School Psychology Internship Broward County Public Schools

1. School Psychology InternshipBroward County Public Schools

2. Broward County Schools (1 of 2) • Nation’s 6th largest accredited school system • 2nd largest in Florida • 138 elementary, 42 middle, and 32 high schools; 16 adult/vocational centers, 10 special centers, 45 charter schools • Diverse student population and staff

3. Broward County Schools (2 of 2) • Approximately 30,000 FTEs • Approximately 273 schools serving 240,000 students • 56 languages spoken and over 160 countries represented • Approximately 35,000 ESE students • An additional 10,000 gifted students

4. Psychological Services • Approximately 160 school psychologists • Four administrative areas; one district office • Unique Family Counseling Program • In 1990, received the APA/NASP Excellence in School Psychological Services Award • In 2002, received the FASP Innovative Practice in School Psychology Award for district-wide threat assessment training

5. Internship Facts and Figures • Up to 12 accepted for internship each year • Full-time placement required for entire academic year • Application deadline is January 31st • Interviews are conducted in February, with notification of selection by first week in March • Stipends are $110/day for a maximum of 216 days, or approximately $23,700/year • Application information available on-line at: www.browardschools.com (go to Departments, then Psychological Services, then Internship)

6. Internship Experiences (1 of 2) • Direct Services • Consultation and Intervention • Professional Development • Research • Specialized Services

7. Internship Experiences (2 of 2) • A wide range of experiences with diverse student populations and varying service delivery activities is provided by: • Placing each intern with a primary supervisor at an anchor school • Having each intern complete at least 3 rotations through other settings (e.g., preschool, E/BD centers, Autism clusters, alternative programs, etc.), with additional supervision • Providing district support for consultation and other indirect service delivery activities

8. Direct Services • Assessment • Counseling Individual Group

9. Consultation and Intervention • Collaborative problem solving model (for team-based and individual consultation cases) • Design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions in general and special education • Year long training sequence integrated into the full internship experience, with district office support

10. Professional Development • Participant (take advantage of district, community, state, and/or national trainings and workshops) • Trainer (present trainings and/or workshops to school or district staff)

11. Research • Opportunities to participate in departmental projects • Opportunities to conduct independent research, contingent on district approval

12. Specialized Services • Assisting with threat assessments and violence prevention activities • Assisting with crisis and recovery • Assisting with DIBELS and progress monitoring • Assisting with bilingual assessments and other ELL projects

13. Professional Growth • Supervision • Activities Checklist • Competencies Checklist • Rotation Evaluation • Experience Evaluation

14. Supervision • Supervisors, mentors, and interns are expected to have regularly scheduled meetings to discuss progress and any areas of concern • Weekly with primary supervisor • Monthly seminars at district level • Monthly support for consultation cases from district office psychologists • University level supervision as required

15. Activities Checklist • Throughout the year the supervisor conducts on-going evaluations and tracks progress using the Activities Checklist • To assure that each intern receives a broad array of experiences with a variety of students, and with differing service delivery activities • Used primarily for formative evaluation

16. Competencies Checklist • Formal evaluation is completed bi-annually using the Internship Competencies Checklist • Additional formal evaluation may be completed using required university evaluations • Both used primarily for summative evaluation

17. Feedback from Interns • Interns have the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience and satisfaction by completing the Rotation Evaluation and Experience Evaluation forms

18. Our Interns Say (1 of 3) • “This past year has been an invaluable learning experience. The opportunities I had and the challenges I overcame have made me a different person.” • “The field of school psychology is evolving, and Broward County is at the forefront of those changes, at least in Florida. I’m excited to be a part of a progressive school system . . .” • “I feel that the supervision provided was excellent.”

19. Our Interns Say (2 of 3) • “I had so many interesting and challenging cases this year. It has been a great learning experience, one that I can apply to my career in any setting.” • “I feel that I received the internship experience that was promised to me when I interviewed for the position, and so much more . . .”

20. Our Interns Say (3 of 3) • “My growth, professionally and personally, during this experience, is reflected in a greater sense of assuredness in my abilities as a school psychologist.” • “Making the decision to move back to Florida for internship was absolutely the right decision after this experience! I have learned more, and become more confident in the profession, than I ever expected.”

21. Internship Connections To speak with one of our former or current interns about their experience in the Broward Schools, contact Dr. Mark Lyon, Acting Director: mlyon@browardschools.com