Get School Psych'd

January 2020

monthly newsletter for LSSPs in Region 10

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Letter from the 'Editor'

Happy New Year LSSPs!

I hope you all had a fun and relaxing break for the New Year.

I have a secret to share with you: I don't make New Year's resolutions (and I don't know that I ever have). It's not a principled stance or anything, I just never built the habit like others I suppose. I do think I spend a fair amount of time throughout the year reflecting and making goals for myself, I'm just not bound by the calendar. =)

That said, I see the value for sure. Engaging in honest self-reflection and goal setting for ourselves in an essential life skill (and featured regularly in a number of SEL-based programs). So for those of you who have taken the time and care to carve out some resolutions for yourself, I wish you the best of luck in your journey, and if I can be of any support to you in any of your professional resolutions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Keep Being School Psych'd,

Keya Saleh, LSSP, NCSP

Region 10 Educational Service Center

good reading in January

Understanding Trauma-Informed Education

Edutopia article featuring the principal of an internationally recognized trauma-informed school who explains what this form of education is—and what it isn’t.

Will A New Law Banning Suspensions For ‘Willful Defiance’ Hurt Or Help African American Students?

African American students are much more likely to be suspended from school than are white students. Will California's new law make things better or worse?

Thank you to ... the librarian who saved my life before I knew it needed saving

A Guardian series where writers celebrate a person who changed their lives. Kerry Hudson remembers the librarian who was always a kind, constant, gentle presence.

Good Reading and Research Collection

Resource: Good Reading Collected Works

So I have been thinking about the links that I post in this newsletter and it dawned on me that 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice if all of these links that show up every month could be pulled together into one easy to find place?" Well, that idea is now a reality. Presenting:

The Get School Psych'd Good Reading and Research Collection

This is a permanent resource that will house all of the links that I share every month in the newsletter. I will do my best to catalog them alphabetically by content area. Enjoy!

on demand workshop - evaluating dysgraphia in the fie

The Child Find, Evaluation, and ARD Supports Network has made their October webinar "Evaluating Dysgraphia in the FIE", available on-demand for free!

In this 120-minute session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the academic and underlying difficulties associated with dyslexia and develop a comprehensive plan for evaluating dysgraphia within an FIE.

Complete the information here to get access to the webinar.

keya's book club

I have always gotten a lot of questions about the books I am reading (mostly because approximately 84% of my sentences start with "you know I just read this book..."), so I decided to start sharing some of my personal favorites that I have recently read (or in some cases, reread).

This month: The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. This is a bit of a cop-out, as this is not a recent read (I read it several years ago), but I recently re-watched Dr. Schwartz's TED Talk about the book that reminded me how thought-provoking and influential this book was to me.

In his book, Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.

Region 10 Training Offerings

In an attempt to get information more organized, I am moving toward a Google Sheet for listing out upcoming training sessions here at Region 10 that would be of interest to LSSPs.

(NOTE: Sessions that I am facilitating have been bolded.)

This link will take you to the live spreadsheet. Check out the list every month to see what new offerings are coming up at Region 10.

HIGHLIGHTED TRAINING OF THE MONTH:

Autism Assessment Practices and Techniques

2/10/2020 - 9:00am - 4:00pm

Session ID# 2628668

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are the fastest growing area of eligibility in special education. While the number of identifications grows, the amount of information and research grows even faster. Understanding complex ASD assessment instruments, like the ADOS-2, is challenging and requires time and support.

In this session, participants will:

Review the similarities and differences in educational and medical frameworks of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria.
Discuss key components of an appropriate educational evaluation for ASD
Review best practices and strategies for effective administration of ASD diagnostic tools.