1191A School Psychologist

Northwest AEA is searching for a School Psychologist working with an emphasis in special education support.

Posting # 1191a

Posting date: January 2, 2023

Interviews begin: February 1, 2024, Open Until Filled

Start Date: July 9, 2024

Location: Cherokee area

Region: East

Overview

Northwest AEA provides visionary leadership and quality, student-centered services through relationships with families, schools, and communities. In short, our focus can be summed up in these four words: Inspiring Learning. Changing Lives. 

Our vision is to be the first contact for timely and ongoing support to improve the performance outcomes and well-being of all learners.

About the Agency

Northwest AEA provides special education and school improvement services to 34 public school districts and 32 accredited, non-public schools. The agency serves 45,000 students and more than 5000 educators in a 10-county area of Northwest Iowa (Lyon, Osceola, Sioux, O'Brien, Plymouth, Cherokee, Woodbury, Ida, Monona, and Crawford). 

Our headquarters is located at 5800 Discovery Blvd., near the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, with regional offices in Cherokee, Denison, Le Mars, Onawa, and Sioux Center.

Why Northwest AEA?

Our vision, mission, and anchors guide our actions. Staff at Northwest AEA believe that what they do inspires learning and leads to changed lives for the students, staff, and families we serve. Our work is anchored in building positive, professional relationships with stakeholders and with one another. We embrace responsiveness in how we serve so that students, staff, and families can see improved results.

Video: Working as a School Psychologist at Northwest AEA

Qualifications:

·     Master’s degree or specialist degree in the area of school psychology, Iowa Board of Educational Examiners license as a School Psychologist, or School Psychologist intern.

Job Purpose:  Provide support to assigned schools to improve academic, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for students.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

General:

·     Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with LEA and AEA personnel, parents, and families to improve student outcomes.

·     Collaborate with AEA and LEA staff to provide support to general education and special education personnel.

·     Assist schools in adapting content, choosing methodology and delivering instruction to address the unique needs of students with disabilities.

·     Assist school districts in addressing the needs of diverse learners through the school improvement process.

·     Provide professional development to teachers, parents, and support staff as appropriate.

·     Maintain knowledge and understanding of instructional technology and its application to the teaching and learning process.

·     Connect and provide technical assistance to districts with professional learning opportunities to address their specific needs and desired goals.

Emphasis in Special Education Support:

·     Maintain knowledge of current research-based strategies and instructional practices for students with disabilities.

·     Maintain a high degree of visibility in assigned schools to support special education services.

·     Collaborate, demonstrate, coach, and provide feedback to special education instructional personnel in academic and behavior strategies and practices to accelerate learning for students with disabilities.

·     Facilitate the implementation of the AEA’s child-find process leading to determination of students’ eligibility for special education and support or related services.

·     Assist special education teachers with monitoring student progress and making data-based instructional changes that support student learning in the Iowa Core Curriculum. 

·     Assist AEAs and LEAs in maintaining compliance with special education rules and regulations.

·     Assist in the development, implementation, and monitoring of IEPs, and provide support and related services as determined by the IEP team when appropriate.

·     Maintain knowledge of available resources within the agency and elsewhere and assist schools with access to such resources when needed. 

·     Use available technology to complete and disseminate appropriate documentation of activities and results.

·     Adhere to the Iowa Department of Education rules, IDEA Part B and C statute and regulations, and Northwest AEA policies and procedures.

Emphasis in Systems Coaching:

·     Assist local school personnel and fellow AEA coaches with developing systems to support implementation of best practice across content areas within the MTSS framework.

·     Support the development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of district implementation plans and provide technical assistance to districts with professional learning opportunities to address their specific needs and desired goals.

·     Assist local school personnel and fellow AEA coaches in the effective implementation of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) frameworks.

·     Focus on developing systems to support implementation of best practice across content areas within the MTSS framework.

·     Provide support for the implementation of effective MTSS frameworks by serving on agency-wide AEA teams within respective areas of content expertise.

·     Support the development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of district implementation plans.

·     Meet with district and/ or building level leadership teams to assess, plan, and implement system change efforts related to leadership, infrastructure, assessment, and data-based decision-making, universal instruction, and intervention, aligned to the MTSS and SDI frameworks.

Emphasis in Best Practice Coaching:

·     Assist AEA practitioners in completing functional behavior assessment and implementing behavior intervention plans with children/students who display challenging behaviors.

·     Maintain knowledge of current research-based strategies and instructional practices for students with social, emotional, or behavioral disabilities.

·     Support the development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of district implementation plans and provide technical assistance to districts with professional learning opportunities to address their specific needs and desired goals.

·     Provide support for the implementation of effective MTSS frameworks by serving on agency wide AEA teams within respective areas of content expertise.

·     Collaborate, demonstrate, coach, and provide feedback to special education instructional personnel in behavior strategies and practices to accelerate learning for students with disabilities.

A transfer shall be considered a change in an employee's assigned region (East, North, West) within the same job role in another region.  If you are interested in making a transfer request, contact Sherri Wing (swing@nwaea.org) for transfer request application.  If you are not currently serving in this role but want to be considered for a role change to this position, please contact Sherri Wing (swing@nwaea.org) for the role change application.

It is the policy of Northwest Area Education Agency not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Jerome Schaefer, Equity Coordinator, 5800 Discovery Blvd., Sioux City, Iowa, 51111, 712-222-6114.