Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

COMMUNITY IN A WORKPLACE.... Last week, while I was prepping for an IEP meeting with Koko Head School staff, my attention was shifted toward a class picture that was posted on the SSC's wall. " I wanna be in the yearbook next year " I proclaimed...and in return, laughter erupted in the room. I was smiling but far from joking Why was I asking to be in the yearbook? Am I that self-centered, do I really need to see my face in colored ink on semi gloss photo paper to feel fulfilled? Why was I asking this? At the beginning of the year, I asked the administration at Kaiser High School for an office. Why? Was it because I wanted my own phone line? an air-conditioned room? Why would I be so demanding? Was my "team office" not good enough for me? In reflection, I recognized m y desire for  community, meaning, dignity, and purpose and in order to gain these things--I needed to be IN the school .   I didn't want to come in as an outsider.  I knew that the exp...

I had no idea what a complex school psychologist meant or how it would be different than my training in California...but it's really not as "complex" as you may think.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District:  The statewide school system is divided into seven administrative districts, including Oahu’s Honolulu, Central, Leeward and Windward districts; the Big Island’s Hawaii district; Maui District has Maui, Molokai and Lanai; and the Kauai district. Within each district, smaller areas are divided into 'complex' areas, based on the high schools and all the feeder schools .  Honolulu School District:  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complex:  The complex I work in is called Kaiser Complex and is in the East side of Oahu. There are four elemen...