Transcript TRAINING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: ADAPTING TO A CHANGING WORLD ANNUAL MEETING TRAINERS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS FEBRUARY, 2015 George M.

TRAINING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
ADAPTING TO A CHANGING WORLD
ANNUAL MEETING
TRAINERS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
FEBRUARY, 2015
George M. Batsche
Professor and Coordinator
Graduate Programs in School Psychology
Director
Institute for School Reform
University of South Florida
Factors Influencing Teaching,
Research and Service
Politics of Change in Education
Changing Population
Recruitment of Quality Students
Funding
Working Smart: Linking Teaching, Research
and Service
• Structuring Your School Psychology Program
for Success
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Politics of Change in Education
• Increasingly, the political process is using education both
in campaigns for election and in the focus of legislative
actions
– Common Core State Standards
• Adopt/Do Not Adopt
• Assessment Systems (e.g., PARCC, Smarter Balanced))
– School Safety and Violence
• Increased Focus on SEL (Sandy Hook)
• Consequences for Bullying
– Content of Curricular Materials
– Educator Evaluation Systems linked to student outcomes
– Legislated Practices
• Early Warning Systems
• Grade Retention
• Focus on Low Performing Schools
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Politics of Change in Education
• Paying Attention to the Landscape
– School Reform is THE political agenda
– Sustainable changes in schools require intelligent leadership,
proven practices and relentless pressure gently applied by those in
positions to do so. School psychology has a significant role here.
– The relationship/communication between training programs and
school districts and these fluid patterns of change must be dynamic
and on-going
– Pre-service and In-service training and professional development
must be synergistic to maintain the balance between the innovative
and the pragmatic.
– Changes in training curricula must lead and be responsive to
changes in the field.
– Fundable research is linked often to these political focus areas
– We must always consider the needs of the house in which we live.
– You are not leading a parade if no one is behind you.
– Improving systems for All children is NOT done one child at a time.
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So….. Greater emphasis in teaching,
research and service on….
• Systems change—schools, family, community
• Tier 1 instruction- integrating academics and behavior
• Rigorous use of problem-solving, but at levels beyond that of
individual students
• Greater understanding of core curriculum,
district/school/classrooms as systems
• How to integrate Tiers 2, 3 and SDI into core instruction
• The “reality show” of education is NOT Tiers 2/3—rather it is
Tier1.
• School psychology cannot survive if it is the “net” that catches
students one at a time.
• School psychology will be indispensible if it can change the water
the in fish tank—for all students.
• How to use problem-solving, evidence-based practices and
program evaluation (accountability) with broader units of
analysis.
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Influences on the Content of
Our Curriculum
• Impact on the K-U-D for Training Programs
– Common Core State Standards
• Knowledge-higher order thinking, student engagement practices
• Assessment
– Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports
• Greater emphasis on Tiers 1,2
– New Data Systems
• Relational, not siloed
• Tier 1,2 based
• Early Warning Systems
– Problem-Solving at the Systems Level
– SIPs in addition to IEPs
– School-Based Mental Health
• Greater Emphasis on Prevention and Early Intervention- SEL
• Accountability System
– Changes in criteria for special education eligibility
– The relationship between student engagement, instructional planning and
and positive student outcomes
– Systems Change
– Educator Evaluation Systems tied to student outcomes
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What is the Focus of Training and
Research in School Psychology?
• Is the focus of our agendas, curriculum, and
research on the NOW or….
• Is the focus of our curriculum, research
initiatives and preparation of student on the
“time” that they will enter the field—3-5 or more
years from NOW
• We should be training students to go to a place
NONE OF US HAS EVER BEEN.
• If our training is based on a perspective driven
by the past, we will never be able to prepare our
students to be successful in a place that is yet
to be.
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IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE
POPULATION ON SCHOOL
PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING,
RESEARCH AND SERVICE
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Changes in Populations
• Changing demographics of the United States
• Uneven changes in population growth by
geographic area
• Lack of relationship between changes in
population growth and changes in school
psychology
• Implications for research that focuses on and
follows both changing demographic distribution
as well as the changes needs of those
demographic groups.
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Population Shift
U.S. Census, 2010
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Differential Growth Rates
U.S. Census, 2010
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Spoken Language
U.S. Census, 2010
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Gender Shifts in School Psychology
Curtis, Castillo & Gelley, 2012
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Do Changes in School Psychology Mirror National
Demographic Trends?
NASP
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Trend Comparisons
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Focus of Practice-Level of Relevancy?
Curtis, Castillo & Gelley, 2012
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Successful School Environments for a Changing
Demographic
(Center for Public Education-NSBA)
• The U.S. is “growing older”-Hispanics youngest
• We are growing more diverse
• We are growing older AND more diverse
– The population that schools educate is increasingly made up
of children of color and Hispanic origin.
– The population that schools depend on for financial support is
increasingly older, non-Hispanic, and white, and does not
have school-age children
– Achievement gaps between student groups will have evermore-serious economic implications. Minorities have
historically been under-represented in such professions as
science, medicine, and engineering. With the non-Hispanic
white population shrinking and the entry-level workforce
increasingly made up of minorities, thenation could face
serious shortages in many critical professions.
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Successful School Environments for a Changing
Demographic
(Center for Public Education-NSBA)
• Minority populations are growing much faster
than the population in general.
• Hispanics represent the majority of the foreign
born population
• 79% of ELL students have Spanish as their first
language
• It takes 4-7 years for ELLs to become proficient
in language used in text books.
• What are the implications for assessment and
instructional planning training for school
psychologists?
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Successful School Environments
for a Changing Demographic
(Center for Public Education-NSBA)
• Minorities—especially Hispanics-benefit greatly
from high-quality preschool education.
• All students who are learning English as a
second language need help to succeed in
school.
• School-wide focus on English language
development
• Effective curriculum aligned with state
standards and assessments that incorporate
higher order thinking
• Reading instruction that focuses on the 5 big
areas.
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Successful School Environments for a Changing
Demographic
(Center for Public Education-NSBA)
• Pay close attention to the transition grades
– 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
• On-going, comprehensive and personalized
attention from student services
• Keep curriculum focused
• High School Reform Programs
– E.g., 9th grade Success Academy
• Use of good data for planning and evaluation
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Recruitment of Quality Students
• How do we recruit high quality students who
mirror the demographic distribution of the
population 3-5 years from now?
• How do we recruit high quality faculty who do
the same?
• How does the “system” change to be
welcoming and comfortable for individuals
from diverse backgrounds?
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Recruitment of Quality Students
• Have a diverse student body—even if you have to begin
one student at a time.
• Ensure that a process exists to evaluate the degree to
which the environment is safe and healthy to support
courageous conversations with diverse groups.
• Attract high quality students to an environment that is
relevant, engaging, has rigor and high expectations and
has opportunity to both personal and financial rewards.
• Create partnerships with groups that can serve as
recruitment and retention partners
• Seek a wide range of funding sources—formal and
informal—to ensure support for students from diverse
backgrounds.
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Retention of Quality Students
• As the student population becomes more
diverse, supportive relationships become
increasingly important to sustain that diversity.
• Time to engage and bond, in a positive
supportive way, is important
• Linking students with support systems outside
of the “program” is important
• Socially relevant, community focused,
opportunities will support sustainability of a
diverse student body
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Funding—Ah, Funding
• Really, it IS important….
• Be Creative
• Treat is like your personal retirement
portfolio…REALLY
• Don’t put all of your money in one place.
• Its not all about the money…it can be about
cash equivalents
• What are our priorities for funding—student
support? (and they support us) or support for
our research activities—or our egos?
• Financial resources should support BOTH at the
same time—students and research
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Let’s Not Start with the Funding…
Start with the Mission
• How can we link funding to teaching, research and
service?
• Linking funding to research that is relevant to the
needs of stakeholders (NOT US!) AND can support
students in the program is the “coin of the realm.”
• In this political world, politicians are controlling purse
strings in a way to meet their priority agendas.
• That’s OK to do as long as those agendas are
legitimate and we do not have to sell our souls to get
the money!
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Funding Sources-Our Philosophy
Diversify the portfolio
Be shameless!
Think outside of the box
Create funding sources
Link applicant/student profiles to existing
funding sources
• Funding increases the potential to secure highly
qualified students from diverse backgrounds
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Sources
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Grants
Assistantships
Fellowships
Partnerships
Private Foundations
Researcher Accounts
Creative, local options
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Grants
• Federal
– U.S. Department of Education
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Leadership (Partnership)
IES-4 Assistantships; Faculty, .3FTE
School Transformation (Partnership)Discretionary Dollars-State Flow Through
– SAMHSA
• Project AWARE-Now is the Time (Partnership)- 2
Assistantships; Faculty, .2FTE
– Centers for Disease Control
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Grants
• State Level-Department of Education
– Faculty, .5 FTE, 2.0 FTE Summer, .25 FTE
– IDEIA Flow Through
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Florida MTSS (Partnership)- 8 Assistantships
Student Services Project- 4 Assistantships
Universal Design for Learning
Medicaid Tracking
HIV/AIDS Education
PreK
– Race to the Top
• Continuous Improvement Monitoring System
– School and District Improvement Plans
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Grants
• State Level-Department of Education
– Office of School Improvement
• Differentiated Accountability- 3 Assistantships
• PD to Practice Evaluation Project-4 Assistantships
• Internal University Grants
– New Researcher
– Partnerships with other Colleges in the University
– Seed grants
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Fellowships
• University-Based
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Presidential-1 Fellowship
Diversity-2-3 Fellowship
Graduate-2 Fellowship
Specialized
• Research Completion Fellowship
• Special Foundation Endowments
– Teaching – 2-3 Year
• Sometimes local, e.g., Community College
• Other universities in the area
– Research
• Faculty outside of the Program who have grants
• Faculty in other universities who have grants
• Research Centers in the Area (e.g., Rothman Center)
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Private Foundations
• Family Foundations
– 1 Assistantship
• Community Businesses/Partnerships
– 1 Assistantship
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Researcher/PI Accounts
• Fund assistantships, particularly summer,
with PI set aside dollars
• Secure funding from the Dean/University
from faculty “buy out” dollars from grants
and other sources (for us, that can be up to
2+ FTE equivalents) to fund assistantships
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Creative Thinking
• School district partnerships
– Mental Health Project
• Community Agencies
– Children’s Cancer Center Evaluation Project
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Funding Summary
• Traditional
– Federal and state grants
– University Fellowships
– Internal University Grants
• Non-Traditional
– Partnerships
• Totally based on relationships that faculty have with
clinical and/or research relationships with local schools,
agencies, other colleges
– Research Consortia
• Internal and External
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Funding Matrix
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Actual
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Linking Teaching, Research and
Funding
• Teaching and Research Interests are linked
at our university.
• Some faculty like writing grants, are good at
it and secure funding on a regular basis.
• Although we have “course development”
releases, we do not have “grant
development” releases.
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Linking Teaching, Research and
Funding
• Funded grant proposals, in general, receive
similar weight to publications—based on
proposal format (e.g., similar to journal article)
and the rigor of the review and accept/reject
levels.
• Non-funded grant proposals, given the above
constraints, are viewed similarly to journal
articles submitted but not published. This
reflects positively on evidence of an organized
research plan and activity/productivity.
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Functions of Funding to Support the
Integration of Teaching and
Research
• Best Scenario
– Research funding that aligns with teaching interests
and can support assistantships.
– Faculty are conducting research that is related to
teaching, have graduate assistants to support
research infrastructure and who have an interest in
the research agenda (complete thesis and/or
dissertation requirements.
– Considerable evidence of expertise and
accomplishments in the research area is required to
secure funding.
– This is the most efficient and effective scenario
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Functions of Funding to Support the
Integration of Teaching and
Research
• Good Scenario
– Research activities aligned with agenda of partners
and/or external agencies. You are meeting their
needs and they align well with your interests.
– Support assistantships to help get the work done,
aligns with interest of students and supports
completion of student research requirements.
– Usually less control over the work but can
accomplish integration of teaching, research and
student support needs.
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Functions of Funding to Support the
Integration of Teaching and
Research
• Good Scenario
– University early researcher and seed grants
– Build capacity for expertise to secure funding
that is of longer duration and greater funding
levels.
– Time limited, limited opportunities to support
graduate students
– Usually a good link between research and
teaching
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Functions of Funding to Support the
Integration of Teaching and Research
• Difficult Scenario
– Research and teaching activities are aligned and integrated.
– Student support comes from other sources (e.g., other faculty,
agencies)
– Works well for students if their assistantship/support is
aligned with their interests.
– Facilitates completion of research requirements
– Difficult for faculty because they do not have the graduate
assistants support to conduct/complete research activities
– Without funding, often creates an imbalance in time
management for teaching (higher load) and research
activities
– Even with “research release time” from course load, the lack
of graduate assistants to support the work creates significant
burdens.
– Solution: research partnerships, collaborative grants (they
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have the money, need your expertise)
The Conundrum
• The more funding a faculty member has, the more time is
“assigned” to those funding sources.
• The more time assigned to funding sources, the less time
for teaching.
• A balance must exist. If it does not, students suffer.
• Faculty tenure and promotion is tied to teaching and
research efforts—generally not service.
• At USF, you must have an “outstanding” rating in teaching
or research and a “strong” rating in the other area.
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Structuring School Psychology Programs
for Success
• Develop an overall philosophy and way of work around the integration of
teaching, research and service.
– Strategic Planning, Goal Setting and Accountability
– Annual Retreats to monitor the plan
– Internal evaluations to monitor the “health and wellness” of the program.
• Provide new faculty with the release time and supports to develop the
capacity to work “smart.”
Released time for research
Research mentors
Include them on grant development activities
Support their networking to develop mutually beneficial relationships and
partnerships
– Released time in first 2 years to secure supervised experience for licensure,
if appropriate
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• Set expectations for faculty to engage in and create activities that
provide as much program support as professional support.
• Senior faculty must accept a greater workload when junior faculty are
hired.
• Balance load of faculty based on preferences
– Greater teaching load for faculty who do not secure funding or create
assistantships through collaborative work.
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THANK YOU!
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