Psychologists

School Psychologists

Sunshine Turner School Psychologist ext. 5076

James DeBella School Psychologist ext. 5644

What Services do School Psychologists Provide?

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1. Evaluation

• School Psychologists conduct comprehensive psychoeducational assessments that look at all aspects of a student’s functioning: academic, cognitive, behavioral, social, emotional, and vocational/transition.
• School Psychologists provide recommendations based on psychoeducational assessments that are intended to help individual students’ better access their education.
• School Psychologists are also trained in mental health, which allows them to provide support services to students with psychological disorders. This support is intended to help students be more successful in their academic environment.

2. Consultation

• School Psychologists at PHS assist in creating behavioral and academic interventions through consultation with regular education teachers, special education teachers, parents, counselors, administration, and the student. Through consultation, Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella strive to make sure that students receive the supports, services, and accommodations that meet their individual needs.
• In working with teachers, PHS administration, school counselors and the community, Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella are also adept at creating supportive alliances between the school and important community agencies.

3. Intervention

• Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella are invested in offering counseling services to students. They work closely with students to resolve personal or familial conflicts, both in individual and group settings.
• Aside from counseling, School Psychologists also schedule meetings with students, support service providers, and families to ensure that students are getting help with social or emotional difficulties that may interfere with their academic performance.
• Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella also spend time educating students about personal/social issues including anger management, social skills and self-advocacy.

4. Prevention

• Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella use their training to work with teachers and staff to aid in designing academic and behavioral programs tailored to individual student needs in the hopes of preventing future academic and behavioral struggles.
• It is also part of Mrs. Turner and Mr. DeBella’s roles to assist in implementing PBIS, a school-wide program designed to increase the ability of schools to reduce inappropriate student behaviors.

For more information please visit the PHS PBIS page.

5. Data Analysis and Program Evaluation

• As part of the school psychologists’ role, Mrs. Turner and Mr. Perez are involved in using the Response to Intervention model of evaluation, which focuses on providing research based academic and behavioral interventions to individual students, and then using data to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.

Additionally, school psychologists use data to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of school wide behavioral interventions