Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

What do Honolulu School District school psychologists do over summer when classrooms are mostly empty and  students are enjoying their time at the beach?   May 2013 The last week of school at any school is always chaotic and for Kaiser High School, it was no different--seniors were getting ready to graduate, teachers were busy preparing and grading exams, and counselors and administrators were frantically wrapping up the school year. In the middle of the end of the year madness, the counselors and I got word that we all had to pack and move our offices....  (((Ah! Really?!)))  You really don't realize how much stuff you have in an office until you have to pack it all up and move. It really wasn't so bad though considering i was moving one building over. By mid June, I had packed my office and unpacked my files into their new home. Being a 12-month employee, I don't get summers off like my fellow school psychologists in California (iusd). Summers a...

Section 504 Accommodation Plans: Every month, the diagnostic team (Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech and Language Pathologists, School Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Social Workers, and Communication aides) meets in their complex groups. Last week was the first time I met the Kalani Complex Diagnostic Team and I feel fortunate to be working with such a solid team. During our complex team meetings, everyone shares updates, questions, and concerns for the district/school/complex. During our meeting, someone noted, “My school doesn’t do 504 plans. The administrator won’t allow it. What should I do?” In discussing this with the team, there were similar concerns shared. Someone mentioned that this is a problem nationwide, as she had a similar problem with a school on the mainland. Within every district, there seems to be a handful of schools who “do not offer” 504 Accommodation Plans (AP) and had a higher percentage of students with an IEP (Individu...