President's Message

Wisconsin Psychs,

It’s fall again, and time for back to school!  However, while we’ve been away from school buildings and students, the WSPA board has been hard at work!  In June, we had our annual two-day retreat (Long-Range Planning).  We packed a lot of work into a short amount of time.  During this retreat, we reviewed the data from the survey we sent out at the end of the year.  Based on that data, we began to revise our mission and vision, as well as develop our next five-year organizational plan.  Even more, we began to consider potential changes to the structure of our board to make us more efficient, cost-effective, and supportive of YOU!

While we continue to work through all of those things, we’re also pushing out some returning favorites and working on new supports.  While we will only have one convention this year, it’s going to be HUGE!  In the spring, the annual NASP convention will be in Chicago and hopefully many of you will be able to attend.  Whether or not you’re able to, you will be able to see past and future NASP speakers right here in Stevens Point for a fraction of the cost.  Your WSPA convention ticket includes great speakers, provided breakfast and lunch, as well as handouts to all of the speakers all for one price.  

This year, we are very excited to have Dr. Byron McClure as a featured speaker.  I have to admit, having him speak was a huge goal of mine, and I can’t believe it actually happened!  Dr. McClure is a school psychologist and an expert in many areas.  I first started following him for amazing resources and information about restorative justice.  After that, he co-wrote Hacking Deficit Thinking and focused on strength-based practices and equity.  Most recently, he founded School Psych AI which “handles the paperwork so you can focus on students”.  Dr. McClure is an absolutely dynamic speaker.  You will learn a lot and have FUN!  He has presented as NASP numerous times and always packs every room he is assigned.  

Along with Dr. McClure, we have amazing speakers from around the state including practitioners, DPI legal updates, and other organizations that support students and schools.  Bring your school psych friends and consider other members of your student or pupil services teams!  With topics ranging from collaborating with families, to supporting students with pediatric cancer, to youth mental health in a digital world, to Tier 1 SEL needs and calm classrooms, to the intersections between health plans and 504’s…there’s something for everyone!  In addition, this year we will be adding a session for various affinity groups.  This is a time to talk to people who have intersecting identities and discuss the particular joys and challenges that come from that.  This is just one session option, but may be a time to find people that truly understand your unique situation and could be critical for supporting your future.

Outside of the fall convention, feedback indicated that people enjoy some of the virtual training options.  We already have our first WSPA Workshop session scheduled for Tuesday, September 16th from 12-1:30.  Dr. Andrea Roth will be discussing pediatric sleep concerns and how school psychologists can support during the day with students.  I’m excited for this one as a pscyh AND as a parent!  

We are also restarting informal virtual sessions.  We have previously called these “WSPA Warm-Ups”, but right now I’m thinking about it as “WSPA Watercooler” talks.  Just like the image of collecting at the watercooler, these are designed as an informal session to talk with other psychs around the state.  See what other districts are doing, commiserate about what’s hard, share resources, or just talk to people who know what your job is!  These will happen about once a month and will be more of a drop-in format.  Come when you can, leave when you need to!  Our first few sessions are scheduled for Friday, September 5th; Wednesday, October 8th; and Thursday, November 6th.  As of right now, topics scheduled are setting up the start of the year, Act-20, and post-WSPA convention applications.  Reach out with any topic suggestions!

If you haven’t yet, make sure you get your membership right away to get the most of your benefits.  (Just a note, our website platform automatically indicates that your membership lasts for one year from purchase.  However, our memberships last from August 1s to July 31st.)  There are so many membership perks and we continue to add more!

This is a lot for one time, but stay tuned for more exciting supports throughout the year!  As always, reach out with any questions or ideas.  We, as a board, enjoyed all the feedback from our survey this year.  We are always working to better serve you and support any needs, but we can only know what we see!  If you have something you need or would like to see, email me at wspapresident@gmail.com.  Even better, come to a board meeting and join the conversation!

Have a great start to your school year.  I hope that the energy from our summer carries forth to all of you for a positive and productive year.  

In Partnership,

Emily Prissel, EdS, NCSP

WSPA President

WSPApresident@gmail.com