Summer break is quickly coming to a close, and another school year is about to begin! Let’s discuss two tips to help you become a more prepared school psychologist.
I get a lot of questions when I talk to interns, psychs starting their first or second year, or even psychs beginning at a new school site or district. But most school psychs want to know this, “how do I introduce myself to an entire school?” and “how am I going to find time to write all these reports?” So let’s dive deeper into how you can achieve these goals! If you are interested in watching a replay of the live recording where I discuss these topics, please click here.
How do I introduce myself to the entire school staff?
There are so many different ways for you to do this. The most important thing to remember is to choose the way that is most comfortable for you!
- If you are walking into a brand new school and have access to the previous school psych, ask their opinion about the best way to introduce yourself.
- Write a physical letter stating your name, where you can be found on campus, what days you will be on-site, and the best way to contact you. Bonus tip: teachers have shared that physical letters are more personable than emails!
- You can create a video introduction. It’s so easy to record yourself nowadays, whether it’s with a zoom recording or you can use free websites such as loom.com. Be sure to include who you are and briefly describe what a school psychologist does. To connect with others, you can even share three fun facts about yourself (your favorite snacks, what you did over the summer, etc.).
- Share with your administrator what you do as well! Let them know how you can contribute to your school site and what you’re passionate about.
Scheduled Report Writing
Anyone hanging out with me for a while knows that I love a good calendar and a good schedule. Report writing for so many school psychologists is what we procrastinate on most. It’s the thing we’re doing the night before the meeting and what we are spending time on our weekend doing, right? Let’s make this our goal: No more waiting until the last minute to write our reports!
- We can access our IEP software at the beginning of the year, run our caseload, and look at all of our re-evaluations for the year. Meet with your case managers and start to calendar tentative dates for each meeting. Here’s the key to success: add report writing time to your calendar a week before each meeting.
- Ideally, spend a little time working on reports every day or every week. For example, take 10 minutes to write up that classroom observation.
- When you administer a test and score it, enter the scores into the report right away.
- For those in middle or high school, pick one period for your report writing time. You can always find something to work on, such as a file review or scoring protocol, because that will be a step in the report writing process. One of the most amazing feelings is when you open up a report and realize you have already completed parts of it. It makes your day.
- We want more harmony in our world, so try it out. Enter those scores into your report right away. Type up that observation when you get back to your office. Try to schedule in report writing every day. Try it and see what that looks like.
The Newer School Psych is now called The Prepared School Psychologist (PSP). The name has changed to focus more on helping school psychs feel prepared to work effectively at their school sites. By following these two bonus tips, you are well on your way to becoming a prepared school psychologist!
Are you interested in receiving 25 more tips from seasoned school psychologists to help you feel more prepared? One new tip to use immediately in your practice will release each day, Monday through Friday, starting July 25th and ending August 26th! And the best part; these tips will be available all year long for you to access and refer back to!
By becoming a Prepared School Psychologist member, you will also gain access to hundreds of resources, test templates, hundreds of hours of replays from conversations with school psychologists, exclusive training, and opportunities to have consultation meetings with Jenny Ponzuric; and much more! So click on the link below, begin your journey as a prepared school psychologist, and make this your best school year yet!
