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NCSP Stories
The year of the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) celebration
began on January 1, 2004 marking the 15th anniversary of the
credential. The NCSP Task Force efforts continue with the stated goals
to raise the visibility of the credential, seek ways to enhance the value
to it holders, and promote the expansion of the NCSP as a goal school
psychologists will strive to attain.
NASP and the NCSP Task Force believe that holders of the NCSP demonstrate
their commitment to the highest level of training, ethical practice, and
professional development in school psychology. By pursuing and maintaining
this credential, school psychologists demonstrate their willingness to
support these values.
But what does holding the credential of NCSP mean to individual school
psychologists? Perhaps the best way to attest to the value of this credential
is to hear directly from school psychologists who are NCSPs. I invite
you to read on to learn from some of your fellow school psychologists
who describe in their own words what the NCSP means to them.
Barbara Bole Williams, NCSP
Chair of the NCSP Task Force
If you are an NCSP and would
like to contribute a story for inclusion on this web page and/or in state
newsletters, please send it to cert@naspweb.org.
I was conferred the designation of NCSP on January 1, 1989, and I have
kept the credential consistently current. Although I am a retired
school psychologist, I still attend seminars, conferences and conventions
to earn credits. Likewise, the information that I learn helps me,
both professionally and personally. I am proud to be a Nationally Certified
School Psychologist, and I plan to keep the credential as long as I can.
Cecilia Bangloy-Ratum, NCSP
San Francisco, CA
It just so happens that the "Year of the NCSP" overlaps with "my first
year as an NCSP." It was during my tenth year in the field that I decided
to take the steps to achieve this credential. I can recall a mentor of
mine who, during my first few years as a school psychologist, encouraged
me to strive for this recognition. At the time; however, it was not only
the exam but the three years of experience that kept me from pursuing
that goal. Many years passed and I found the field of school psychology,
my colleagues, and my responsibilities continuing to change. Both my outlook
on the field and my role as a practitioner also changed, and my desire
to pursue a higher level of knowledge and achievement in the field increased.
With my coworkers' encouragement, I began the process of becoming a nationally
certified school psychologist. Finally, I could respond affirmatively
to our secretary's question, "Can I put those letters at the end of your
name now?" as she so eloquently put it.
Yes, being nationally certified has meant the addition of four letters
to my business card, seeing my name in the March 2004 issue of the Communiqué
, and hanging a framed certificate on my office wall. However, it
also means being in the company of some extremely talented and experienced
professionals, striving to make "best practice" everyday practice, and
remaining open and educated about our field's past, present, and future.
I am proud to be a nationally certified school psychologist, and I look
forward to many years of service and achievement while upholding NASP's
standards for professional practice.
Terri Tangeman, Ed.S., NCSP
Marietta, GA
I hold the NCSP and have had since its inception.
Although I can't claim any great honors, except for being president of
the Colorado Society of School Psychologists from July1999 to 2000, I
am currently doing something fairly unique. My employer is Jefferson
County Schools in Colorado; however, I am currently working in West Louthian,
Scotland as an educational psychologist through the Fulbright Teacher
Exchange program. Working in Scotland has been very interesting and educational.
They really value having their educational psychologists work together
to provide programs and research for their schools. Professional development
is also highly valued and funded, so I have had many wonderful opportunities
here.
Marilou H. Metcalf, NCSP
West Louthian, Scotland
As an NCSP, I feel it is my responsibility
to help the school design and implement prevention and intervention plans.
As a member of the Smyrna School District in Delaware, I take an active
role in the student support meetings for the schools that I serve. While
in these meetings, I hear common themes of concerns. At the Smyrna Kindergarten
Center, many teachers are concerned about the children gaining appropriate
social skills and learning how to follow the rhythm of a classroom. Based
on this input from the teachers, I have been doing twenty-minute social
skills lessons in each of the kindergarten classrooms once a week for
the past two and a half years. I follow the basic plans of the I Can
Problem Solve program by Myrna B. Shure (1992) and then embellish
the lessons to fit my style.
At Clayton Elementary School, where the students range from first to
fourth grade, I heard more specific academic concerns. Reading and mathematics
were frequently the focus of these concerns. It became evident during
our support meetings that the school had a number of interventions in
place for reading, but very few options for students struggling with mathematics.
Together with the school reading specialist and associate principal, we
applied for a grant through MBNA to create a Backpack Math program. We
were awarded the grant and recently compiled 120 various backpacks containing
individual math concepts at four different levels. The students check
out these backpacks, bring them home for a week, complete the activities
contained within them and then return the backpacks to school. The students,
teachers and parents have all seemed very excited about this program.
To me, being an NCSP means going beyond working with individual students
and individual teachers. I feel it is important to listen to the themes
of concerns and work with others as a team to generate ideas and implement
actions that address those concerns.
Rachael S. Rudinoff, NCSP
Smyrna (DE) School District
A few years ago, I wrote a grant for my school
parish, Plaquemines Parish, in Louisiana. My grant was not funded, although
other identical grants were and I was, understandably, frustrated. This
grant was to help identify at-risk students from the first to the fifth
grade in reading, math and written language in order to target early and
efficiently those students, who, with a little help, will not need special
education.
A few years later, I decided that the time had come to get this program
in place. It is called the Pre-Referral Assessment Model (PAM) or Screening
to Enhance Effective Placement (STEEP). Last school year, I proposed
this to my special education director and was able to get money from our
department and from the Region I Service Center. We started on a shoe-string
with one, rather large, school. We had a consultant from LSU in Baton
Rouge and I did all of the extra work. This year, we have expanded to
three schools, are doing the class-wide assessments four times a year
and have not only a consultant, but a full-time staff member who organizes
the class-wide assessments and manages the interventions along with the
pupil appraisal staff. Since we do not follow the PAM or the STEEP models
completely, we call our program the Plaquemines Screening Project (PSP).
Now that it is up and running, (It will expand to all schools next year.)
it looks like it will change the way we refer and evaluate students.
We now use data-driven interventions to refer students.
So, that's my story. Stay tuned for the next episode.
Susan Ratterree, NCSP
New Orleans, LA
I have been a strong advocate for promoting
the role of the school psychologist. I served for two years as facilitator
of our school's committee on character education. This committee has
been working on addressing issues of respect, responsibility, honesty,
perseverance, and other characteristics that help in the growth of children.
I believe that making a presence in the communities we work in is vitally
important. With the help of another teacher, we incepted a chess club
at our elementary school. As of right now, I am the sole advisor of our
chess club (with some parents who help out) I have about twenty students
who participate.
Professionally, I have been very interested in not only in study of relational
aggression and bullying with students in the intermediate grades, but
also in prevention. For the past four years, the school social worker
and I have put on presentations on issues of bullying and violence. This
year, we push into one sixth grade classroom a week to discuss these issues
in the context of other issues (bullying, getting ready for middle school,
diversity, perspective taking, etc.) The students have been very receptive
to our working with them, many seeming to look forward to our visit (perhaps
even if it is only due to having time away from a lesson!).
I have been active in sharing my knowledge and learning from my colleagues.
I have been both actively and passively involved on the NASP and IAPCHC
(Institute for Applied Psychometrics Catell Horn Carroll) listservs.
At this time, I also write a monthly opinion column for "Today's
School Psychologist". In addition, I have served as a cybermentor
to students from a university, where I corresponded weekly with a graduate
student about professional issues in school psychology.
John M. Garruto, NCSP
Frederick Leighton Elementary School
Oswego City (NY) School District
I was one of the dudes grandfathered in back
in the day, though I was still glad when my actual score was above the
"cut" score. It was a hard test after being out of school for some fifteen
years. Now here I am at the fifteenth birthday of NCSP proud to say I
have renewed my vows...err my credentials, and once again my numbers have
been above (well above) the required minimum.
I have served my state (of Delaware) as President and Legislative (GPR)
contact, and been convention chair for my state for more years than I
like to consider. I started a listserv for my state (DASPLink) and redesigned
the DASP Logo and Newsletter (DASPLink Too), and have remained an active
member of DASP's executive board.
In my home district I have worked hard to expand the role of the school
psychologist well beyond the guy with the test kit by learning as much
as I can about IDEA and Section 504 and the state and local policies and
procedures. Someone once asked me who the district IDEA "guru" was, and
though I never thought about it before, answered, "Well I guess yer
looking at 'em." I applied what I know about FBAs and BIPs and Manifestation
Hearings to the bus problems (November 2003 CQ), and have forged a link
between drivers and professional staff.
I don't consider myself all things to all takers, but if I don't know
an answer to a question I know I can rely on NASP for the answer. If
they don't have something written on the subject, the Leadership listservs
provide a wealth of information at your finger tips. Having the NCSP
is more important to me than a Ph.D. because conveys practicality and
mastery of the profession of school psychology with a willingness to continue
to grow and learn.
I am proud to be a School Psychologist and proud to be a Nationally Certified
School Psychologist.
Frank L. Miller, Ed.S., NCSP
Denton, MD
Nationally Certified School Psychologists have
a wide range of skills, including systems consultation. At the Cherokee
Health Systems, I work with a wide range of professionals to integrate
health care. Medical and mental health services are combined to increase
effectiveness and efficiency. School psychologists in the system (including
Brian Wilhoit, Ph.D., NCSP, and Karen Armstrong, Ed.S., NCSP) lead efforts
to coordinate clinic services with school and community services. They
also complete the behavioral and developmental portions of well-child
checkups, and design program evaluation studies. Who says you need a
test kit to be an NCSP? For more information, contact Bill at bill.allen@cherokeehealth.com.
William Allen, Ph.D., NCSP
Talbott, TN
Our district provides financial recognition
for the NCSP in the form of a "lane change" or a bump on our pay scale
that is equivalent to having the degree or credit in the next "lane"
on the grid. They even created a "Ph.D. Plus" lane so that those
already at the top of the grid could have the same boost in pay. This
is a career-long increase, not a one-time thing, and it amounts to about
$1000 bonus. Initially the district only recognized the national teaching
credential and we spent about three years working with our compatriots
in social work, speech, OT and PT to get recognition for all of our national
credentials. We give preference to NCSPs in hiring and encourage new (and
not so new) staff to get the NCSP.
Andrea Canter, Ph.D., NCSP
Minneapolis, MN