Meet the Psychologists in Education (PIE) Executive ...

Key goals & focus areas for the Psychologists in Education (PIE) Special Interest Council include:

• to create a learning community that supports each other and reviews best practices 

• to provide psychologists in education with high-quality continuing education and opportunities for collaboration, which will benefit all those with whom Psychologists work

• to increase student access to services in schools by advocating for a defined Psychologist-to-student ratio aligned with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommendations;  NASP recommends a ratio of 1 School Psychologist to 500 students; All students should receive access to services in a reasonable time frame

• School Psychologists are valuable professionals with unique skills and training in the K-12 education system.  Presently, a set allocation for School Psychologists does not exist. The Psychologists in Education Special Interest Council proposes the Department of Education allocate a psychologist-to-student ratio at 1:750  with sensitivity to school configurations and geography. This 1:750  ratio will better facilitate the delivery of psychology services to students and the school community within the full scope of the School Psychologist’s practice and training.

• to liaise and build meaningful relationships with key stakeholders and community partners to help provide the best supports and services for students in our province (For example, Autism Society, Learning Disabilities Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial University, etc… ) 

• to educate the school community about the role, training, skills and experience of Psychologists who work with students, educators, and families to enable the optimization of skills for the benefit of the whole school community

• to allow for coordinated, focused problem-solving around the growing issue of recruitment and retention of Psychologists in our province

• to engage in meaningful collaboration with the Newfoundland & Labrador English School District, the Department of Education, and the Newfoundland & Labrador Teachers Association to create opportunities for the provision of high-quality, empirically driven mental health services in our province’s school system

• to enable the Psychologists working in our schools to operate within their full scope of practice, thus further improving the quality and efficacy of mental health service delivery within education