West Tennessee Internship Opportunities
Benton County (sharon.latendresse@bcos.org)
A school psychologist intern in our school district would work under the oversight of our senior psychological examiner who has worked with our system for the past 22 years. The intern would work with all 7 of our schools in the areas of testing, assessment, counseling, student behavior, and IEP meetings.
Benton County is located in west Tennessee near the Tennessee River and I 40 with an equal driving distance to Memphis and Nashville. Benton County School District has a strong academic program with a strong leadership that fosters student and staff involvement, success and advancement.
Dyer County (cmathis@dyercs.net)
A school psychologist intern would have access to 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 1 high school. Our district has 3 special education preschool programs and 1 behavioral alternative school for special education students. In addition, Dyer County Schools has an established RTI system for academics and developed PBIS behavior system. The primary role of a school psychology intern would be the assessment of students suspected of having a disability, reevaluating students with a known disability, writing psychological reports, and participating in IEP meetings. The intern and supervising school psychologist would work together as a team to evaluate students. In addition, the intern would be able to work with any of the 6 behavior specialists to address counseling interest and/or the 4 instructional coaches to focus on curriculum interventions.
Dyer County Schools has been a Level 5 school district for 4 years in a row, with multiple schools achieving Reward School status. Therefore, the intern would be exposed to excellent instructional practices. Dyer County is a safe/rural area and offers an affordable "cost of living" standard that would accommodate the provided stipend for internship.
Germantown Municipal (sarah.huffman@gmsdk12.org)
The current interns within GMSD are assigned at least 2 schools alongside another board hired psychologist. There is a mentor there to allow for coaching/supporting when needed and gradually release of responsibilities as the psychologist and intern agree to the steps. School psychologist within GMSD collaborate with RTI teams, evaluate students, attend local and state training to stay abreast of upcoming topics and participate in all district related events.
GMSD uses play based assessments using evaluating our students 3-5. This is a unique practice to area districts. It allows for the evaluator to assess using developmentally appropriate environments and tools.
Haywood County (chris.davis@hcsk12.net)
The intern would be assigned no more than two schools in the district. We have six campuses and that includes our alternative learning campus. The intern will be supervised by our full-time school psychologist and myself but once acclimated to the district and work the intern will have autonomy in their work. We will have weekly meetings to assure that we are all working towards the district mission and vision. Responsibilities in the district will be testing, writing reports, and counseling in assigned schools.
We are located just off of Interstate 40 between Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee. This allows an intern to work in a smaller district but reside in a bigger city.
Henderson County (meyer.terri@hcschoolstn.org)
We have always contracted with a school psychologist. In 2016 we hired a full time school psychologist. The amount of applications received was minimal, so yes the need is there. Our school psychologist has 20+ years experience and so will be able to provide a wealth of knowledge. Henderson County has 7 elementary schools and 2 high schools. The intern would travel with our psychologist thus providing a positive working relationship yet, still allowing the intern to develop independence. Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to IEP meetings (initial, re-evals, manifestations, behavior plan meetings, etc.), student observations, comprehensive testing and report writing, RTI data meetings every 4 1/2 weeks, etc.
Henderson County is a rural district 1 1/2 hours from Nashville and Memphis, but has the convenience of being only 30 minutes from Jackson, TN. It is conveniently located 10 minutes off of I-40. Henderson County was one of the 14 districts across the state to be named an Exemplary School District for the 2017-2018 school year!
Henderson County has 7 lakes and Natchez Trace State Park providing opportunity for outdoor activities but also the luxury of being close to a larger city, Jackson, for shopping, dining, etc. There are several universities and two year colleges within an hour radius to provide post secondary education, along with vocational training centers.
Lauderdale County (dmobley@mail.lced.net)
Each school psychologist intern would be assigned to two schools within our district. They will be responsible for testing students, conducting FBAs and writing BIPs, writing reports, become proficient in Edplan, running eligibility results meetings, meeting with parents, counseling students, and collaborating with colleagues. This will take place under the supervision of our lead school psychologist.
The support an intern will receive is top notch and an intern will receive experience in all areas of school psychology.
Shelby County (wilkinsn1@scsk12.org)
Interns primarily work with 1-2 school psychologists initially observing procedures, meetings, interacting with parents, students, and school staff, and observing testing. The intern becomes more autonomous in these activities over the course of the year with the goal of independent functioning. Interns work with the schools assigned to their supervisors but are also given opportunities to observe/work with special populations such as pre-school, hearing impaired, self-contained classrooms to increase their breadth of knowledge and skill.
We provide the opportunity to work with students with a wide range of educational disabilities. As a large, urban district, our student population is highly culturally diverse and presents with an infinite variety of life circumstances, strengths, and challenges. To meet the needs of our students, we maintain a large library of testing measures and we provide ample professional development opportunities to promote ongoing professional growth.
Tipton County (aburlison@tipton-county.com)
The intern would be assigned to 3-4 schools under the supervision of a certified psychologist. They would serve students from preschool to 12th grade of various disabilities. They would be responsible for lassroom observations, behavioral plans, assessments (both initial and re-evaluations), RTI and parent training. If eligibility is determined, they will attend Eligibility meetings and interpret the findings under the supervision of their certified mentor. At least 50% of the time of internship, will be spent with the certified psychologist.
The support they receive from the Central Office as well as the psychologist is excellent. Opportunities for professional development that is paid for by the district are available. Once the internship is complete, we offer full-time employment with the district. Psychologists have weekly meetings to collaborate. They have an opportunity to attend the national conference for psychologist, paid by the district We have always offered a $20,000.00 supplement to our interns in lieu of the state department grant.
Weakley County (deborah2.perkins@wcsk12tn.net)
Weakley County has ten schools. In the past, when we had two school psychologists, the ten schools were split in a way that gave each person a roughly equivalent caseload. The school psychologist is responsible for completing all evaluations and re-evaluations. In addition, she works closely with the consulting teacher who assists her in re-evaluation processing. At times, the school psychologist might be involved in direct counseling services for students.
Weakley County is a rural area that still has a small town atmosphere in each of its five towns. Martin is home to the University of Tennessee,so there are opportunities for further education, attending sporting events, etc. We are within an hour's drive of Jackson, TN, and Paducah, KY, so there is opportunity for larger city activities, such as restaurants, shopping, and cultural events. In the past, we have been able to offer a stipend to our interns and anticipate that we could continue that with future interns.