School Psychologist

About the Employer

The Tustin Unified School District is a learning community rich in heritage and committed to a tradition of excellence. Our mission is to ensure that each student optimizes individual achievement through an educational system characterized by challenging and exciting curricula and inspiring personalized instruction, in partnership with our dynamic and involved communities.

Job Description / Essential Elements:

Psychologist

Under the direction of the Assistant Superintendent, Student Services, the Psychologist serves as a mental health professional to students from Preschool through 12th grade. The Psychologist evaluates the needs of children within the educational system or school, and plans and carries out programs to enable children to attain maximum achievement and adjustment by performing the following duties.

The Psychologist applies scientific principles in assessment of intellectual abilities, characteristics, and behavior to ameliorate school-related problems and to facilitate the learning and development of students by providing services to students, teachers, parents, and community agencies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Counsels students, parents, and consults with staff in the development of appropriate behavior goals.
• Assists students, parents, and staff in the development of realistic personal expectancies.
• Develops individual and group problem-solving techniques.
• Develops interpersonal relation skills.
• Provides a climate within which parents, students, and staff can gain assistance with problems.
• Evaluates students in relation to learning needs.
• Develops hypothesis, aggregates data, and makes recommendations.
• Develops instructional programs with staff to meet students' needs; recommends behavior management techniques to staff and parents; recommends curriculum alternatives and specific instructional strategies to staff and parents; assists staff in the utilization of strategies recommended.
• Interprets test data; researches available tests necessary to meet individual school needs; provides in-service training for staff on standardized administration techniques; interprets individual and group test data to staff and parents.
• Serves as a liaison for school referrals to community resources; maintains contact with outside community agencies; appropriately utilizes outside agencies based upon identified needs of students.
• Plans, implements, and evaluates staff development activities in the area of behavior management, testing, and guidance, and teaching strategies.
• Participates in the development of school and District programs.
• Conducts diagnostic studies to identify child's needs, limitations, and potentials, observing child in classroom and at play, studying school records, consulting with parents and school personnel, and administering and interpreting diagnostic findings.
• Plans special placement or other treatment programs.
• Counsels pupils individually and in groups to assist pupils to achieve personal, social, and emotional adjustment.
• Carries out research to aid in the introduction of programs in schools to meet current psychological, educational, and sociological needs of children.
• Advises teachers and other school personnel on methods to enhance school and classroom atmosphere to provide motivating educational environment.
• Serves as a consultant to school board, superintendent, administrative committees, and parent-teacher groups in matters involving psychological services within educational system or school. Conducts needs assessment, researches, writes, develops, and evaluates schemes for specific programs at the district level.
• Refers individuals to community agencies to secure medical, vocational, or social services for child or family.
• Participates in planning of remedial classes and testing programs designed to meet needs of students.

CREDENTIAL:

Pupil Personnel Credential authorizing service in School Psychology.

EDUCATION:

Master's Degree Experience:

All required fieldwork/internship, and teaching.

EXPERIENCE:

Personal Qualities:

Appearance, grooming, and personality that establish a desirable example for students. Ability to meet District standards for physical and mental health.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, musical notes, etc.,) in its most difficult phases. Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit.

The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually mild.

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