| KANSAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
Empowering Children, Educators, and Families |
Kansas Association of School Psychologists
Fall 2021 Edition
Teresa Walters, Editor Jill Marzolf, Associate Editor
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Happy Fall KASP members! By now, you’ve all made it through the first quarter and hopefully many of you had a Fall break or at least a day off following Parent/Teacher conferences. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the semester will be over before you know it and you’ll have made it halfway through another year. I’m kind of sad to report the days go by just as fast once you’re retired. Thanks to those of you who attended our Fall Convention. We would not be able to put together great conferences if we didn’t have large numbers registering. Although we would love for every Kansas School Psychologist to attend, we’re happy with our turnout this year. We sincerely hope it was worthwhile to you. Fingers crossed, we’ll be back in person next year. I have to give another shout out to all board members, the executive manager, and our conference chairs on working so hard to make our Fall convention a huge success. These people have worked tirelessly to bring this amazing convention to you. They sacrifice their personal time for the important work on the board and each of them deserves recognition. We are working on Spring conference as well so when we have the date and topic finalized, we’ll get that out to you so please be watching for more information to come. Your biggest push next week should be National School Psychology Week. Send e-mails to your school board members, colleagues, and/or district administrators to make them aware of this week. Hang the Let’s Get in Gear poster outside your office or in the hallways or main offices for extra recognition. Ask your district tech team to put the poster and/or our elevator speech, on your school web-site! Write something for your local paper to print. Reach out to Kansas legislators and remind them not only of the shortage in our field but also remind them of the growing need for more mental health providers in our schools and the role we play when it comes to providing mental health services. These are small things you can do that don’t take a lot of time to advance our cause and bring recognition to our field. Lastly, you will always hear me preach about self-care! During NPSW, do something for yourself! It’s difficult to convince people to join our field when they only see how overworked we are! Skip cooking and go out to eat instead. Indulge in a great movie. Join a workout class. Start a great book! Take a day off! Do absolutely NOTHING!! We must not only take care of ourselves but be an example for others of how to engage in self-care. It’s so important to avoid burnout and exhaustion! Be watching for e-mail blasts and information added to the web-site on ideas of how to celebrate US next week! Sincerely, Stacey R. Moddie, EdS KASP President |
Board Minute Summary by Angie Howard, Secretary The KASP Executive Board convened via Zoom on October 13, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. and began with review and approval of minutes from the previous meeting. Members of the board then turned their focus toward finalizing details of the KASP 2021 Virtual Fall Convention. Board members discussed responsiveness and participation the Futures of the Field Survey and continued planning for an additional follow up membership survey. An update was provided from the Kansas School Psychologist Evaluation Protocol (KS-PEP) Committee who has been charged with updating the evaluation protocol to align with the NASP and KSDE 2020 standards. The committee shared an anticipated completion date of spring 2022 so that the protocol may be utilized during the 2022-23 school year. Members engaged in discussion regarding allowing opportunity for stakeholder input and means for creating stakeholder buy-in for purposes of increasing use of the evaluation protocol across the state. The Executive Manager and Treasurers provided updates regarding financials related to convention, professional development opportunities, and general board functioning. Updates were provided by the KASP Webmaster and by the KASP GPR representative. GPR representative and members of the Board discussed KASP’s continued involvement in KS Mental Health Advocacy day, a date for which has not yet been set. Board members discussed logistics related to timing and format of the KASP 2022 January Board Retreat. Finally, the Board President provided an update regarding conference ideas and speakers for the KASP 2022 Virtual Spring Conference and Fall 2022 Convention. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. The KASP 2021 Meeting of General Membership was held during the KASP 2021 Virtual Fall Conference on October 14, 2020 and was called to order at 10:18 a.m. KASP President Stacey Moddie thanked members for their participation in the KASP Virtual conference and recognized the KASP Board Members for their service. The President provided an update regarding additions to the KASP Website including NASP Practice Model information and Self-assessment. Membership was reminded that the KASP advocacy “elevator speech” is available on the website and members were encouraged to take action through advocating for an expanded role for school psychologists in alignment with the NASP 2020 Standards. Membership was encouraged to engage in advocacy activities during National School Psychology Week and reminded of resources made available on KASP and NASP websites. The President shared an update regarding Strategic Planning including discussion of November 2022 as an anticipated timeline for finalizing changes and submitting a call to membership to join subcommittees for purposes of engaging in the work necessary to achieve goals within the KASP Strategic Plan. Membership was reminded to participate in the electronic Future of the Field Survey to assist the board in continued advocacy work based on needs throughout the state. The meeting of general membership was adjourned. |
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National School Psychology Week
We hope you all had a wonderful National School Psychology Week!
We want to thank Governor Kelly, as she proclaimed November 8th through 12th as National School Psychology Week in Kansas.
Timely Topics |
KASP Board Elections for 2022
The KASP Board welcomes Mandy Cundy as the Communications Director and Brittany Reed as the Associate Editor. Additionally, Lina Kitson will be the President and President-Elect for 2022!
Fall Convention Highlights
The virtual conference was held on October 14th and 15th. This year's theme was Stop, Collaborate, and Listen! KASP is following our national organization’s lead in continuing to expand the role of school psychologists to focus more on providing a continuum of mental health services in schools. On Thursday morning, keynote speaker, Carmen Zeisler, presented The Art of Holding Space. There was a General Meeting and KASP Awards were presented. In the afternoon, many timely topics were offered during the breakout sessions. Breakout sessions were recorded so that attendees are able to go back and view all breakout sessions of interest! On Friday, Dr. Stuart Ablon was the keynote speaker for both the morning and afternoon sessions. He spoke on collaborative problem solving. Thank you to attendees and all those that made the conference a success!
NASP Annual Convention
The NASP 2022 Convention will be held in person and virtually this year February 15-18, 2022. Registration is open!
For more information, visit: NASP 2022 Annual Convention (nasponline.org)
Spring 2022 Convention
More information is coming soon!
Well, the Annual Fall Conference is behind us. This year featured two separate breakout session specific to advocacy work: Advocating for the Comprehensive School Psychologist Role and Supporting Teachers and Staff presented by Dr. Justine Celoni and Dr. Kourtney Kumminga Advocacy: Expanding Grassroot Capacity in Kansas and Beyond presented by Jon Smeeton, KASP GPR representative. If you were not able to attend these sessions, they will be made available to Convention registrants for viewing through November 20. It is never too late to build skills in the area of advocacy even if you do not plan to use those skills to directly influence legislation. National School Psychology Week (NSPW) is November 8-12. Governor Laura Kelly has signed a proclamation recognizing November 8-12 School Psychology Week in Kansas. The theme for this year is Getting in GEAR. The acronym gear stands for Grow, Engage, Advocate, and Rise! One way to engage in professional advocacy is to demonstrate your value through specific actions. We often get discourage in our efforts because we believe that other stakeholders within our building do not see us as valuable members of the school community or that our only role is conducting special education evaluations. During NSPW, I encourage each of us to take on a tak that we would not normally do. Maybe even ask your principal specifically what they need help with and then do it. This demonstrates our value to the school community and allows us to expand our roles. NASP has other ideas for activities during throughout the week. For ideas https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/advocacy/national-school-psychology-week-(nspw)/poster-activities One aspect of effective advocacy is building alliances with other professionals. KASP leadership has reached out to leaders of the state School Social Workers and School Counselor organizations to begin planning Mental Health Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Topeka. Keep an eye out for further information as we gear up for the upcoming legislative session. Jonathan Smeeton, Government & Public Relations |
Student Section
The KASP board thanks our wonderful student representative, Shannon Vail, from the University of Kansas for her dedication, service, and work this past year!
Kansas Association of School Psychologists (KASP) is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to offer continuing education for school psychologists. KASP maintains responsibility for the program.
KASP is a NASP approved provider of CPDs. KASP is approved provider #1030
No person will be denied access to or full participation in any KASP program, event or activity on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, or age.