MS School Psychologist

Position Responsibilities

Middle School Psychologist Responsibilities

Social Emotional

• Collaborate and lead, when applicable, on crisis management across a range of scenarios from individual to whole school with school leadership and/or school counselors
• Provide individual, short term counseling to high risk students as needed.
• Lead prevention and awareness lessons, classes, seminars, etc in collaboration with middle school team members to support social-emotional learning and well-being.
• Collaborate with teachers, parents, counselors and administrators to support student social-emotional learning.
• Identify resources and coordinate services with other professionals and/or agencies to address students' behavioral, academic, or social needs.
• Participate in a Professional Learning Community with SAS Personal Academic Counselors.

Learning

• Aid in determination of eligibility for support services including administering and interpreting psychological-educational evaluations as needed for the purpose of identifying specific learning needs, including areas of strength and weakness that may be linked to targeted intervention strategies.
• Clearly communicate, both orally and in evaluation reports, assessment results to parents, students and faculty.
• Collaborate with teachers, parents, counselors and administrators to find effective strategies to support student learning, behavior, and mental health.
• Assist in the design and implementation of interventions linked to a wide variety of student needs.
• Case management of students who require in-direct services (i.e., accommodations).
• Lead and facilitate Student Support Meetings regularly to problem solve and develop personalized interventions to support student progress and learning.
• Become familiar with the SAS curricular benchmarks and academic expectations to evaluate student concerns in context of the learning environment and expectations.
• Collaborate with teachers and counselors to conduct functional behavior assessments and link to targeted behavioral supports for students.
• Understand and facilitate processes for requesting appropriate accommodations from the College Board or other external assessment organizations.
• Liaise with the admissions team to determine appropriate placement and services for applicants to SAS.
• Promote data-driven procedures and evidence based practices to evaluate effectiveness of programs and services.
• Lead progress monitoring of individual and division-wide student progress in academics and behavior.
• Generate, interpret and share useful student and school outcome (learning and behavior) data and evidence.
• Contribute to school-wide initiatives to analyze, improve, and streamline support services procedures. This includes leadership and participation in developing an MTSS process.
• Participate in a Professional Learning Community with SAS psychologists and/or learning support teachers.

Professional

• Adhere to standards of professional practice in the delivery of school psychological services.
• Uphold ethical standards in the absence of relevant laws and policies that govern practice as evidenced in the National Association of School Psychologists Practice Model.
• Participate in professional organizations and maintain credentials.
• Continually seek to improve professional knowledge and skill and remain current in best practice procedures in the field of school psychology.

Other Responsibilities

• Engage with the administration in a committed effort to improve one's own skills
• Openly support and abide by all school policies and procedures
• Model the 'Core Values' in your interactions with the school community
• Liaise with the Director of Student Support, taking on tasks as assigned, including all school goals

Personal

• Demonstrate commitment to personal continuous professional growth and development
• Continue involvement with students in various capacities
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships
• Represent SAS with students, parents, staff, and broader school community in a professional manner
• Exhibit a professional attitude toward criticism
• Recognize and strengthen personal performance through self analysis of actions, participating in professional development activities, exploring educational research, participating in professional organizations, and through formal renewal programs

Position Requirements & Qualifications

• Education Specialist (Ed.S), advanced certification, and/or Doctorate Degree as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, clinical psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) or equivalent preferred.
• State and/or national certification as a school psychologist (National School Psychology Certification Board - NCSP - or equivalent) and/or licensure in clinical social work preferred.
• Successful experience as a school psychologist, clinical psychologist or social worker, and/or mental health professional preferred.
• Minimum 3 years successful professional experience working in complex, high achieving public or private middle or high school(s) preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written English language skills

Working Requirements

• Sponsoring and/or coaching after-school activities are part of the responsibility of the professional educator. Therefore, faculty shall be available to coach and/or sponsor an athletic team or other extracurricular activity. Each faculty member is expected to do a minimum of one Category 1 activity or sport per year.
• Required attendance at school professional learning days
• Chaperone and participate in evening and/or weekend school activities each year, as assigned (including "Back-to-School Night").