Location:

Providence, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

School Psychology

Program Overview

Program Description:

School Psychology at Rhode Island College The School Psychology Program at Rhode Island College provides state of the art C.A.G.S. (i.e., Specialist) level training for school psychology practitioners in educational settings. The program at RIC has full accreditation from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) until 2017. The program is built upon a reflective-practitioner model that promotes the use of evidence-based practice and data-based accountability. Students in the program receive broad training experiences encompassing both direct, indirect service, and system-wide service delivery models. The program emphasizes a collaborative-problem solving model based on functional behavioral assessment, and data-based decision making. Graduates have a solid foundation in developing academic, social, and behavior interventions that are directly linked to assessment results. Students are well versed in both curriculum-based, response-to-intervention (RTI) and traditional, norm-referenced psychoeducational assessment models. The program promotes the development of graduates as “change agents” in the field of education. Exceptional training experiences are available in system-wide endeavors, including response-to-intervention (RTI) for the identification of academic needs and social-emotional/behavioral needs, through School-wide Positive Behavioral Supports (SWPBIS). In order to prepare graduates for such work, the program enjoys a strong collaboration with other educational fields within the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (including Educational Leadership, School Counseling, and Special Education), as well as the Henry Barnard Laboratory School, the School of Social Work, and the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities. This interdisciplinary perspective of training provides experiences for students to collaborate with members from other educational fields, and carry that collaboration into practice. The program also has strong connections with regional school districts and the excellent practicum/internship supervisors within those districts. There are currently three full-time faculty in the program. Elizabeth Gibbons Holtzman, whose interests are in the areas of role of leadership in systems change: focus on RTI and Professional Learning Communities, addressing anxiety in the schools, and teen dating violence. Shannon Dowd-Eagle has interests in the areas of consultation, school-based problem solving teams, multi-tiered academic interventions within RTI, home-school partnerships, and school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS). John Eagle has interests in the areas of parental involvement in education, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC), and response to intervention (RTI) systems. The program is based on a cohort model and typically accepts 12-15 students in each cohort. The admission process occurs in the spring, and program entrance occurs only during the fall. The program is 3 years in length. Students receive a M.A. in Counseling after the second year and receive the C.A.G.S. after Internship during their third year. Graduates of the program are highly sought after and have received an exceptionally high employment rate both regionally and nationally. For more information, please contact John Eagle, School Psychology Program Coordinator, (401) 456-9642, jeagle@ric.edu

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

NASP Approved