School Psychologist Paid Internship

Overview

The Cherokee County School District (CCSD) offers a full-time School Psychology Paid Internship Program lasting two semesters. The program is designed to provide quality supervision and training experiences and is subject to budgetary funding and availability of experienced school psychologists.

Description Of Training Program

• Respond appropriately and within federal and state guidelines to referrals for initial psychological assessment and for reevaluation of children in special education programs
• Demonstrate a competent understanding of the psychometric characteristics of a variety of assessment instruments
• Demonstrate appropriate consultative skills in parent, teacher, and student conferences
• Communicate psychological assessment results and recommendations both verbally and through written reports
• Participate in eligibility and program decisions in meeting the needs of students with disabilities
• Participate in and contribute to professional development activities
• Recommend appropriate remedial and intervention procedures for students
• Manage time and resources effectively
• Provide differential diagnosis in areas of intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disorders

Supervision and Evaluation

Interns are assigned a School-Site Mentor who is a school psychologist employed by the District. The School-Site Mentor receives a $500 stipend per semester to supervise the Intern. Additional supervision includes the Lead School Psychologist and Director of Special Education. The supervision follows a gradual release of responsibility model based on Intern performance and readiness.

Internship Training Sequence

• Stage I Sequence: Onboarding with School-Site Mentor, Lead School Psychologist, Director of Special Education, Office of Human Resources, and Intern. Intern observes School-Site Mentor performing duties. Intern performs school psychologist duties along with School-Site Mentor. Intern performs school psychologist duties under School-Site Mentor's direct supervision.
• Stage II Sequence: Intern begins to deploy to other schools in the zone to perform school psychologist duties under the supervision of each school's respective school psychologist. School-Site Mentor continues to check-in with the Intern. Intern is eligible to be hired full-time and work independently while maintaining regular check-ins and co-signing all evaluations with School-Site Mentor.

Stipend Eligibility

Interns participating in this program will receive a $7,000 stipend per semester with the maximum amount of $14,000 for the year. Stipends are awarded at the end of each semester. To be eligible for each stipend, the Intern must adequately and professionally fulfill all internship duties and responsibilities for the entire semester and commit to working for the Cherokee County School District for one year post-internship by signing an early employment contract if offered.

Qualifications Of Interns

To qualify for the paid internship program, candidates must be enrolled in a PSC-Approved school psychology program at a college or university that has a partnership agreement with the Cherokee County School District.

Documents Required For Hire

• An online CCSD school psychologist internship application
• A letter of interest
• A resume or curriculum vitae
• An unofficial copy of the applicant’s graduate transcripts
• An unofficial copy of the applicant’s undergraduate transcripts
• Two letters of recommendation (including one from the University Program Coordinator)
• A professional writing sample

Timelines for Application and Selection

Candidate must submit application and required documents by December 1st of the year prior to the start of the paid internship. The CCSD team will review all documents and select candidates to interview. Selected candidates will be interviewed by a panel in December and January. Notification of acceptance into the paid internship program will take place by the end of February.