November 8–12 celebrates the important work of school psychologists. This year, the theme of the week is “Let’s Get in GEAR,” with GEAR standing for a challenge to grow, engage in best practices, advocate for access, and rise despite challenges. 

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has put together a list of activities to help commemorate this week. 

• Engage in advocacy. Whether you want to reinforce the importance of school psychology on a local or national level, NASP provides easy ways to do so.  

• Get the word out on social media. Whether you are active on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, NASP provides some sample text and images you can use to get the word out on any platform. Use the hashtag #SchoolPsychWeek. 

• Encourage activities in your school. Whether on an individual level or class-wide, NASP provides a list of activities that reinforce the theme of the week. 

School psychologists—thank you for all you do to help schools, students, staff, and communities to thrive! 

Get ready, Washington, DC! PAR staff have arrived in our nation’s capital for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Annual Convention. If you are attending NASP, be sure to stop by the PAR booth to learn about some of our new products, including the Working Styles Assessment™ (WSA™) and the Self-Directed Search®, 5^th Edition.

Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, author of the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™) and the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™) will be presenting tomorrow, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. His session, titled “Two New Adaptable Reliable Intelligence Measures for Busy Practitioners,” will cover the development, application, and research involved in creating these two new assessments.

34

The percentage of psychologists who are self-employed—mainly as private practitioners.*

12

The percentage of employment growth expected between 2008 and 2018 for the overall field of psychology. Clinical, counseling, and school psychology are expected to grow about 11%, while industrial-organization psychology is expected to grow 26%.*

6,800

The projected number of additional neuropsychologists that will be needed by 2018 to keep up with demand.*

2

The number of states that currently allow appropriately-trained psychologists to prescribe medications (Louisiana and New Mexico).*

170,200

The number of jobs held by psychologists in 2008.*

0.270%

The percentage of the employed population who are psychologists in New Mexico, the state with the highest concentration of psychologists. Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut all have concentrations of more than 0.1% of their respective populations.*

$87,130

The annual mean wage for psychologists in New Jersey, the top paying state for psychologists.*

93,000

According to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Center for Workforce Studies, the number of practicing psychologists in the U.S.

31

The number of psychologists who are members of a union.*

*Information from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.