School Psychology Program

This program is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), the National Council for Accredidation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC).

Coordinator: Dr. Peter Mortola
pmortola@lclark.edu

School psychologists work in deeply engaged and collaborative ways with students, teachers, families, administrators, and other professionals to address the social, emotional, and learning needs of children in schools. The professionals therefore need to possess highly developed relational and communication skills in order to succeed in their work of helping children to succeed in schools. The School Psychology Program at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling emphasizes these relational and communication skills in our NASP-approved course of study. Through courses in counseling, consultation, assessment, and intervention, our students learn to work effectively with individual children, whole families, special education teams, and large school communities to help create learning environments that foster the healthy development of all children.

This specialist degree-level program is designed for students seeking licensure as school psychologists. The Educational Specialist degree demands a level of preparation significantly greater than that called for by a master's degree. The program may be completed in three years of full-time study, with the third year being a full-time internship in a public school. The Lewis & Clark College concentration in school psychology is fully approved by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) at the state level and by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) at the national level.

In addition to fulfilling the following requirements, students wishing to be licensed must submit passing scores on the Praxis/PPST or CBT series. Those scores must be on file in the Counseling Psychology Department prior to graduation.

The school psychology program at Lewis & Clark College prepares school psychologists who can provide visionary leadership and practice. Students in this program develop expertise in testing and assessment to identify learners' needs, and also learn to identify the personal strengths that learners possess to help them succeed. They develop skills for engaging teachers, learners, and families as partners. Intensive preparation in collaboration and consultation strategies, in family counseling, in prevention programming and program evaluation are part of the professional preparation. A full-time year of supervised internship work as a school psychologist insures graduates have had the opportunity to integrate their knowledge and growing skills in practice. Completing this program gives graduates eligibility for licensing in Oregon and 24 other states by direct agreement, and other states based on competency reviews.

Today's School Psychologists

School psychologists are expanding the ways they make a difference in the lives of learners. In the past, school psychologists concentrated on identifying the special needs of students who were struggling with learning. Now, in addition to that service, they work closely with teachers, parents, administrators, other school specialists, and community professionals to provide support for learners with many needs. School psychologists counsel, tutor, and mentor learners and their families. They also take the lead in providing services to students and families of cultural and linguistic diversity. Working with members of the school and surrounding community to support healthy development and success for all learners is the vision of school psychologists.