Faculty and graduate students from the School Psychology Program at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School will take part in nine events at the 2012 California Association for School Psychologists (CASP) Convention in Costa Mesa, CA, October 25-26. The scholars, researchers, and teachers will discuss the latest findings on topics as diverse as a positive approach to reducing bullying to integrating email communication with counseling.
The theme of the 2012 CASP Annual Convention is “School Psychologists: Leaders in Assessment & Mental Health.” Founded in 1953 and located in Sacramento, the California Association of School Psychologists is the statewide membership organization for school psychologists in California. With a membership close to 3,000, CASP is the largest statewide organization of school psychologists in the nation and the strongest voice for psychologists practicing in California’s schools. In addition to providing liaison with various state boards and commissions, CASP actively represents the profession to legislative audiences, governmental officials, and other policy-making bodies.
Gevirtz School faculty and graduate students will take part in the following:
Thursday, October 25
10am – 10:50am
Triarchic Conceptualization of Advocacy: The Confluence of Science, Practice, and Policy
William J. Rime, Aaron Haddock, Reza Shahroozi, Shane Jimerson
School psychologists are well situated to advocate for a number of individuals and causes. It is important to prepare current and emerging school psychologists to be effective advocates. The purpose of this presentation is to delineate a triarchic framework and process that school psychologists can employ to carry out advocacy work by: (a) identifying the relevant issue; (b) collaborating; (c) planning; (d) acting; and (e) reflecting on and evaluating the outcome of their advocacy work. Strand A; Topic: Systems Change; Skill Level I
11:30am – 12:50pm
Show Me the Money: Promoting Mental Health at School
Shahrokh R. Shahroozi, Aaron Haddock, Shane R. Jimerson, and W. Jeremy Rime
Considering the importance of promoting children’s mental health at school, this session will feature multiple funding strategies for mental health services. Building upon a public-health conceptual model, this session will identify important infrastructure elements, including; best practices in record keeping and documentation, and navigating fee-for-service medical claims billing processing services. Participants will obtain valuable information to advocate for addressing the shortage of school psychologists to serve the rising mental health needs of today’s youth.
5pm – 5:50pm
International PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Curriculum: Highlights and Updates
Shane R. Jimerson, Jacqueline A. Brown, Reza Shahroozi
This paper will discuss international perspectives of the school crisis prevention and intervention PREPaRE curriculum that is widely used throughout the United States. Specifically, it will present data from two initial international workshops and how feedback from international participants was incorporated into curriculum revisions. School psychology professionals interested in school crisis prevention and intervention at the national and international level will benefit from this presentation. Strand B; Topic: Crisis Response; Skill Level II.
Friday, October 26th
8:30am – 9:45am
Invited Kynote Address
Speak Up! School Psychologists Advocating to Enhance Students and Schools
Shane Jimerson, PhD
Advocacy has been defined as "the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause or proposal.” However, actualizing advocacy within the context of educating students requires a more thorough and thoughtful conceptualization and understanding of advocacy. Advocacy is an essential element to enhance student outcomes. Indeed, it is imperative that school psychologists understand the importance and utility of advocacy. School psychologists have an opportunity to provide essential leadership and advocacy in their efforts to bridge the confluence of science/practice/policy in order to promote the social and cognitive competence of all students. Various emphases and understandings of advocacy related to the field of school psychology will be presented, in addition to experiences to illustrate key considerations. During this presentation, Dr. Jimerson will highlight the importance of leadership, advocacy and science informing educational practice and also advancing understanding of critical issues aimed toward helping students and staff in the school context.
11:30am – 12:20pm
Integrating Email Communication with Counseling at School
Skye W. F. Stifel, Jacqueline A. Brown, Shane R. Jimerson, Erin Dowdy,
Children are immersed in technology; however, to date, researchers and practitioners have not fully considered the potential for technology to help school psychologists access and enhance their counseling services in schools. This paper presentation aims to benefit participants by initiating a discussion about the key considerations, merits, and limitations of using email with counseling services in schools. Specific legal and ethical considerations are outlined, as well as recommendations for school psychologists to consider when implementing this tool in counseling. Finally, future directions related to use of technology with counseling at school are explored. Strand B; Topic: Counseling; Skill Level I-II.
1:30pm - 2:50pm
Promoting Positive Peer Relationships: A Positive Approach to Reducing Bullying and Improving School Climate
Rachel Stein, Aaron Haddock, Cecile Binmoeller, Shane Jimerson
This session presents an empirically supported intervention for reducing school bullying: Promoting Positive Peer Relationships (P3R). P3R is an authentic film-based curriculum developed and produced with middle school students that embraces a social-ecological perspective in reducing bullying. Participants in this session will view parts of the film-based curriculum, learn how to use the program within their local schools, and hear about the ongoing research looking at the effects of P3R on students’ attitudes related to bullying and general school climate.
2:30pm – 3:20pm
Danger, Climate, and Safety at School: Psychometric Support for a Progress Monitoring Instrument
Jennica Rebelez and Michael Furlong
Adequate psychometric support for the use of an abbreviated, 10-item danger, climate, and safety instrument based off the parent CSCSS-SF version was found in this study. The new assessment is called the California School Climate and Safety–Progress Monitor (CSCSS-PM). The findings support the use of this brief assessment for research purposes, schoolwide progress monitoring, needs assessment, and in comprehensive psychoeducational assessments. Feeling safe, having positive perceptions of climate, and low perceptions of danger at school are related. Strand A; Topic: Progress Monitoring; Skill Level I
Playground Strategies to Promote Problem Solving and Reduce Discipline Referrals
Shane R. Jimerson, Aaron D. Haddock, Amy Gillespie, Jeremy Rime
Antisocial behaviors (e.g., bullying, teasing, rough play) often occur during recess. Such challenges present opportunities to promote prosocial behaviors among students. This presentation includes a summary of evidence highlighting the presence of problem behaviors during recess, and describes the implementation processes, strategies, and outcome data associated with a playground intervention developed to (a) promote problem solving skills to facilitate conflict resolution, and (b) Creating additional opportunities for engaging play activities, in an elementary school setting. Strand B; Topic: Social Competence; Skill Level I
Choosing Informants in Universal Screening for Behavioral and Emotional Risk
Eui Kim, Erin Prothro, Erin Dowdy
Universal screening is gaining popularity due to its benefits of early identification and treatment of emotional and behavioral problems (Glover & Albers, 2007). However, little attention has been paid to the choice of informants to use when conducting screenings. This presentation will provide information on the multiple-gating approach for identifying behavioral and emotional risk, the current state of research on key informants (teacher, parent, and student), factors that affect the informant’s perception of the student, and practical considerations when choosing informants. Participants will learn to choose informants based on student characteristics, informant characteristics, and other factors that affect informants’ ratings. Strand A; Topic: Universal Screening; Skill Level II