Welcome! I am very excited to be part of the High School team! I have been working in the district for several years and truly enjoy being able to support students and families.  I will be working with the following Academies:

• Freshman- Alpha & Omega

• Health Science 

• Human Services

Who Are School Psychologists?

School psychologists have training in both psychology and education.  They use their training to work as a team with parents, teachers and other mental health professionals to make sure children learn in a safe, healthy and supportive environment.  

What Do School Psychologists Do?

The primary responsibility of the school psychologists in Shakopee is to conduct evaluations for special education.  School psychologists use a wide variety of techniques to evaluate:

• Intellectual Ability
• Emotional Development
• Social Skills
• Behavioral Skills
• Daily Living Skills

School psychologists also provide consultation, intervention, and staff development services.  Consultation includes working with team members to develop healthy and effective alternatives for problems in learning and behavior as well as working with others to apply information about child development to learning and behavior.  This includes prevention activities. Intervention services include helping to solve conflicts and problems in learning and adjustment, providing short-term counseling for children and helping families and schools deal with crises.

All children face problems from time to time.  For example, they may:

• Fall behind in school work
• Feel depressed
• Lack study skills
• Feel anxious
• Have difficulties establishing friendships

School psychologists are there to help parents, teachers, and students understand and solve these problems.

This information was adapted from the National Association of School Psychologists Association (NASP) brochure “What is a School Psychologist?”