City Council celebrates National School Psychologist Week

National School Psychologist Week is a time to recognize the important work school psychologists and other educators do to help all students thrive.

The National Association of School Psychologists selected "The Power of Possibility" as the theme for this year to highlight the role of school psychologists to promote hope, growth, resilience and renewal in schools.

School psychologists provide critical social and emotional services by providing direct support and responding to the mental health needs of students. In the Boston Public Schools, 76 percent of the student population are categorized as high needs and require social emotional support specialists.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a collective traumatic experience for everyone, including students, and has uniquely personal consequences for a person’s mental health. Throughout the pandemic, schools psychologists continue to work tirelessly to respond to the mental health needs of students, often working all hours of the day to respond to calls, texts, or emails from kids struggling with the transition to remote learning.

This week, the Council celebrated all of the school psychologists in the Boston Public Schools with an adopted resolution and recognized November 9-13, 2020, as National School Psychologist Week in the City of Boston.