President's Proclamation from Kim Noll, SCCASP President:

Welcome back to the 26-27 school year! The SCCASP board has an exciting year planned for our members and are happy to be able to support the LEPs, school psychologists, and other professionals in our area. As we look ahead, our focus for 26-27 is systemic change. As leaders in educational, learning, and mental health fields, we have a unique opportunity to use our knowledge and voices to effect systemic change in a time when positive leadership is greatly needed. As we embark on a new school year, we hope to move beyond the status quo and spearhead systemic changes that will have a lasting impact—particularly for those with learning differences, mental health needs, and marginalized communities.

We, as a board, have put together an amazing lineup of speakers this year to support our work towards implementing system change—particularly in how we support students through accommodations and interventions. In addition to kicking off the year with our Legal Q&A with Jan Tompsky and Eliza McArthur (don't forget to submit your questions here), we have several other workshops planned to help us rethink and improve the systems we work within. First, Dr. Ben Lovett, a Professor in the School Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University will be speaking to us about Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Evidence-Based Practices. Dr. Lovett will be providing the research behind the accommodations we recommend—which level the playing field, which provide an unfair advantage, and which might be detrimental for students. You’ll leave with knowledge that will help us improve our decision-making process about accommodations and ideas for what can be even better than accommodations in many instances. Next, Mindy Szelap, LCSW and Child Behavioral Therapist, will be presenting From Rescue to Resilience: Addressing Accommodation in School Setting. This workshop will focus on implementing the Supporting Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program in schools. Instead of accommodating or helping students avoid anxiety, which inadvertently maintains and intensifies anxiety, we will learn how to help students experience and manage anxious feelings. We will learn how to collaborate with teachers and parents to develop and support plans that reduce accommodation while maintaining empathy and alliance. Our own Katie Pettersen and Corrina Schader will then be presenting on Inclusive Practices and Legal Updates for School Psychs/LEPs (check our website later for registration). Attend to learn more about tools to help your school/district or private practice be safer for LGBTQIA students, staff, and families. After that, Dr. Adriana Popescu, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, will present on Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping for School Psychologists: Practical Tools for Student Regulation, Anxiety, and Resilience. We all have seen an increase in anxiety, stress, and emotional dysregulation in our students. Dr. Popescu will teach us how to use brief, effective strategies to support students with anxiety, crisis de-escalation, test stress, emotional overwhelm transitions, and self-regulatory needs in school and private practice settings.

In addition to these learning opportunities, members of our SCCASP board will be attending the CASP Legislative Day this spring. We will be going to Sacramento to learn about legislative proposals that CASP supports and then meeting with our state representatives to encourage them to support those law changes. Please let us know if you are interested in joining our board and supporting legislative changes at the state level.

This year, we also want to recognize our SCCASP members who are implementing systemic change in schools, private practice settings, and at the local, state, and national levels. Please take a moment to think about how you might use your skills to implement systemic change and look for others doing the same. Please nominate LEPs and school psychologists who are working towards systemic change in some capacity for one of our SCCASP awards this year. We know there are many of you out there going above and beyond your daily responsibilities to effect systemic change in so many ways. Be sure to nominate them for an award so that we can honor them at our end of year celebration and give them a platform to spread their ideas even further. Check out our website to become a SCCASP member, sign up for workshops, nominate award recipients, and find out how you can get involved more: Santa Clara County Association of School Psychologists - Home

Please also remember to renew your CASP memberships if you have not already. Dr. Donna Henderson, who has provided amazing workshops for SCCASP the last two years, will be the keynote speaker for the 2026 CASP Convention. This is not to be missed and we hope to see you there!