INTERNSHIP UPDATES:
KATHY JENSON
I am doing my internship in the Starpoint Central School District in Lockport, NY. I have two supervisors – Liz Tower, School Social Worker, and Karen Schultz, School Psychologist. Liz oversees my counseling agenda while Karen oversees my assessments and everything else I do. I am working with grades K-12. The school district is unique in that all of the schools are located on one campus. So far this year I have orchestrated the contests for middle school students for the upcoming Disabilities Awareness Week, and made presentations to all 8th grade students about Suicide Awareness and Prevention. I have my share of re-evals and initial referrals that I am completing. My current counseling case load includes 3 individuals (middle and high school), 2 primary social skills group (grades K-5), and 2 study skills groups for 6th and 8th graders. I am also involved in the intervention team at the primary level which I help facilitate. Starpoint has proven to be an excellent placement so far and I am looking forward to the rest of my time here.
COURTNEY WHEELER
For my internship, I am working with the Syracuse City School District. I spend three days a week at Nottingham High School and two days a week at Bellevue Elementary School. So far I’ve been very busy with counseling, consultations, and administering tests for initial and triennial review. One of my favorite experiences is running four lunch groups at the elementary level. In the spring I will be conducting a private school evaluation and assisting on an alternative site evaluation. Syracuse has been using an RTI model for a few years now and has really well established School Based Intervention Teams (which I sit in on at the elementary school) that provide the intervention needed before a child can go through a formalized testing process. It has been a great experience thus far and I would highly encourage those that are current second year students to consider Syracuse when applying for internships.
ELIZABETH OBERG
During my internship at Intermediate School District #287, I provide services to students in Minneapolis and the West metro. I am enjoying my Minnesota internship, working with students from Kindergarten to 12th grade with various needs. I engage in group counseling, and I provide behavioral supports and conduct assessments with deaf and hard of hearing students and students on the autism spectrum.
SARA NICHOLLS
My internship is with Manassas City Public Schools in Manassas, VA. Right now I'm assigned to the high school (grades 9-12, 1800 students) and one of the elementary schools (grades K-4, 600 students. I am responsible for participating in various meetings including both school's PPS teams, Child Study meetings, Eligibility and Reevaluation meetings, as well as 504’s and Manifest Determination meetings. I'm also part of the suicide and crisis assessment teams. Besides meetings I'm doing a lot of testing and counseling. I have my own caseload of students that I'm testing and writing reports on. I’m also counseling a high school student and two elementary school students. Manassas has a very diverse population so I feel like I will get a lot of good experience here. My supervisor has been great so far, I'm able to do things independently but he's always available to walk me through things or if I have questions. Eventually I might be working at the elementary school on my own full-time, so that's a little scary, but I feel like I'll be prepared for it.
CLAIRE YOUNG
I'm at East Rochester School District in East Rochester, NY. My supervisor's name is Sue Miller. I also work with two other school psychologists: Susan Wilt and Dan O'Leary. I am one of two interns, the other intern being from Roberts Wesleyan College. We are both former graduates of East Rochester High School. I am working with all grade levels, but about half of my job is to be responsible for evaluations, re-evaluations and IST referrals in the PreK-2nd grade levels. Other responsibilities include doing counseling, group counseling, Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans, and attend and participate in various team meetings. I enjoy being on a PreK-12 campus, as I have one office that I can call my own, and I see many of the same children every day. I have numerous student visitors throughout the day who like to stop by just to say hello. I've had many positive experiences so far.
JODI ROBERTS
My internship is at Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School District. I am working at all four buildings which provide me with a wide range of experience. I have helped train faculty on AIMSweb as well as educated staff on the new transition to RTI that the district implemented last year. I am involved with social skills groups, friendship groups, in addition to testing and consultation. I am working under three supervisors which each have a unique style that I am learning from. All three supervisors have provided me with excellent guidance and feedback.
MISSY WALKER
I am doing my internship in the Livonia Central School District. I am primarily working out of the junior and senior high school (grades 7-12). I am learning so much being a part of a school system every day. I am doing lots assessments to address academic and behavioral concerns, and I do a fair amount of teacher consultation and individual counseling with students. I am also helping the district start to implement RTI in the primary school and plan to spend much more time with the younger grades beginning in February. Overall I enjoy being a recognized member of the faculty (by both the faculty and student body), and being someone people go to when they have concerns about a student...and of course not doing homework at night and on the weekends. One of the difficult aspects of being an intern describing what exactly an "intern" is within this field.
