NEW OHIO REQUIREMENTS (from Fall 2009):

Schools now have the responsibility to ensure that all people allowed contact with children have met state-defined ‘safety-standards.’ Schools are protecting children by requiring even short-term visitors to classrooms to have passed the same fingerprint and background checks as classified/certificated personnel. For example, parents who assist as lunch-room helpers are being asked to undergo checks. Thus, since you’ll certainly be required to get the checks done prior to practicum/internship you should expect schools increasingly to ask you to provide evidence of having successfully passed a background check prior to them allowing you into their premises. We have already had Field Experience people refused entry to a school due to a failure to provide this background check information. If you delay you might find yourself turned away from a school that you intend to visit since they may expect you to have already completed these steps.

Consequently, I’m asking you to complete the background checks and hold a copy of the forms in readiness for those schools that request it. Below are instructions that I’ve clipped from a message sent by Professor Anhalt to the Practicum II enrollees. If you follow this procedure then you’ll have met the standard for these two KSU SPSY experiences at one time.

School districts are now requiring State and Federal fingerprinting/background checks. You need to request a background check ASAP. As you may know, you can request these at the IRC (221 White Hall). When you submit your application, you should have the hard copy mailed directly to your home address AND request that an electronic copy be sent to ODE (Ohio Dept. of Education). You need to request both State AND Federal background checks.

When you receive the hard copy at your home, make a few photocopies to have on hand... Details about the process and cost of getting fingerprinting done and IRC hours can be found through this link: http://www.ehhs.kent.edu/irc/fingerprinting.cfm.

Feel free to e-mail me off the listserv if you have any questions!

I also suggest that you review my 'guidelines' which address deportment while arranging visits and actually conducting visits to schools click <here>

A message for those enrolled in Field Experience in School Psychology: I’m ready to meet with class members individually, or in small groups (if you have a visit-buddy), about your plans for completion of the 'Field Experience in School Psychology.' Summer I is clearly best for me ... do contact me at caven@kent.edu for a mutually agreeable time.

The first step in the whole process is to determine a series of potential visit locations (with the basic contact information & a proposed time to visit) so that we can, together, discuss the degree of balance that exists across the complete series of proposed locations. The balance should ensure that you have visited representatives of:

1. Urban, suburban & rural schools;

2. Poor and wealthy schools;

3. Settings for children of all ages (0 - 22 yrs.);

4. Agencies that support public education;

5. Religious foundation & private school settings that accept/return children to/from public schools;

6. Non-school locations & events that have a bearing on public education (e.g., school board meetings).

This emphasis on balance is done so that there is a degree of complementarity to your entire portfolio of visits in terms of setting as well as age distribution, and an appropriate mix of regular and special education.  I will also be checking to see that there's a variety of locations/districts being tapped .. for example, it's a mistake to visit a series of different grade levels all in the same school district, or to visit schools/settings only in a select few counties. This is because there is, typically, a parallel format for <how> education is provided regardless of grade when within a single school district. While it is not necessary to have all the proposed visits determined before we meet ~~ however, you should aim to have at least one-third identified to get started.

It is an even bigger mistake to begin a series of visits before having discussed them with me (even if other students, in years past, have been to those exact same locations). I particularly want you to avoid bringing to me part-way through the semester an outline of  already completed visits that we’ve not previously discussed.

Make sure that you understand from the outset what information you need to collect from each site you visit for the ‘logs’ you'll prepare about the visitations. Make a point of studying past students' folios during the brief period they're available during the initial part of Summer I ~ those files will have been returned and may be unavailable to you by mid-July. Have a clear sense of what database you need to be completing as you go...it is another error to imagine that this information can be dropped into your visit records (i.e., the 'logs') after they’ve all been completed. Past experience teaches that the information needs to be transposed into log-format within about one-week of the actual visit. I will want to see the logs when we have subsequent meetings to discuss progress — keep them up-to-date!

Don’t forget that the visit ‘host’ is automatically added to your developing network of educational contacts ~~ and so each field visit needs to have your gratitude appropriately acknowledged to the key players who helped you gain access to their school/classroom.

Keep in mind, too, that as a new school psychologist you should be wary about encroaching on a fellow school-psychologist's territory without first becoming acquainted with the psychologist actually responsible for the building you're visiting.  In most cases this will be fairly routine; however, only rarely should you skip the stage where you first contact the school psychologist responsible for the building since that person may, one day down life's road, be a critical source of access for you to practicum or internship opportunities.

When you and I meet to discuss plans or progress for the Field Experience I’ll need from you a prepared outline of the proposed visits or an outline of past visitations, plus a view of your log format ~~ I have a visual memory and will want to see the patterns within the information you bring. Bring a copy for me and one for you so we can discuss your progress conveniently. Whenever we meet at subsequent visits I’ll want to see the completed logs from prior visits. Without this information available at our meeting we may need to re-schedule. During the Summer term my office hours are generally scheduled around the availability of the incoming cohort

Due to the time press during the Summer period it's important that we don't miss the chance to get your Field Experience off to a fast start.  I'm generally unavailable during the last five weeks of summer so don't think that we can leave it until Summer III since I won't be in Kent for all that period. I do have the capacity to arrange some evening hours, too, if your schedule and mine are simply packed during the day.

As long as we don't generate complaints from schools about what they might interpret as  unprofessional behavior then our current independence in making arrangements will remain. Look carefully at the guidance offered to you by the College Coordinator of Field Experience in the attached document.

On occasion a school administrator will ask you to bring a letter on KSU paper, signed by me, explaining the purpose of the visit. Most people find this happens once or at most twice in all their visits. If this happens to you then I'll be asking you to prepare the letter in it entirety in draft format, including names & addresses. In turn I'll edit your letter and send it to you in a form you can print and deliver. This takes time so don't expect that it can be done one-week from a proposed visit. And, if it starts happening routinely to you then ask yourself what you're doing that is causing the school to have so little faith in your explanation of the purpose of your visit. What some people have done when they see that they're being unpersuasive with schools is to first contact that school's psychologist and ask their help in gaining access ~ it's likely that the school psychologist had, earlier in her career, to do similar Field Experience visits.

1. Course Title: Field Experience in School Psychology.
2. Course Number: SPSY 77914
3. Credit Hours: 2 semester hours
4. Course Status: Graduate
5. Prerequisites: Graduate Standing, enrolled in the SPSY program
6. Catalog Description: This course meets the requirements for study of educational foundations for the State of Ohio license as a school psychologist.
7. Process & Product: Professional Experience Log

Keep the following principles in mind as you plan this Field Experience:

1. The visitations should have balance across the age groups: 3-5; 6-9; 10-15; 16->, etc.
2. Special populations need to be addressed: 
   Vocational school settings; Segregated special education program; Low incidence program; Physical disabilities setting; Family/parent education; Teenage parent center; Inner-city/multi-racial school; HeadStart, Proprietary Daycare, Early Intervention Settings for 0-3 Children, Neonatal nursery, Parochial or 'Christian' School, Charter School, Montessori School, Positive Education Program, PDD Program/ evaluation, 504 determination Meeting, SED Program, other programs(s), etc. (Clearly, this is not an exhaustive listing, and final determination is to be arranged by Dr. Mcloughlin). 
3. The ultimate responsibility for completion of the activities in this professional plan lies with the individual student. There is a designated College of Education individual for establishing liaisons with school districts so as to get you to access to specific classes/ schools (330.672.2538, Room 209 White Hall). It is important to remember that plans need to be made at least one month in advance to get access to some school settings. Don't delay in getting an appointment.
4. Identifying locations to complete specific components (typically the low incidence and special education settings) of the experience log can also be done with Dr. Mcloughlin; however, the options offered are not always going to match the available times/geographic locations of individuals with full-time jobs-particularly for those who have left inadequate time to make their plans.

8.     Student Activities/Instructional Strategies:

The Kent State University school psychology program requires students to complete a minimum of 120 clock hours of directed and supervised observation and participation within school and related educational settings that reflect the typical work scope for school psychologists.

Students will need to observe and participate in educational settings serving the needs of children from Kindergarten through High School (and in the case of children with special needs, from birth through 21 years) — to include all or most settings that serve special populations served by school psychologists as part of their professional role. There should be balance between observation and participation. In a similar way, experiences should be distributed across the age/ability spectrum and across settings. Since school psychologists disproportionately serve the needs of exceptional children and their families it is anticipated that the 'special education' work scope for SPSYs will be reflected in the Field Experiences approximately equally with 'typical educational settings.'

Each student will create a work plan ('the Contract') to meet the requirement. Following approval by Professor Mcloughlin the student may begin accumulating experiences to meet the class requirements. Practical assistance in locating regular school settings may be accomplished with the help of a Field Experiences Coordinator in 409 White Hall(330.672.2538). However, as explained earlier, the SPSY program intentionally plans that students will so far as possible make their own arrangements for visitations so as to hone their skills in explaining their role and understanding how to negotiate entry into schools as a new professional.

9.    Evaluation of Students:

Since students may bring relevant educational experiences and background to the school psychology program, up to 10% of the 120 hours may be waived by Dr. Mcloughlin. Such waivers will only be provided with verification of the past experience ~ which needs to be recent, relevant and equivalent to what otherwise would be the experience gained in this class.  A waiver for a specific setting means that a duplication of that experience should not be included within the balance of the hours of observation. (So. if you're waiving the need to visit a Montessori School because you worked as a classroom aide in one during your senior year in College, then you won't be including a visit to another Montessori School during this class). This is an S/U class.

10.    Selected Textbooks and Bibliography for Reference (purchase is not required, only access):

Guidelines for the Delivery of Professional Psychological Services. Separate standards for School Psychology (American Psychological Association [APA] and the National Association of School Psychologists [NASP]).

Ethical Codes: APA Code; NASP; OSPA [Ohio School Psychology Association].

11.     Instructor:

Caven S. Mcloughlin, Ph.D., Professor, School Psychology Program, Mailbox at: 405 White Hall, Kent State University Kent, Ohio 44242 (physical office location is 507c White); Voice: 330.672.2928 [with voicemail); FAX: 330.672.2675; caven@kent.edu. E-mail contact is always the preferred means of contact. While voicemail <is> available it is not monitored as regularly as e-mail. Simply put ~ you're much more likely to get a faster, more complete response to an e-mail message than to a message left on voicemail.

SUMMARY: The KSU school psychology program requires students to complete a minimum of 120 clock hours of directed and supervised observation/participation within school and related educational settings that reflect the typical work-scope for school psychologists. These observations do not simply entail the accumulation of clock hours of observation in 'opportunity-settings.' Rather, each student is expected to complete directed observations of specific locations broadly representative of the settings in which school psychologists work. Consequently, it is necessary for students to have all observations approved prior to their scheduling. This is required not as a bothersome imposition, but rather as a guide to ensure that students  appropriately can count towards the required experience all observations they complete. To this end, a system has been devised that includes a 'Contract' between the instructor-of-record and the student―which provides the student with an assurance that observations will, in fact, count towards this Field Experience.

Students will need to observe and participate in educational settings serving the needs of children from pre-kindergarten through High School (and in the case of children with special needs, from birth through 21 years) ― including settings that serve special populations. There should be a balance between observation and participation; in the same way, experiences should be distributed fairly equally across the age/ability spectrum. Since school psychologists disproportionately serve the needs of exceptional children and their families it is expected that this 'special education' work scope will be relatively heavily-reflected in the observation/practice educational experiences and probably approximate the investment made n visiting 'typical' educational settings.

Each student will create a work plan ('the Contract') to meet these requirement. Following approval by Caven S. Mcloughlin the student may begin accumulating experiences to meet the course requirements. Practical assistance in locating regular school settings may be accomplished with the help of the Field Experiences Coordinator in 409 White Hall (330.672.2538). One of the signal benefits to the school psychologist-in-training from this class experience is gained through developing a network of professional contacts in regular and special education, as well as developing an appropriate professional manner and skill in making these contacts. Consequently, as far as is reasonably possible each participant in the class is encouraged to make their own contacts with school-based professionals—and in so doing develop an appropriate professional manner for the gaining access to schools and to children. Participant in this class can set up an appointment with the Field Experiences Coordinator so a 'field experience request letter' can be processed and sent from the PDP Office to each specific district office for confirmation. This procedure maintains a positive relationship with schools and all professionals involved in the field experience process. However, this approach requires a lead time of up to six weeks for each visit and so you may well find it practically preferable to serve as your own Field Experience Coordinator!

Professional Experience Log

The total number of hours represented in this log may not total fewer than 120 clock hours (or 108 clock hours―allowing for the maximum of 12 hours of experience waived). Typically, visits average 3-hours ~ so 40 visits is the norm. However, sometimes visits are rather more brief. A School Board Meeting may only take 1.5 clock-hrs for example. For each age and special population category, the student will need to demonstrate that some reasonable balance between observation and participation has been completed.

'Shadowing': Calculating time spent 'shadowing' a school psychologist is somewhat complicated. We cannot give 'credit' for all hours spent shadowing a school psychologist on a one-to-one basis for the time spent in that activity. Generally, past students have found that a day shadowing a school psychologist (generally a full-day/6-clock-hour experience) is 'credited' as 3-hours on the logs. Generally, you should gain credit for shadowing a SPSY professional for no more than 10% of the 120 required hours (i.e., 12 hours of the 120). Thus, to gain credit for 12-clock-hours in your logs you will need to have shadowed school psychologists for four complete works days (or 8-half-days) in their school settings. Finally, about shadowing ~ while it may be easier to follow a single individual for multiple days there is far more to be learned from having the opportunity to make informal comparisons about different ways that SPSY professionals fulfill their roles if you shadow several different school psychologists. Shadowing also requires that a log be written for each occasion. The IDEAL plan would be: Shadow two psychologists each for a total of two days, making those visits when there are different/representative activities (so you can see a variety of functions). Don't do all your shadowing either early-on in the sequence or all at the end. Space out your visits so that you have a chance to reflect on what you've seen, integrate that knowledge into your understanding of the typical work responsibilities, and generally get an increased understanding of what it is that you'll soon be doing on-the-job as a result of these shadowing experiences.

In general, students find that the successful completion of Field Experience requires approximately 40 school-based visitations each of about three hours in length. The nature of school-days (9-noon and 1-4 p.m.) generally requires completion in three-hour segments. Keep in mind that even if a single experience takes six-clock-hours to complete it may be that only three clock hours of that 6 hour visit can actually be counted towards the 120 needed (e.g., shadowing).

For each Age Group or Special population it is necessary to construct a narrative Log. The log should be prefaced with a Summary page which shows the balance and breakdown of hours spent in each of the categories, and in total.

The ultimate responsibility for completion of the activities in this professional plan lies with the individual student. The Field Experiences Coordinator (672-2538, Room 409 White Hall) is the designated KSU College of Education liaison who establishes contact with school districts so as to get you access to specific classes/schools. It is important to remember that plans need to be made at least one month in advance to get access to some school settings. Don't delay in getting an appointment if you want to access the services of the Field Experiences Coordinator ~ however, you can take this responsibility yourself.

Identifying locations to complete specific components (typically the low incidence and special education settings) of the experience log can also be done with Dr. Mcloughlin; however, the options offered are not always going to match the available times/geographic locations of those individuals with full-time jobs. The key to successfully integrating this Experience into a typical student's work day is in making plans sufficiently in advance to match your available time with the needs of school settings. Since the majority of the locations which comprise this experience are settings where children attend only during the daytime, it is not feasible to think of this Field Experience as potentially 'complete-able' during evenings & weekend times, or even in school vacations such as Winter Break. The impact of this statement should be considered with care by those who anticipate full-time employment during the year in which the Field Experience is being attempted.

Many students have found it fruitful to arrange their visits to locations in pairs. This is doubly beneficial since if the pair travels together then there is an opportunity of preparing appropriate questions while traveling to the setting and comparing notes after the event. It is almost never feasible or appropriate to arrange a visitation with more than two persons at a time. Several settings are unable to contemplate multiple visits throughout the year from all the various professionals-in-training who want to see their setting in action. Consequently you may find yourself directed to times when planned visitations, in groups, are prearranged. If this is your only option then consider taking it; however, if you have the opportunity of getting access to a personalized one-on-one visit then almost certainly you will find this to be more beneficial.

There is almost never a circumstance where it would be appropriate to make a professional visit to a setting with which you already have some work-related experience. For example, it is not appropriate to revisit a setting where you have previously been employed, nor is it appropriate to visit a location where you have a relative or close friend who is an employee, and finally it is never of benefit to duplicate an experience that you've already added into your experience base ― Keep in mind that the purpose of this Field Experience is to broaden one's background, not provide additional or supplemental knowledge.

It is typical for students to begin this experience during a Summer session with the intent of using the accumulated semester hours towards the granting of a master's degree at the completion of the following Spring. For this to be a successful plan, keep in mind that grades for incomplete classes must be completed some several weeks before the end up the semester in which a student desires to graduate. The realistic end-date for this experience is in early to mid-April if one plans to graduate at the end of the Spring semester. Credit cannot be earned until the completion of the total number of clock hours required for Field Experience.

Thank you, in advance, for being an ambassador for the KSU/SPSY program

Proposed Professional Experiences Plan

(Complete as appropriate)

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Your SS#: ________/ _______/ _______

Term & Year enrolled in "School Psychology: Fld. Exp." Summer I, 2007

** Class Number SPSY __________________; section # __________________; call # ____________

Your Local Address:
 
 

Your contact telephone number(s): ____-  ____-  _____( day);  ____- ____ - ____ (evening)

Do you have an answering machine at this number? Y / N (circle)
 

e-mail address: ___________________  @ kent.edu

Date of completion: ______/ ________/ 200__

Complete only if appropriate.....

Existing relevant educational experiences for which I think a waiver might be appropriate (Setting/supervisor/activities completed/when completed/how long?/etc):

Number of hours I think this waiver should be (to a maximum of 12 clock hours):  ____

" My plan for meeting the Alternate Program requirements...."

Observing a School Psychologist in Action ("shadowing"; this is credited as 3 hrs. even though it'll take several days of shadowing to get a true flavor of the scope of the job):

Young Children

Day care/Proprietary Daycare

Preschool

HeadStart/Early-Start

Neonatal Nursery

Traditional School Age (chronological age in years, not grades)

3-5

6-9

10-15

16 - >
 

Special Populations

Early Intervention Settings for 0-3 Children

Joint Vocational School (i.e., "JVS")

Parochial, or other religious foundation school

Charter/Voucher School

Montessori School

Positive Education Program

PDD Program/evaluation

504 Determination Meeting

SED Program

LD program

Segregated special education program
(i.e., "169 program", not a regular school's resource room)

Low Incidence program
(specifically, either vision or hearing impairment)

Physical disabilities setting
(i.e., where special mobility technology might be appropriate)

Family/parent Education Meeting
(e.g., after school program describing a new reading approach, etc. )

IEP Meeting

Parent Conference(s)
(routine 'developmental'/non-problem oriented
conferences at semester's end)

School Board Meeting
(two meetings in different localities)

Teenage Parent Center/or equivalent
(leave to the end of this Field Experience)

Inner-city/multi-racial School

Other program(s):