Do you want your school psychologists to be on the cutting edge of emerging best practices during COVID-19, even when they're juggling multiple roles? 

  • What if you could keep your school psychologists in compliance with special education mandates and assessment even with increased referrals?
  • Do you wish you had instant access to hundreds of school district leaders and psychologists across the country to find out what they are doing to support students' Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
  • Do you want to prevent your team from scrambling to figure our how to serve your students, prevent collective trauma, and support your staff's well-being all alone?

 Imagine your school psychologists are supporting ALL students' SEL...and keeping in compliance with special education assessment too.

Hi, I’m Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, author of The School Psychologist’s Survival Guide and founder of The Thriving School Psychologist Collective. I help school psychologists move from being "testing machines" on the verge of burnout to thriving by using their full skill-sets, engaging in prevention and intervention that close opportunity gaps for students.

School psychologists have always been more than testers, and this recent crisis proved that. In our community, within one week of Shelter-in-Place, our members:

  • Created a “Simplify, Serve, and Connect” Virtual MTSS Plan with a Google Drive of curated resources for parents, students, and staff.
  • Crowd-sourced critical resources, such as virtual consent forms, Distance 504 Plans, and PDFs and videos of self-care strategies to share with parents, students, and staff.
  • Created YouTube SEL videos that could be delivered proactively and in counseling sessions.

Your school psychologists are being asked to do so much more with so much less time and resources in a high-pressure, strange distance learning/hybrid situation.  

You want to ensure that every student has equal access to high-quality mental heath and learning support services, and it can be done by investing in professional development for your school psychologists.

Here's What it Could Look Like in YOUR school district:

  • You can reboot a "Social-Emotional Learning Plan" so your district can maximize dwindling resources to reach their most vulnerable students proactively. 
  • Your school psychologists will have daily connection with passionate professionals who are ready to support your RTI/MTSS efforts...and they can turn on a dime when new challenges emerge to get new resources in our 600+ district network!
  • You can re-inspire and boost the morale of your current school psychologists so that they are enthusiastically partnering with principals to support short term SEL and learning supports and build out long-term sustainable prevention and early intervention systems.
  • Your school psychologists are equipping teachers with skills to foster the critical social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of students.
  • Your students no longer "slip through the cracks" because your school psychologist is too bogged down to engage in prevention and early detection of social, emotional, behavioral, or preventable academic problems. 

In working with hundreds of school psychologists across the country, I’ve created a professional development system that helps get us out of this stressful survival mode cycle and empowers school psychologists to increase efficiency, prevent burnout, and enhance their practice to reach students before they need special education.  

And we've been improving our assessment workflow and expanding our roles virtually since 2017, so we already know how to do it online.

Want to learn how to tap into the real potential of your school psychologists to interrupt the cycle of student underachievement and collective trauma before more costly interventions are needed? 

Are you interested in leveraging your school psychologists to address issues of equity, overrepresentation, and inclusion in your special education programs and in distance learning? 

Is your district is struggling with figuring out the "new normal for a while" to keep in compliance AND support crucial SEL programs?

We can help.

INTRODUCING

The #1 Online Professional Development Course and Community for School Psychologists

What Will Your School Psychologists Have Access to?

  • 7 on-demand video modules, released monthly
  • The Thriving School Psychologist Kit: Over 50+ pages of downloadable tools to streamine workflow and optimize job satisfaction
  • Up to 12 hours of National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) approved CPD credit at no additional charge!
  • One FULL school year support to adapt to changing conditions throughout the year.
  • 10 months access to a confidential closed online forum with access to peer support, feedback, new ideas, and collaboration contests to increase accountability
  •  10 Live online video Q&A sessions with Dr. Branstetter, a team of MTSS experts, and a cohort of peers to personalize and problem-solve district-specific challenges


 WHAT WILL YOUR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS LEARN?

Module #1 Less Paperwork, More Time for Kids!

 This module teaches school psychologists how to streamline assessment work flow to free up time to be with kids, parents, and staff, doing interventions that positively impact the school community. They learn how to break free from the “Test-IEP-Repeat” burnout cycle by learning the best “hacks” for managing paperwork and heavy caseloads without sacrificing quality. 

Module #2 Writing Quality Reports in Less Time

The number one complaint from school psychologist about their jobs is the amount of time writing assessment reports, which takes away from working directly with kids, teachers, and staff, and doing hands-on interventions. This Module teaches school psychologists how to write quality, legally defensible reports in less time. They will learn proven strategies for efficient report writing and learn how to use technology to automate sections of their reports without sacrificing quality. 

This module inlcludes access to a second Data-Based Techniques recorded webinar from Schoolpsych.com to learn tools such as Google Forms, Excel, and Google Docs for more efficient data gathering and reporting. 

Module #3 Consulting Your Way from “Testing Machine” into a “Consultant and Intervention Specialist”

No school psychologist got in this job to be a gatekeeper to special education services! They got into the profession to help struggling students. Yet, school psychologists are often in the position of having such a high caseload that it becomes necessary to screen for appropriate referrals. This Module teaches them how to analyze their referral stream to uncover patterns that create inappropriate referrals. They will learn how small changes in their messaging allows a powerful way to educate others about when an assessment is the next course of action and when an alternative intervention is needed. 

In collaboration with guest lecturer Lainie Sgouris, M.A., (University of California, Berkeley), Credentialed School Psychologist in California, Arizona, and Missouri, participants will learn how to identify gaps in Tier 1 and 2 services at your school sites to find areas to improve. Specific tools for improving PBIS, MTSS, and RTI efforts are provided so that no matter what stage your school psychologist's intervention team is at, s/he can support the efforts.

Module #4 Dealing with Difficult Relationships 

Effective school psychologists know how to navigate the complex relationships of the job with adults. This Module teaches them how to effectively use consultation tools to diffuse emotionally charged situations, break through resistance during consultation, and help adults change their lenses from “The problem is within the child and you need to test him” to “What can we do now to support the child?” By changing the lens, they can spend more time in intervention and prevention than in testing children once they have “failed enough” to need to be tested. 

Module #5 Infusing Counseling and Support Services into Your Day 

Even if your school psychologist is not presently doing counseling, there are ways they can infuse counseling into their work days. In this Module, they will learn how to analyze their current caseload reality and learn ways to increase therapeutic one-on-one student time in the day. They learn how to start small and scale up so that they are spending more time directly supporting students instead of just diagnosing and documenting challenges in the assessment reports. They are provided the “The School Psychologist’s Therapeutic Toolkit” with easy-to-implement activities they can do without a lot of training or time in several modalities (e.g. mindfulness, CBT, solution focused, play therapy, crisis counseling). Tools for tracking student's social-emotioanl goals are also provided so that they can monitor intervention effectiveness. 

Module #6 Preventing Burnout

New or early-career school psychologists may be overwhelmed by the steep learning curve and flood of new information about how to apply best practices what often is a less-than-ideal situation due to lack of resources and time. Seasoned veterans may have a relative handle on the job demands but are feeling ineffective, exhausted, and even cynical. Regardless of where school psychologists are in their careers, there are times when the demands of being a school psychologist can outweigh the rewards. At the core of preventing and counteracting burnout is awareness and conscious action. In this Module, they will learn what about what in their current role is within their control, how to make needed changes in what is in their control, and acknowledge and implement self-care strategies to what is not yet changeable. This module is based on the “Science of Burnout” and provides specific, day-to-day, and practical strategies for remaining engaged and positive during the most stressful parts of the job.

Module #7 Career Sustainability

Ever wonder how some school psychologists have the staying power to be in the career full time for 30+ years until retirement? Well, I interviewed them to find out! In this Module, school psychologists will learn their secrets to long-term career sustainability. They will also learn how to apply the "science of happiness" in their careers as school psychologists, particularly in carving out more time in thier career for passion projects that expand their prevention and intervention roles in the district.  

MULTIPLE DISTRICT INITIATIVES COVERED IN ONE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM


DISTRICT SUPPORT PACKAGES

What is Included in The Thriving School Psychologist Collective™ 


Online Professional Development + Professional Learning Community + Group Coaching

7 On-demand Online Modules

Thriving School Psychologist Kit

Up to 12 NASP-approved CPD credits 

Certificate of Completion for Accountability

PLUS:

10 Months Access to Private Online Forum Group for accountability, collaboration, and sharing resources in a professional learning community of school psychologists 

10 Live Q & A group video coaching calls with Dr. Branstetter, a team of MTSS experts, and peers to facilitate movement towards professional goals so that participants can apply their learning in their specific district contexts and changing conditions.

Monthly Collaboration Contests to win tech tools and resources specific to helping school psychologists.

Access to a Curated COVID-19 Supports Google Drive with resources from our 400+ district network of school psychologists.


Learn About Group Rates and How to Enroll Your School Psychologists

What is Included in The Thriving School Psychologist Collective™ 


Professional Development + Professional
Learning Community + Group Coaching

7 On-demand Online Modules

Thriving School Psychologist Kit

Up to 12 NASP-approved CPD credits 

Certificate of Completion for Accountability

PLUS:

10 Months Access to Private Online Forum Group for accountability, collaboration, and sharing resources in a professional learning community of school psychologists 

10 Live Q & A group video coaching calls with Dr. Branstetter, a team of MTSS experts, and peers to facilitate movement towards professional goals so that participants can apply their learning in their specific district contexts.

Monthly Collaboration Contests to win tech tools and resources specific to helping school psychologists.

Access to a Curated COVID-19 Supports Google Drive with resources from our 400+ district network of school psychologists.


Additional Support Available

Dr. Branstetter is available to conduct in-person and virtual professional development trainings upon request.

These "hands on" workshops provide facilitated work-time for participants to apply the Thriving School Psychologist content to meet district-specific goals (e.g. compliance, reducing burnout, reducing representation in special education, building sustainable MTSS teams, etc.)

Workshop includes a one-hour strategy session with Dr. Branstetter and district leaders (e.g. special education directors, lead psychologists) to prioritize district goals and workshop agenda.

BONUS! Districts that purchase the Thriving School Psychologist course for 10+ School Psychologists are eligible for a complimentary 3-hour virtual workshop with your district leaders, school psychologists and Dr. Branstetter. 

I know you want to support your school psychologists, but it can be hard to find professional development that can specifically address their unique job challenges. I can't wait to connect with you to strategize how your district goals can be met through The Thriving School Psychologist Collective. 

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email directly at rebecca@thrivingschoolpsych.com or click on the "chat/email" icon. 

Cheers,

Rebecca

Rebecca Branstetter, Ph.D.

School Psychologist, Licensed Educational Psychologist, and California Licensed Psychologist #22654

Author of The School Psychologist's Survival Guide and Notes from the School Psychologist Blog

Founder of The Thriving School Psychologist Collective ® 

Read what school psychologists are saying about how the Thriving School Psychologist Collective™ transformed their work...

"As someone who has been in the field of school psychology for 20 years, I can honestly say that enrolling in the Thriving School Psychologist was one of the most professionally and personally rewarding professional development opportunities I have experienced. The webinars and resources have helped build new skills and improve others. Having the ability to collaborate with other school psychologists near and far allowed me a forum to express ideas, build goals, and keep up with best practice.

The THRIVE community became an invaluable resource and support as we all tried to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. I was able to share with my district what others were doing around the country in order to provide the best possible services to our students."

Anne M. , School Psychologist 


"Working with Dr. Branstetter gave me the tools I needed to access my training and do more than just 'TEST, IEP, REPEAT'! I specifically love all the useful sound bites that I constantly deploy when I need to explain difficult concepts to teachers or parents. SO PRACTICAL!" 

Andrew R. Potter, Ph.D., Early Career School Psychologist 


"Before the Thriving School Psychologist Collective, I was burned out and constantly overwhelmed by the job. I realized if I didn't change something, I wasn't going to last in the profession. The strategies have changed my productivity and quality of life! I'm so glad I signed up. I felt "stuck" for many years and I doubt I could have made these changes on my own. Thank you!"

Lauren H., School Psychologist 


"I needed real, practical strategies, because I was growing to resent parts of my job and feeling like all the work I was putting in didn't matter. I have loved the collaborative environment and hearing how psychs across the country tackle the same problems! Now, I do so much more than just test and write!

Erin K., 4th year School Psychologist 


"I love the way you present! I never get bored with what you are saying and your perspective as someone in MY field who can speak to and address my similar concerns is so beneficial! Thank you!"

Kathryn S., School Psychologist 


"I have been a School Psychologist for over 7 years and the support and lessons I have learned from Dr. Branstetter have been invaluable! Working with her, I have increased my knowledge in being comfortable with working in the gray areas. Not everything we do is clear cut, even after years in the field, and Dr. Branstetter guides you through those difficult times with her years of experiences and insightful views on child development and educational psychology. With her help, even a seasoned veteran will learn a ton! 

Javarte Bobino, Ph.D., School Psychologist 


I have worked as a school psychologist for over 25 years. Working in a school district can feel overwhelming, frustrating and as though no matter what you do, the work just keeps on coming. Rebecca's years of knowledge and warm, engaging style and wit all help clarify issues we deal with daily that are beyond our control and navigate school district bureaucracy to make positive changes, when possible.  

Most importantly, even after all these years, I feel more confident, enthusiastic, and have a renewed sense of energy in my work, because of her wise and helpful evidenced based advice! 

Cori Bussolori, Ph.D., School Psychologist


“In addition to being extremely knowledgeable, Dr. Branstetter is a fantastic presenter. She is very down to earth, authentic, compassionate, and funny! She truly understands the life of a school psych, and I feel safe in sharing my ups and downs with her. I have already learned a lot from her. Although I've only done three of the modules so far, it's already been well worth the cost!”

 -Donna, School Psychologist 

FAQ 

When will our school psychologists find time in their already busy days to participate? 

The modules are all "on demand," which means once they are released each month, they can watch at any time. They are purposefully divided into three 20-minute segments so that they can access them during the school day.

If our district opts for the program that includes the monthly live video Q&A sessions, do the school psychologists have to show up live to participate? What if they miss them? 

If your psychologist cannot attend the live Q&A session, her or she can submit a question in advance and me and my team will answer it live and put it to the "mastermind" of the other school psychologist participants for their input. Then, since the Q&A live video sessions in are recorded and stored in the online portal, they can listen to them at their convenience. 

I have some school psychologists who have been doing this for a while. Will the strategies be new for them? 

The longer we are in the field without taking time to learn new things, we can get entrenched in our ways of doing things, feel hopeless to make chance, and get burned out. Think of the course like a re-boot and a way to re-energize passion for the job and protect from burnout. There are also so many new tech tools that school psychologists can use to streamline workflows (even if they are not super tech savvy). There are webinars in the course that share tools ranging from novice ("Tech scares me!") to advanced ("I'm practically an Excel genius") that will work for participants.

Can our school psychologists earn continuing professional development credit for participating?

Yes! The course is eligible at all both levels of participation for up to 12 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)-Approved CPD credits with the opportunity for additional self-study CPD units toward NCSP renewal available. In partnership with SchoolPsych.com, participants have the option to submit proof of participation to earn credits. NASP-approved credits count toward renewing the NCSP. Participation in CPD activities within the course is optional.

I feel like my district is unique. Will this course be flexible enough to apply to our needs

The beauty of this course is that the concepts are delivered in engaging, interactive webinars and the content can be appied in any district. For Option 2, there is access to Dr. Branstetter and a cohort of school psychologists across the country with different viewpoints and expertise to share. All participants who register for the Option 2 program will have the closed group online forum support of Dr. Branstetter, her team, as well as like-minded colleagues. 

If your district is not sure if the course is a fit, I encourage you to email me at rebecca@thrivingschoolpsych.com to learn about the various ways districts have tailored the Thriving School Psychologist Collective to their particular district goals. 

Do my school psychologists have lifetime access to this course modules?

This course is designed to be completed in 10 months. School psychologists have told me that the material has so much more meaning when they can actively learn, apply, and tweak the strategies during the school year. While participants only have access to the video modules for 10 months, they are able to download all the PDFs and Power Tools, which they can use any time. 

When does the course start? 

The course starts every August and December. This is so that school psychologists have a cohort of peers who are at the same stage in their transformational journey from being a "testing machine" to fully using their skillsets to support the students and school communities they serve.