Psychologist (Early Stages)

Position Overview

The Office of Schools is responsible for effective management, operation and achievement of schools and provides leadership to principals, administrators, and teachers to ensure academic excellence for all students.

Divisions / Teams

Instructional Superintendents : are responsible for managing (1) the leadership of their assigned schools, (2) the performance of their assigned schools, and (3) the operations of their assigned schools.

The core focus of the Instructional Superintendents is to ensure that high-quality instruction is delivered in their schools, by continually assessing the quality of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the school level.

Early Stages : works exclusively with children ages 2 years 8 months through 5 years 10 months and is responsible for meeting the District’s obligation under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (619) to develop a comprehensive child find system to identify and locate all preschool-age children in the District who have a disability.

The core aspects of this work include : (1) a public awareness campaign, (2) citywide developmental screening initiatives, (3) a referral and intake system, (4) the special education evaluation / eligibility process, (5) the transition process from Part C Early Intervention and (6) interagency partnerships with government and nonprofit agencies, (7) data management to determine which children have been identified and are receiving services.

Early Childhood Education (ECE) : works to support the provision of high-quality early education services that prepare children for kindergarten entry and later school success.

Approximately 6,000 children ages three to five attend early childhood classrooms in 78 elementary schools across the district, including several schools that offer Head Start programming.

The School Psychologist, Early Stages will conduct psychological and psychoeducational screenings and evaluations for children referred to Early Stages.

The School Psychologist functions as part of a multi-disciplinary team that collaborates to determine eligibility for special education services and draft Individual Education Plans (IEP).

The School Psychologist will not provide individual or group therapy. The School Psychologist, Early Stages will be a member of the Council of School Officers (CSO) union.

This position is a safety-sensitive position. As a result, throughout employment this position will be subject to the Employee Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy.

The Psychologist (Early Stages) will report to the Director, Evaluation.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and / or skills required.

Other duties may be assigned.

• Gathers background information from parents, teachers, administrators, and community partners regarding the psychological needs of students as they relate to their education program.
• Evaluates within the context of a multi-disciplinary team requiring collaboration across providers and other Early Stages staff members.
• Screens and / or assesses a child’s cognitive, social-emotional, behavior, adaptive, and educational skills and abilities.
• Selects, administers, scores, and interprets individual psychological, intelligence, and behavioral measures, using instruments and procedures approved by DCPS.
• Analyzes evaluation data, student records and information pertinent to student learning, and formulates hypotheses and conclusions relating to the referral concerns.
• Writes reports that are meaningful to parents, teachers, and other stakeholders and complies with DCPS guidelines.
• Participates in multidisciplinary meetings to review evaluation results, integrate findings with other disciplines, offer recommendations, and develops individual education plans and intervention plans to achieve IEP goals.
• Reviews and interprets independently generated therapy, medical, and evaluation reports; and serves as a resource in reporting findings to other team members.
• Prioritizes and schedules work tasks independently.
• Maintains clinical and administrative records in accordance with professional standards, state guidelines, and school system policy.
• Adheres to federal and state legislation, regulation, and policies that affect school psychology practice.
• Travels to other sites within the DC metro area as needed to conduct off-site evaluations, home visits, and other work tasks.

Qualifications

• Master's degree.
• Master's Degree in School Psychology, Educational or Clinical psychology from an accredited institution, to include forty-two (42) semester hours of graduate level coursework and five hundred (500) clock hours of satisfactory field experience in a Pre-K through 12 school setting under the supervision of a certified school psychologist.

See DCMR 1659.1 for additional details regarding required graduate level coursework.

• A minimum of two years of experience serving children ages 6 and under with, or at risk of, developmental delay or disability.
• Licensed as a School Psychologist by the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) or eligible for licensure.

Nationally Certified School Psychologist, preferred.

• Knowledge of the fundamentals of IDEA and its impact in the discipline.
• Strong writing and speaking skills; effective at communicating with diverse audiences.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.

Personal Qualities of Top Candidates

• Commitment to Equity : Passionate about closing the achievement gap and ensuring that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, receives an excellent education.
• Leadership : Coaches, mentors, and challenges others to excel despite obstacles and challenging situations.
• Focus on Data-Driven Results : Relentlessly pursues the improvement of central office performance and school leadership, instruction, and operations, and is driven by a desire to produce quantifiable student achievement gains.
• Innovative Problem-Solving : Approaches work with a sense of possibility and sees challenges as opportunities for creative problem solving;

takes initiative to explore issues and find potential innovative solutions.

Adaptability : Excels in constantly changing environments and adapts flexibly in shifting projects or priorities to meet the needs of a dynamic transformation effort;

comfortable with ambiguity and non-routine situations.

Teamwork : Increases the effectiveness of surrounding teams through collaboration, constant learning and supporting others;

sensitive to diversity in all its forms; respects and is committed to learning from others.

• Dependability : Does whatever it takes to consistently deliver with high quality under tight deadlines; successfully manages own projects through strong organization, detailed workplans, and balancing of multiple priorities.
• Communication and Customer Service Skills : Communicates clearly and compellingly with diverse stakeholders in both oral and written forms;

anticipates and responds to customer needs in a high-quality and courteous manner.