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Introduction
Dr. Alex Rivera is a dedicated school psychologist who works in a district where she is one of five school psychologists. Her district currently has a major shortage of school psychologists, so she’s had to take on additional schools and more cases. Each day, she finds herself buried under a mountain of paperwork, running from one IEP meeting to the next, and hoping the student she needs to test is actually at school today.
Despite her passion for working with students, the weight of administrative tasks leaves Dr. Rivera feeling like she isn’t making a difference.
Can you relate?
Here’s the reality. This isn’t just Alex’s story; it’s a pressing issue for many school psychologists across the country. With a national shortage in the field, high caseloads and heavy workloads are rampant, leading to burnout. Even more concerning, school psychologists are rapidly leaving the field.
So, how can we, as a community, help reduce burnout and keep school psychologists like Dr. Rivera and you in the field?
We believe that reducing paperwork can help more school psychologists flourish in their roles.
But how? How do we get there?
The first step is identifying tasks that can be outsourced. With the right tools, including leveraging AI, we can do this!
Outsourcing
The work that you do is important and we recognize that each school psychologist has a growing to-do list that often leaves us feeling overwhelmed. This is where outsourcing comes in! What do we mean by outsourcing? Using something external (like School Psych AI) to complete tasks that you would have otherwise done yourself. This article will walk you through specific examples of outsourcing so that you can free up your time and enjoy a more manageable workload.
Sophia’s Got a Tool for That!
We created Sophia Tools© so you can start outsourcing those pesky tasks today. Here are the tools you can access right away:
Summarizer
The Summarizer is designed to take lengthy psychological reports and create simplified one-page summaries tailored to the specific audience. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Consultation with parents - You can use the Summarizer to condense your detailed evaluation report into a one page summary tailored for parents, making it easier to understand their child’s strengths and areas of need.
IEP meeting prep - You can present summaries of psychological assessments, making it easier to facilitate the meeting and have more focused multidisciplinary team discussions.
Outside agency communication - You can create a concise summary when offering wraparound support or connecting to external mental health or other services, making it easier to provide that professional with essential background information.
Text Summarizer
Looking to summarize text? The Text Summarizer turns long text into short, clear summaries instantly - just copy and paste. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Professional development - You can summarize lengthy research articles or continuing education materials into brief summaries, making it easier to stay informed on current best practices in the field.
Intervention communication - You can summarize comprehensive intervention plans into short, easily digestible information, making it easier for the team to understand the key components of an intervention plan and how best to support that student.
Goal progress - You can condense your notes from IEP goals into a concise summary of student progress, making it easier for the team to quickly understand progress towards the goal.
Email Generator
The Email Generator is designed to create professional emails tailored to your needs and audience. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Introductions - Starting at a new school or in a new role? You can ask Sophia to help generate an email to introduce yourself and how you can support, making it easier to establish relationships in a new space.
Scheduling testing - You can create an email to schedule testing sessions, making it easier to get the details like date(s), time(s), and any preparations out in a clear and efficient way.
Consultation requests - You can ask Sophia to help with consultation requests, making it easier to set up times to consult with teachers, parents, or related service providers to talk about recommendations for student support.
Readability Assistant
Looking to increase accessibility? The Readability Assistant optimizes your text for clarity and reader engagement. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Parent-friendly reports - You can optimize your evaluation report to ensure it is clear and accessible to parents, making it easier to present information in a way that is easy to understand.
Instructions for interventions - You can create clear and accessible instructions for intervention implementation, making it easier to share tools to support intervention fidelity.
In service trainings - You can improve training materials for in-service sessions to present information in a way that is straightforward and easy to apply in the classroom setting, making it easier to share your expertise with staff on supporting students.
Strength-Based Language Generator
The Strength-Based Language Generator is designed to help you shift language from what’s wrong to what’s strong. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Rewrite your report to emphasize strengths - You can ask Sophia to rewrite your evaluation report to highlight student strengths, areas of interest, and ways to leverage those strengths to support areas for growth, making it easier to shift from what’s wrong to what’s strong.
Present levels of performance - You can create strength-based present levels of performance for IEPs that highlights what the student does well and what they are interested in, making it easier to shift to what’s strong within a team approach.
Parent communication - You can ask Sophia to develop a strength-focused summary for parent feedback sessions after testing, making it easier to encourage active parent participation.
IEP Summarizer
Looking for parent-friendly summaries of IEPs? The IEP Summarizer allows you to copy and paste different sections of the IEP to create snapshots that are tailored for families. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Parent-friendly IEP - You can provide parents with simplified summaries of their child’s IEP by breaking down each section into clear and concise language, making it easier to share the plan and their child’s goals.
New students - Have a student transfer in? You can ask Sophia to summarize the new student’s IEP, making it easier to understand and implement necessary supports.
Teacher consultation - You can grab summaries of IEPs to better understand a special education teacher’s current caseload, making it easier to consult with that teacher on effective strategies and student supports.
IEP Jargon Interpreter
The IEP Jargon Interpreter is designed to help make sense of all the acronyms and jargon in education by creating simplified definitions to increase accessibility. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Parent-friendly guides - You can interpret complex IEP jargon into simple, everyday language for parents, making it easier to share special education concepts and how it fits in with their child’s plan.
Teacher resources - You can provide classroom teachers with clear and concise definitions of terms, making it easier to communicate intervention plans for classroom implementation.
Student-friendly definitions - You can ask Sophia to create student-friendly explanations of IEP terminology, making it easier to ensure meaningful student participation in the IEP process.
Translator
Looking for a way to translate information? The Translator assists with accurately translating text between languages, keeping the original meaning and context intact. Here are some examples of how you could use this tool:
Multilingual evaluation reports - You can translate your evaluation reports into the family’s preferred language, making it easier to share information and ensure the family fully understands their child’s evaluation and next steps.
Family communication - You can translate other types of communication, too, such as emails or newsletters, making it easier to encourage involvement and support.
IEP documents - You can accurately translate IEP documents into the parent’s native language while maintaining the context of the plan, making it easier to deliver clear communication to families.
Conclusion
There are many AI tools, but not many AI tools for school psychologists. We have provided several tools you can use today to outsource tasks. Let us know in the comments, which tasks you want to automate in your day-to-day work and what tools you will use to get started.
Contributors: Dr. Byron McClure, NCSP, Founder, School Psych AI & Rachele Teson, NCSP