Psychologist

Office: 734.535.6980 or 734.379.6360

Fax: 734.535.6901

What is a School Psychologist?  

A School Psychologist is a member of the professional staff who works with students, parents, teachers, and administrators in a variety of capacities. A School Psychologist's role includes assessment for special education eligibility, conducting comprehensive evaluations to determine student academic or behavioral/emotional needs, which involve finding strengths and weaknesses, and helping to plan programs for the students.

As the District School Psychologist, I am involved in: 

• Comprehensive special education evaluations
• Academic and behavioral intervention planning and   implementation
• Response to Intervention team meetings
• Strategies for Student Success meetings
• Consultation with parents and teachers
• Crisis prevention and intervention
• Direct support services for students who show a recognized educational need for a higher level of academic/emotional/behavioral intervention
• A resource to parents and school staff for many psychological, developmental and educational issues
• Section 504 evaluations

I currently provide services to students ranging from pre-school through high school.  As part of my role, I also offer services to Flat Rock students who attend our cooperative special education programs in the districts of Grosse Ile, Gibraltar and Huron.

Mr. Sean Waymaster is the Director for Special Education services for each of these school districts.  For information regarding the Cooperative for Special Education Services, please refer to the following website:

http://www.flatrockschools.org/District/Department/12-Special-Education-Department

Procedures for the determination of Specific Learning Disabilities

In 2004, significant changes were made in the federal special education law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An important aspect of this change was the in evaluation methods that schools could use to determine eligibility for specific learning disabilities. Over time, there have been new frameworks in which to determine if a student has a learning disability. Based on contemporary thinking and the most up-to-date research, Flat Rock Community Schools has adopted the Patterns of Strengths of Weaknesses (PSW) Model, along with a Response to Intervention Framework, to identify learning disabilities in students. Specifically, we have adopted the Wayne County RESA Guidance /Model for the determination of learning disabilities, which is based on CHC Theory of Cognitive Abilities.  For more information about this framework, please visit the special education website listed above.