum, mindfulness falls under the umbrella of Social-emotional learning (SEL). School Psychologist, April Kantz, is leading the SEL program at Maize Elementary School.
Desiree Nutt, CCS School Psychologist, has been assigned to only one school this year. Being full-time in one building allows Desiree the time needed to showcase the expertise that school psychologists have in areas beyond that of special education evaluations. The goal of the CCS School Psychology Department is to eventually have a full-time school psychologist assigned to every elementary school building in the district in order to allow them the time needed to proactively implement programs that support all students and staff. For more information see read the article and check out Desiree's PowerPoint
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!
The School Psychology Department and the Speech-Language Department were recognized for their collaborative effort to help nonverbal students communicate through the distribution of 130 iPads. Teachers were also provided free training on how to use Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) app that helps the students communicate their needs.
The school psychology department was fortunate to receive funding to purchase all new iPads to administer testing. As a result, there were 150 gently used iPads that were turned in by the school psychologists. These iPads were factory reset and distributed to 50 MD Intervention Specialists across the district. These teachers recently completed a 1.5 day training on the Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) that allows them to download an app to the iPad that assists with helping nonverbal students communicate in their classroom. This project was in joint collaboration with Karen Carver and the Speech-Language Department.
Pictured in the above photos are Ms. Moore at Northland High School, Ms. Settles at Spanish Immersion, and Ms. Anderson at Colerain Elementary. They are just 3 of the 50 very happy teachers to receive several iPads to help their students