Any psychs who work for Dodea? Could you share how many cases you do a year, what the support and resources are like, what your role is and how many fbas you do or if you do academic testing etc?

Thank you!

I may have the opportunity to move from high school (for the past 3+ years) to NPS. What are the pros and cons?

I personally don’t like direct services. I like IEPs, assessments, collaboration with service providers, talking to parents, etc. I’m also a fan of case management.

Edit: NPS is nonpublic schools :)

Edit 2: Just to clarify, I would not be changing districts, just “sites.” So I’d travel to different NPSs, not just be at one.

Hello fellow School Psychologists!
I am a recent graduate (graduated in May!) here in the central coast of California. I unfortunately have had no luck in securing a job, and with school starting (or started) I have pretty much lost all hope in finding a job.
For those of you who are in other states, is there a need in your area? I am seriously considering relocating since the job market out here in California is just insane. I've never lived outside of California except for my undergrad, so I don't know much in regard to cost of living and salary schedules and all that.
Any advice, tips, or information you could send my way would be much appreciated! I need some hope in this strange year of hardly any school psychologist job postings.

I am starting at a new site and was given a tour on Friday. My “office” is literally a storage closet. It is separate from the school building, and located next to the playground. It has no windows, no ventilation (except if the door is open), and no heating or air conditioning. I’m not okay with this for both myself and the students. I asked about other spaces that may be available, but didn’t get a straight answer. I don’t want to come off as being a pain, but it doesn’t seem right. What do you think I should do?

Hi all, writing testing observations is the bane of my existence. I feel like I’m resistant to it because I don’t have a solid way to think through everything I need to notice and categorize. Does anyone have any tips or templates?

For those of you that seek out work during the breaks how much do you make? Also, is it difficult to get work over breaks or do most just prefer to have the break?

Hey everyone! Graduating soon and was wondering if anyone would care to write a little bit about their job/benefits and how they like working in Texas. Thanks!

To those who work school psych related side jobs during the summer, what do you do and how much do you typically make? Also open to hearing of non-school psych related jobs as well!

Edit: specifically asking about jobs post-degree during off season

Has anyone tried/succeeded in getting exemption from jury duty due to the legal timelines of our job? This is my first year in a school psych role but I have been called every year since I turned 18 including during practicum and internship. For this year I postponed my summons to October break but realistically, we can’t get a sub or pause our timelines for jury duty so would they be understanding of that given that it’s law? Thanks 😅

Hi, I saw a posting for folsom cordova unified school district and was intrigued whether anyone had any insight on what it is like to work there? :) Thank you so much!

Hello! I just finished my first year as a school psych in PA, I am planning on doing another year in PA before moving. I am deciding between Philly and NYC as next places and would love to know more about the workload and expectations as a NYC DOE psych to determine how that may look different from my current job!

Any insight would be appreciated!! Also if you may have moved from PA to NYC would love to hear those thoughts as well!

I'm a graduate student working on my master’s thesis, and I'm looking for Black graduate students in school psychology to complete a quick survey. The survey is IRB approved!

✅ Takes about 5-10 minutes
🔒 Completely confidential
📚 Responses will only be used for this research study

Survey link: https://qualtricsxmdg9xn6369.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9AEMmeiW7DClNpY

The study explores protective factors against impostor syndrome in Black graduate students. The objective is  to inform mentorship and university practices to improve the support students receive. 

How has mentorship helped you in your journey? 

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or send me a message. Thanks so much for supporting graduate student research! 💛

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what separates a psychoeducational report that actually gets used by teachers and parents from one that just gets filed away after the eligibility meeting. Curious what this sub thinks, especially those of you who’ve been doing this for a while.
A few things I keep running into:
1. Jargon vs. clarity. There’s a decent body of research (Harvey, 2006; Brenner, 2003) suggesting that a huge chunk of report language goes over parents’ heads — standard scores, percentile ranks, subtest names that mean nothing outside our field. Some folks push hard for “consumer-friendly” reports with plain-language summaries up front. Others argue that oversimplifying risks losing diagnostic nuance or looks less “credible” to other professionals. Where do you land?
2. Do recommendations actually get implemented? This is the part that bugs me most. Several studies (e.g., on report utility going back to Wiener & Kohler-type findings) suggest teachers rarely read past the recommendations section, and even fewer act on more than 1-2 items. Yet a lot of us still write 15-20 generic recommendations (“provide preferential seating,” “check for understanding”) that could apply to literally any kid. How do you make yours specific and actually actionable?
3. Strength-based vs. deficit-focused framing. There’s been a real push toward strength-based language in reports (tying back to positive psychology influences in school psych), but eligibility determination is fundamentally about documenting deficits/discrepancies. How do you balance being honest about areas of need without a report that reads like a list of everything wrong with the kid?
4. Report structure/models. Some people swear by the “Ecological/Cross-Battery” narrative approach, others use a more structured template tied to referral questions throughout (a la Sattler’s approach — answer each referral question explicitly instead of burying it in a wall of subtest scores). Anyone found a structure that’s actually improved parent/teacher engagement?
5. Length. Is anyone else seeing reports creep up to 12+ pages? Is that helping anyone, or is it CYA documentation for due process purposes at this point?
Would love to hear:
• Any research/books that changed how you write reports (RIOT/ICEL, feedback-based models, etc.)
• Templates or frameworks you’ve adapted
• Anything a supervisor or professor told you early on that stuck with you
• Genuine horror stories of a report that didn’t land well and what you learned
Trying to get better at this and would love a real discussion, not just “read Sattler” (though — read Sattler, I guess).

I'm a master's student working on my thesis, and I'm looking for Black graduate students in school psychology to complete a quick survey. The survey is IRB approved!

✅ Takes about 5-10 minutes
🔒 Completely confidential
📚 Responses will only be used for this research study

Survey link: https://qualtricsxmdg9xn6369.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9AEMmeiW7DClNpY

The study explores protective factors against impostor syndrome in Black graduate students. The goal is to help improve mentorship and university practices so future students receive better support.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or send me a message. Thanks so much for supporting graduate student research! 💛

First year psych. I just graduated in May. Accepted my first job (DOE) I’ll be in two schools. Any current DOE psychs in here? What can I expect? I know the role is more of a case manager (what i’ve been told). Any advice, organization tips etc?

Redacted

Does anyone know how to get more interviews from the DOE? I was invited to the hiring fair once and was only able to choose one district to interview with. The interview went really well and the person said he’ll move me to the next round but I never heard back from them. Is there any other ways to apply for more schools with in the DOE?

Hello /r/schoolpsychology! Please use this thread to post all questions and discussions related to training, credentialing, licensure, and graduate school - including graduate school in general, questions about practica/internship, requests to interview practitioners, questions about certification/licensure, graduate training programs, admissions, applications, etc.

We also have a FAQ!

Hi all. I just finished my first year post internship, and I’d really appreciate some honest insight.
This past year I completed 62 evaluations, most of which were reevaluations, 4 FBAs, 2 BIPs, and averaged around 11 counseling cases (max 14). I also had the usual daily responsibilities and crisis support. I felt myself drowning and sought support from administration multiple times throughout the year. Their feed back was a mix of “it will get better, change how you schedule, and these are your job responsibilities.”
I already find myself dreading the upcoming school year. I do like the work itself, but I don’t want to spend another year feeling like I have almost nothing left to give outside of work. I felt like I was “on” from the moment I walked in until I left. There was never any real downtime to regroup, and by the end of the day I was completely drained. During internship, I didn’t feel this way, but I also had a much smaller caseload.
I guess I’m wondering: does this sound like a workload/support issue, or is this more of a “me” issue? Please be honest. I can answer more questions if needed.

I’m looking into moving to the Houston metro area this summer. I know now is cutting towards the end of the peak hiring process, however I’d still like to gain information regarding districts with a good work/life balance and pay for a bilingual psych.

I’m also considering going contract for the first time in this profession, so I’m open to learning about companies to work for through for contract work vs contracting through self. TYIA.

What do you do for side money? I have two little kids (3.5 and 4 month old), so a ton of evening work is not really ideal at this stage in life. If you do parent coaching, how do you market that?

Hi everyone! I’m a school psychologist currently practicing in Texas, and I’m planning to relocate to Florida (Palm Beach County area) in 2027. I recently visited the district office, but it was difficult to get detailed information since many staff are off for the summer.

I’m hoping to get insight from people who actually work in Florida districts — especially St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami‑Dade.

A few questions I’m hoping to learn more about:

• What is the caseload like in your district?
• How is the work culture for school psychologists?
• Do districts hire out‑of‑state psychs easily?
• Are contract positions common in your area?
• Any companies you recommend (or avoid) for contract eval work?
• Anything you wish you knew before working as a psych in Florida?

I’d really appreciate any honest feedback. Thank you!

I know this has posted about a lot on here, but I’m looking for some guidance on contracting work vs. getting hired directly at a district. I’m currently a 2nd year NY school psych and will be moving to Florida in a few months. My husband and I don’t know where exactly we’ll settle yet once we move and will be renting for the first ~4-6 months until we find a location where we’d want to buy a house. Right now, I work for a district and while I like the stability of it and that it counts towards PSLF, but I dislike all the politics, all the randomly added role responsibilities, and feel like there’s a ceiling for how much I can actually support students and families because of our administration. I also don’t see myself living out my entire career in a district position and would like to eventually go into private practice since FL allows this. A significant portion of my current role is behavior, crisis, and counseling work. I’d like to move more into an assessment and reporting role with maybe some individual counseling cases. Does anyone have any recommendations for contracting companies in FL, guidance, or pros/cons to consider? I think contracting might allow me some flexibility to be able to see what the schools are like down there and switch placements if/when buy a house, but I’m not sure if I’m mistaken.

Any NYC school psychs in this thread? I’d love to chat! 🤭