Working in Wisconsin

• Job Links
• Job Openings
• School Psychology in Wisconsin
• Certification
• Employment

Job Links

• State of Wisconsin job postings
• WECAN: Wisconsin Education Career Access Network
• NASP: National Association of School Psycologists

Job Openings

Job Responsibilities - For more information visit www.supportstaffjobs.info

• Mandated Activities
  • Building Coordination – receiving and processing special education referrals
  • IEP Team responsibilities (assessment of students, adding information in the IEP team comprehensive report on SSIMS, Participation in IEP Team meetings)
  • Mandated psycho educational therapy
  • Section 504/ADA Activities (initial evaluation of students, yearly re-evaluations)
  • If your school has the Health Initiative – serving as a member of that team and providing mental health services to the students
  • If your school has EBD MRP classroom support – providing support to that teacher and classroom
• Non-Mandated Activities
  • CST (Collaborative Support Team) / PST (Problem Solving Team) participant and/or coordinator, RTI (Response to Intervention)
  • Participation in Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA's)
  • Non-SEN assessment of student and preparation of a non-SEN report
  • Conferences with teacher and parents to share non-SEN assessment results
  • Consultation with teachers
  • Consultation with parents
  • Parent conferences (in conjunction with administrators)
  • Communication with community mental health agencies and other agencies providing services to students
  • Classroom presentation on various topics such as respecting others, developing friendship skills, learning to handle conflicts in a nonviolent way, i.e., Second Step, Talking about Touching, etc.
  • Life Skills training (middle school level)
  • Crisis intervention (suicide threats and other mental health issues)
  • Plan and facilitate school-wide incentive programs
  • Ropes and Challenges activities
  • In-service presentation to school staff members
  • Non-SEN psycho educational therapy (individual & group)
  • Collaboration with teachers on intervention planning and monitoring (academic and/or behavioral concerns)
• Benefits
  • Sick Leave - 12.5 days for 200 day employees
  • Personal Leave - 2 days annually, deducted from sick leave
  • Mileage - Per diem rate of $12.13
  • Salary - 3 paid holidays (Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Memorial Day)
    • $49, 190.61 – $77,453.37
  • School board will pay up to 6.4% of employee’s gross salary to Wisconsin Retirement System. The school board pays both the board’s portion and the employee’s portion.
  • Tax deferred annuity plans ( 3 to choose from)
  • Health Insurance
    • PPO Annual Deductible $1,000 (individual)
    • Annual Deductible $3,000 (family plan)
    • HMO No Annual Deductible
  • Dental Plan - 2 Dental Plans
  • Tuition Reimbursement - $1,600 per year
  • Voluntary Disability Plan -Premium paid by the employee
  • Board paid life insurance in an amount of coverage equal to annual earnings up to $55,000
  • Up to 2 incentive days can be earned when using limited sick leave
  • School Psychologists are members of PAMPS (Psychologist Association of the Milwaukee Public Schools). PAMPS negotiates contract for school psychologists
  • Monthly Office of School Psychology Staff meetings
  • Monthly Professional Development group meetings
  • Monthly supportive meetings for new psychologists
  • 2 paid convention days to attend state conventions
  • Use of PC laptop computer to complete job duties

School Psychology in Wisconsin

Working as a school psychologist in Wisconsin offers the potential for great variety in your work and the ability to have a direct impact on the children and families that you serve.  In larger school districts, you may serve as part of a team of school psychologists, while in smaller school districts you may be working alone, traveling between buildings.  School psychologists in Wisconsin help teach students to become knowledgeable, competent, and caring adults, involved citizens, and productive members of our communities. They are trained not only in the traditional psychological domains of mental health and working with behavioral and emotional challenges, but also have a strong background in learning and educational theory.  

In Wisconsin, the ratio of students to school psychologists has averaged about 1000:1, which is substantially lower than the national average and even better than NASP recommendations. This allows many school psychologists to focus their work on consultation, RtI, and mental health rather than in a strict evaluation role.

Job responsibilities will vary with the needs of the school or district.  However, most school psychologists in Wisconsin work in a collaborative role with educators, parents, and other professionals.  Many work with students in a one-on-one or small group setting.  They may also be involved in training teachers and parents to implement effective teaching and learning strategies, along with techniques to support student behavior at home and in the classroom. They help parents and teachers work effectively with students with disabilities or with special talents. They address drug and alcohol abuse problems, and prevent and manage crises. 

In Wisconsin, the ratio of students to school psychologists has averaged about 1000:1, which is substantially lower than the national average and even better than NASP recommendations. This allows many school psychologists to focus their work on consultation, RtI, and mental health rather than in a strict evaluation role. 

In a 2007 survey of school psychologists in Wisconsin, they rank ordered the following list of groups served from most commonly provided to least. 

1. Students receiving special education services including students referred and those being re-evaluated for disability
2. Teachers, parents, and administrators expressing concerns with student behavior, learning, or mental health
3. Students with emotional, behavioral, or academic concerns
4. Teachers, schools, or districts to develop and implement systems to collect data on academic and social/emotional development, and to then use those data to make instructional decisions (RtI)
5. Groups of students with specialized needs. For example, students with emotional, behavioral, or academic challenges
6. Schools, students & families who are in crisis.

Certification

School psychologists are licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.  They must complete a minimum of a post-Master’s degree program that emphasizes preparation in mental health, child development, learning styles and processes, behavior, motivation, effective teaching, and school organization. In addition to a Master's Degree, further graduate training of at least 30 credits, including a year-long internship is required for certification. Newly trained school psychologists in Wisconsin will also earn their Education Specialist degree (Ed. S.) following additional coursework and a specialist’s project.  School psychologists may also have a national certification (NCSP) obtained through the National School Psychology Certification Board.  However, Wisconsin does not recognize the NCSP as part of their standard for certification.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction issues licenses to out-of-state applicants if their educator preparation program is comparable to an approved program offered in Wisconsin.  In addition, you must verify that you are eligible for a license in the state where you completed your educator training, including all testing requirements.  See http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/tepdl/oos.html for additional information regarding licensure of out-of-state educators.

School psychologists are licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). A school psychologist license may be issued to an applicant who has completed or possesses all of the following:

1. A program approved by the DPI for the preparation of school psychologists, resulting in a doctor of philosophy, doctor of psychology, doctor of education, education specialist degree, or the equivalent, including a master's degree, as determined by the institution and approved by the state superintendent.
2. Completion of one of the following:

1. Two years of successful experience as a school psychologist under the supervision of a cooperating school psychologist and a written recommendation from the school system administration.
2. An internship in school psychology under the supervision of a cooperating school psychologist and a written recommendation from the school system administration. The internship shall be part of the approved program.

Applicants must also demonstrate proficiency in the Wisconsin Pupil Services Standards.

If you are considering moving to Wisconsin and would like further information regarding licensure please contact John Humphries (john.humphries@dpi.state.wi.us), DPI School Psychology Consultant.

Employment

Most school psychologists are school district employees, generally paid and covered by the teacher’s contract.  Some are on administrative contract, while some school psychologists are employed by Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESA’s) that may provide a range of services to a variety of school districts.

One advantage of coming to Wisconsin from other states is that, for purposes of employment, interns in Wisconsin are not treated any differently than other school psychologists. While there are additional requirements on all Initial Educators (our license for the first 3-5 years), interns are paid and have a regular contract with their employer.

Current trends indicate that the demand for school psychologists is “Average” as compared to other positions in the state. There were approximately 9 applicants for every school psychology position in 2005.  (Supply and Demand: Data Trends of Education Personnel in Wisconsin Public Schools, WI DPI, 2005)  However, there is great variability across regions of the state, with significantly greater numbers of applications for positions in urban and suburban areas, and fewer in rural areas.