Making a Difference from Haverhill to Hawaii: School Psychology Students Support Districts in Need As schools continue

As schools continue to provide more mental health support and resources to students, school psychologists become critical members of their communities, but there aren’t enough trained psychologists to meet the need. According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), only two states in the U.S. (Utah and Connecticut) meet their recommended 500 to 1 student to school psychologist ratio.

With so many communities in need, William James College prioritizes robust field training opportunities to prepare school psychology students to serve in a wide variety of school settings. Students at William James College complete more field education training than most other school psychology programs throughout the country—they begin right in their first semester with the child-led, play-based intervention, Primary Project. By their third year, students will complete a 1200-hour, full-time internship in a setting of their choice.

Many students choose to stay in Massachusetts for their internship year, helping to meet the needs of our local communities. Julia McGuire, a third-year school psychology student, started her internship in Haverhill, Mass. this fall.

“The past two years [at William James], I’ve had placements in more suburban settings, so I was really looking for a more urban internship experience,” she says, adding, “Haverhill just has so much to offer.”

McGuire will be working throughout the district, from the traditional K-12 public schools to an alternative high school to preschool and even special education classrooms.

She explains, “Sometimes in our courses it can be so theoretical, but then, when we go to our site and see these practices in action, it’s super helpful to get the whole picture. I’m really grateful for it.”

Looking ahead to the year, McGuire is most excited to expand her clinical skills in this new environment. “There’s a huge population of multilingual students and immigrant families in Haverhill,” she says. “This year, I’m really working to learn culturally competent assessment and practice.”

Other students in the school psychology program meet a need elsewhere. Third-year Grace Bernatchez traveled to Maui, Hawaii for her internship.

“Everywhere in Hawaii is in need,” she says, “But, specifically Maui is definitely in need of people who do what we do. I’m the only one of me [at my school], which can be a little intimidating for a third-year graduate student, but it also provides a lot of learning opportunity.”

Bernatchez works closely with not only her supervisor, but also with the other behavioral health specialists and school psychologists in the district, especially in the wake of the August 2023 wildfires that broke out on the island.

“The current population I’m working with have all gone through a communal trauma with the fire last year,” Bernatchez says. “So, I’m learning a lot about grief, historical context, and generational trauma.”

Working in Hawaii on top of her previous experiences in Boston and in Lawrence, Mass., Bernatchez says, has been “really eye-opening and helpful when establishing my practice. I’ve seen a lot of different populations and there are so many different avenues I can go down.”

Regardless of what the third-year internship looks like for school psychology students, they will graduate from William James College prepared to succeed in the field contributing as critical community members.

“We always have support,” McGuire says of her time in the program. “With the classes and the field experience combined, I feel ready to go into the field.”

“I think that I have the best job—or will have the best job—in the world,” says Bernatchez. “There are so many ways to feel fulfilled in this career.”

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