Sometimes being a School Psychologist can feel a bit like being on an Island.  We’re typically the only on of us in our building.  Sometimes there is another mental health professional, but they are in and out trying to fill in what we cannot get it.  We’re part of the team of special education, but our job is different from a teachers.

At the same time, we have the gift of getting to work with everyone in the building (at least in my position).  I always have classrooms that have more social emotional needs than others, but I typically work with every classroom.  Collaborating with 20 different teachers is challenging, but such a learning experience.

Here’s what I’ve learned about collaboration.  What do you have to share?

Spend time in the classrooms:  On the first few days of school, we typically are still getting our SPED schedules together, and not starting services.  I always walk around to every classroom on the first day to peek in and say hi, walk in and greet the class, or touch base and welcome back individual students.  During the year, I try to drop in as I have time.  The benefit to this is two-fold:  the classroom teachers get to see me as part of the team, and I get to see what is going on in the classroom!

Put yourself out there-offer help:  I’ve filled in for a classroom teacher on a field trip.  I’ve supervised an entire class on field day.  I’ve given classroom assessment when teacher absences occur.  I try to put myself out there when I can, and I think this goes a long way.

Talk with the teacher before coming up with strategies/ideas:  As a new school psych, I often had grand ideas for behavior modification and social emotional strategies.  Just spend this time individually with the student every day!  Run this behavior plan every minute of the day!  I soon learned that experienced teachers tend to have an idea of what might work in their classroom, and what might not, even before you meet with them.  So,

Demonstrate a plan or strategies before giving it to a teacher:  This is another one I certainly learned through experience.  While we’re well versed in the language of  “expected behaviors”, “feelings thermometers” and “zones of regulation”, our teachers are experts in other areas.  I find that my recommendations go further and are more successful when I spend time implementing them first.  So, if I’m designing a behavior plan for a regular education student, I’ll meet with the student, explain it to them, and then run it with them for the first half hour of the day, for example.  This helps staff understand how you meant it to run, what to do when different things come up, and demonstrate that you are all in this together!

Don’t forget your ‘friend file’ skills:  We’re busy people.  So are teachers.  We’re often both talking before running to the next meeting, or they are off to pick up their class from specials.  But don’t forget to use your friend file skills.  It goes a long way to check in about your coworker’s new puppy, how they are doing selling their house, or how their child did on their first day of school.

What do you do to collaborate with teachers and other staff?