Students get by with a little help from their friends; students try with a little help from their friends. When their social needs are met, students tend to be better adjusted and perform more effectively in school. A strong social network serves to protect students and mitigates the effects of a variety of risk factors. Due to the rich empirical…

In November 2011, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) created the Personnel Assessment Task Force comprising national and state leaders with knowledge of effective personnel evaluation systems. Task force participants included school psychologist supervisors, university professors, NASP leadership, and staff. The primary…

Students' sense of belonging to school communities decreases as they progress through primary and secondary education. In fact, approximately half (40%-60%) of students are chronically disengaged from school by the time they reach high school. A lack of school engagement negatively affects millions of students, and efforts to connect students to…

In this article, the impact of two major disasters (Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig fire and subsequent oil spill) on residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are discussed. An overriding concern as expressed by the recently released report issued by the National Commission on Children and Disasters, 2010 "Report to the…

Ten Septembers ago, people witnessed the worst terrorist attack ever committed on American soil. Most Americans can still see the images of airplanes violently crashing into buildings. On that fateful September day in 2001, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) was faced with the challenge of trying to support the needs of…

A public health crisis is looming in US schools. Millions of children do not receive mental health services, are poorly bonded to supportive educational communities, and fail to develop important social and emotional competencies. Considering these problems, many of which relate to students' school functioning, efforts are needed to support…

On April 20, 2010, a massive explosion killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Survivors of this explosion recounted terrifying near-death experiences and mourned the loss of coworkers and friends who had perished. Shock and grief spread through small coastal communities composed mostly of fishers and oil workers. However, this was…

On May 9, 2008, Kathleen Norona received notice that she would no longer be working as a school psychologist for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) where she had been employed for the past 5 years. In total 41 out of 240 school psychologists were given official notice that they would be placed on surplus. That is, they would no longer be…