Who are School Psychologists?

What do School Psychologists Do?

The main goal of school psychologists is to promote an optimal learning environment for the success of all students. Their responsibilities may include:

• facilitating the delivery of evidence-based practices to meet the learning, behavior, and mental health needs of students aligned with the NASP Practice Model (Skalski, Minke, Rossen, Cowan, Kelly, Armistead, & Smith, 2015); 

• collaborating with families and other mental health and education professionals to ensure that all students receive an appropriate education; 

• leading a multitiered continuum of services ranging from prevention-oriented, population-based services to the provision of intensive supports to small groups or individual students (NASP, 2016); 

• drawing from a knowledge base in both psychology and education to promote educationally and psychologically healthy environments for all children and students (NASP, 2010a); and 

• supporting the compliance of schools and related agencies with federal, state, and local mandates. 

What is the NASP Practice Model for School Psychology?

The NASP Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services also known as the NASP Practice Model, represents NASP’s official policy regarding the delivery of school psychological services. It delineates what services can reasonably be expected from school psychologists across 10 domains of practice, and the general framework within which services should be provided.  The recommended ratio for schools implementing this comprehensive model is one school psychologist to 500–700 students. Implementation of the NASP model creates the capacity to make the best, most cost-effective use of school psychologists’ skills and expertise, which are an existing but sometimes underutilized resource in schools. The NASP model allows flexibility for agencies and professionals to develop policies and procedures that meet local needs, while also providing sufficient specificity to ensure appropriate, comprehensive service provision. To learn more see here