Description

This position for a general school psychologist role that covers West Elementary school and West Middle School. There is an additional psychologist also assigned to West Elementary.

Of note, we hope applicants will desire working within layered team supports. The APS psychology team works together in a peer supervision model, the admin supervisor of the psychology team is a neuropsychologist, and psychologists are part of their buildings’ mental and behavioral health teams alongside social workers, BCBAs, and nursing. Psychologists in a general role do not have a counseling caseload and are not required to respond to crises; however, this particular assignment features the opportunity to consult to the district’s Autism programming, which is on site in both buildings, as well to any cases of interest in the general milieu. 

Responsibilities

• Testing/Assessment:
  • Complete comprehensive psycho-educational assessments that cover domains pertinent to school functioning: cognitive, academic, social/emotional, behavioral, adaptive behavior, and other factors pertinent to the child’s learning capacity. 
  • Applicants should have a solid knowledge of frequently used tests and measures and an openness to learning new measures and workshopping creative test battery solutions.
  • Applicants should have a strong ability to interpret assessment findings for all audiences: students, parents, staff, and other parties involved in children’s care (i.e. treatment teams, case managers).
  • Applicants should be comfortable reviewing and understanding outside evaluations (i.e. educational and neuropsychological evaluations from hired examiners).

• Prevention and Consultation:
  • Participation on MTSS teams to identify students who are at risk of educational challenges.
  • Classroom observation and consultation.
  • Participate in school-wide academic and social/emotional health efforts.
  • Collaborate with other mental and behavioral health staff (i.e. social workers, BCBAs) to implement workshops for teachers.  

Essential Skills

• Communication skills:
  • Applicants should be able to communicate clearly in both written and oral forms to present information and respond to inquiries from colleagues, parents, and other parties (i.e. outpatient providers).
• Discipline-based professional expertise:
  • Applicants should be able to describe the tools used by psychologists to parties outside the discipline, such as explaining tests/measures, why certain tests may be chosen, and how different measures can be compared/contrasted.
• Data collection:
  • Applicants should have comfort advocating for data-driven decision making.
  • Within the testing and assessment process, applicants should be comfortable incorporating data from a variety of sources, including test data, information from criterion-based measures used in the classroom, schoolwide standardized testing and progress-monitoring efforts, etc.
• Technology:
  • Applicants should have a basic knowledge of Google-based programs and software solutions, video conferencing tools, and Microsoft applications for producing reports (i.e. assessment reports, data charts).
  • Applicants should have an openness and flexibility to learn new technologies and software solutions, such as learning management systems, novel methods of communication, and platforms that facilitate data collection, including psychological testing data.

Qualifications

• School Psychology licensure by MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is mandatory.
• Masters Degree of higher in psychology or related field is mandatory.
• National Certification in School Psychology (NCSP) is strongly preferred.

Supplemental Information

Andover Public Schools (APS) seeks candidates who embody our ethos, which includes valuing the identities of all students, high expectations for all students, teaching excellence, collaboration, innovation, respect, and responsibility.
APS is committed to hiring and supporting a racially and ethnically diverse faculty and staff.  Racially and ethnically diverse teachers produce a myriad of positive outcomes for all students, especially the most historically marginalized students.

To apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/andoverma/jobs/4977455/school-psychologist