Extended School Year Anyone????

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), some students in special education are eligible for extended school services (ESY). The ESY must be provided only if the child’s IEP team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the child.

If Johnny’s IEP team determines that he qualifies for ESY services does he automatically have to go? Do his parent’s opinions count? What if his mother does not agree with her child receiving ESY services? Can the school district compel Johnny to participate in ESY services?

Do you think that special education students benefit from ESY services? If the child receives ESY services one summer but does not seem to be benefiting from it, should he/she be granted services the next summer?

This blog was created by Tjasa Korda and Roxane Nassirpour.

Addressing the Professional Minority Gap

There are disproportionately few minority and bilingual school psychologists available to serve both regular and special education students.

Ethnicity of School Psychologists

Source: 2004-05 NASP membership survey (69% response rate)

Ethnicity - Percent %
White/Caucasian 92.55%
Hispanic/Latino 2.99%
Black/African American 1.94%
Asian-American/Pacific Islander 0.94%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.82%

The United States is hastily becoming more and more culturally diverse. As is seen in the above chart there is an overwhelming amount of Caucasian school psychologists. In urban districts, such as Jersey City, there is a very diverse population in schools. What challenges do we as future psychologists face in dealing with children from other cultures? How can we become more culturally sensitive to their needs and the way that we assess them? How can the field of school psychology make a proactive effort to recruit different ethnicities into this field?

"The greatest distance between people is not space.

The greatest distance between people is culture."

Jamake Highwater (Native American choreographer, author and lecturer, 1932-2001)

This Blog was created by Desiree Antas and Melissa Picariello.

Who Can Afford it Anymore?

Joining a professional organization can help us as school psychology students by helping us stay informed with all of the most current news and research in the field we will someday be working in. The NASP offers student membership, which grants us access to online journals, newspapers and reference materials. Also, it can help us stay connected with what is going on in the world of school psychology by providing information about conventions and conferences where we can increase our knowledge by listening to experts in the field. You can even sign up for e-mail notifications regarding changes in legislation that will impact school psychology. The organization provides students with multiple resources that can both aid and supplement our learning as well as provide us with tools to one-day find jobs.

Go to http://www.nasponline.org/students/index.aspx to check out everything our professional organization has to offer. If you do decide to join you will encounter that there is an $80 annual fee. Even with all of the perks this organization has to offer can graduate students in a failing economy afford this? Is it still worth it?

This blog was created by Jessica Sosnowski.

Who's right is it anyway?

In New Jersey v. T.L.O., the Supreme Court held that students have a 4th Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search in the schools.

This mainly applies to searching the student's personal property, such as a book bag. Well, what about random drug testing? Should schools be permitted to conduct random drug testing? If so, who is subject to it? The entire student body? Members of clubs and sports teams? Does this violate a student's privacy, or do we as school personnel and/or parents have a duty to protect children from the harm drugs can do?

Who will protect my privacy anymore?!?!

This blog was created by Jessica Tubertini.

Having Technical Difficulties?!?!?!

Confidentiality means that any information that is revealed within a professional relationship cannot be disclosed, unless it falls under the limitations of possibly hurting oneself or others. As future school psychologists, we will have an ethical and professional obligation to the confidentiality rights of our future clients and to ensure that their privacy rights are met. However, with the increasing technological advances confidentiality is said to be threatened. With new ideas in regards to computerized record keeping and electronic systems and transmissions to record and monitor varying student behaviors and progress, how can we completely ensure that confidentiality rights are being protected?

Yes – I do believe that as psychologists of new generations we have an obligation to be up to date with the technological advances that occur, including the understanding of technological languages and online slang, the uses of blogs, networking sites, and the online communicating options.

However, with the need for confidentiality and the technological advances, is it safe to say that confidentiality is not being compromised with the rise in technological competencies?

This blog was created by Angelica Cunha.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!!!!

The No Child Left Behind Act allocates special monies to high poverty areas, like Jersey City. In 2007, the average money being spent per student in Jersey City was $16,000. In Glen Ridge, a very affluent, mostly white community, and the #5 ranked district according to New Jersey Magazine, the average spending per pupil was $12,000.

Money seems to always be the problem and MORE money tens to fix everything...

Why isn't money the answer this time?

This blog was created by Jessica Szybowski

No Child Left Behind...Left US all Behind

When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind act it was deemed to have a positive affect on narrowing the educational achievement gap between students. Is the NCLB act truly having a positive affect on closing this gap?

I personally, along with many others including President Obama, see the NCLB as ineffective. NCLB forces schools to teach children material in order to raise standardized test scores, rather than teaching basic fundamental principles of education. Then, if test scores are poor, schools as well as students are labeled as “failures.” Another issue with NCLB is inadequate funding of schools which does not allow NCLB to work effectively.

Who and what is NCLB helping? By all means, help me see it differently because I've yet to see who hasn't been left behind...

This post was created by Tamara D. Filangieri