Applications sought for psychology program

Staff report

Youngstown

The Beeghly College of Education at Youngstown State University is taking applications for a new, three-year graduate-level school-psychology program that aims to help fill a critical need for school psychologists in Ohio.

Classes will begin in July. Graduates will earn two degrees: a Master of Education in Intervention Services and an Educational Specialist Degree in School Psychology — the specialist degree is a first for YSU.

Two public information sessions on the new graduate program are planned:

3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus.

4:30 to 6 p.m. Dec. 6 in Suite 220 at the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, 100 DeBartolo Place, Boardman. RSVPs are due Dec. 2.

To reserve a seat or for more information, contact Richard VanVoorhis, assistant professor of Special Education and Counseling and primary faculty for the new program, at 330-941-3266 or rwvanvoorhis@ysu.edu.

Audrey Ellenwood, program director and a professor in the Beeghly College, said school psychologists are in short supply across Ohio and nationally — even internationally. She said the YSU program is the first school-psychology program established in the state in more than 40 years.

VanVoorhis said he conducted a statewide needs assessment as part of preparing YSU’s application for state approval.

More than 75 school districts also demonstrated their support in letters confirming a need for the program.

“We are most grateful for the tremendous support we received from our school partners,” said Mary Lou DiPillo, interim dean of the Beeghly College. “We look forward to working with those school districts as we place our candidates in field and clinical sites.”

YSU’s program is one of a small number in the U.S. that will focus on low-incidence disabilities, which can include blindness, deafness and autism, said Ellenwood, in addition to the more typical training in high-incidence disabilities, such as speech and language impairments and learning disabilities.

The program includes a one-year paid internship in a public school district. Because of the need for school psychologists in Ohio, the state’s Department of Education funds a number of paid internships for graduate students preparing to be school psychologists. In return, those graduates are expected to serve at least one year in a school- psychologist position in Ohio after completing their internships.