Missouri Association of School Psychologists

2019 Fall Conference

September 19th & 20th, 2019

Adam's Pointe Conference Center

1400 NE Coronado Dr.

Blue Springs, MO 64014

Thursday, September 19th

Keynote Topic: Social Justice

Featuring: Charles Barrett, MEd, PhD, NCSP

Friday, September 20th

 Keynote Topic: Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Featuring: Valerie Shapiro, PhD

About the Keynote Speakers:

Charles Barrett, MEd, PhD, NCSP

 Charles’ passion for serving children began while he was a summer camp counselor in the Catskill Mountains following his freshman year in college.  Working with children from New York’s urban areas, his life was forever changed after spending seven weeks with a group of intelligent and energetic boys.  Although he considered a career in speech pathology—having stuttered for several years throughout elementary and middle school—Charles' desire to serve children and families became even more evident after this pivotal experience. 

After completing his undergraduate studies in Psychology and English at St. John’s University, Charles' graduate degrees in Human Development (MEd) and School Psychology (PhD) were earned at Lehigh University.  Particularly interested in critically examining the factors that contribute to the misidentification and overrepresentation of culturally diverse students with various disorders and disabilities, his scholarship and professional practice are anchored by justice and equity, and represents his unwavering commitment to advocating for populations who have been marginalized by systemic oppression.  Charles frequently presents at state and national conferences and has published in peer-reviewed and other periodicals.  In September 2016, he received the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists’ Best Practices Award (School Psychologist of the Year) in recognition of his service to the Commonwealth’s families and students. 

A nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP) with Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), Charles is actively involved in the training and development of future psychologists through his roles as assistant director, internship supervisor, and chair of the Committee on Diversity for LCPS’ APA-Accredited Doctoral Internship in Health Services Psychology.  He also holds leadership positions within the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), including co-coordinator of the Bilingual Interest Group, co-chair of the African American Subcommittee, chair of the Social Justice Committee, and Virginia Delegate to the NASP Leadership Assembly.  Charles currently serves as adjunct faculty in the Department of Psychology at Northern Virginia Community College and the Graduate School of Education at Howard University. 

Valerie B. Shapiro, PhD

Dr. Shapiro is faculty chair of the Doctoral Program in Social Welfare and the Co-Director of the Center for Prevention Research in Social Welfare at Berkeley. She was the recipient of the 2014 Prytanean Faculty Prize, recognized for scholarly achievement and distinguished teaching at UC Berkeley. Dr. Shapiro researches the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in children and youth through the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of effective prevention practices, such as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) initiatives in schools. She serves on the steering committee of the Coalition for the Promotion of Behavioral Health that produced the National Academy of Medicine Paper entitled "Unleashing the Power of Prevention", the board of the National Prevention Science Coalition, and on two statewide advisory groups in California (e.g., the CASEL Collaborating States Initiative; Statewide Pilot on School Climate and Discipline) to improve infrastructure for prevention service delivery in schools.

Dr. Shapiro will be sponsored as our second keynote speaker by Aperture Education.                                                                       

Keynote Topic (Thursday, September 19, 2019):

Social Justice (9:15 am – 4:00 pm)

Presented by: Charles Barrett, MEd, PhD, NCSP

In this session, participants with learn about social justice and why it is an important topic to discuss in education. Social justice implications in education will be covered such as how to approach prevention, intervention, counseling, and assessment. Participants will learn ways to infuse social justice principles into educational decisions or policy in order to meet the needs of marginalized groups. All participants will leave with a copy of It’s Always About the Children, Dr. Barrett’s most recent published book.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe social justice and understand why it is meaningful to the equitable practice of school psychology
• Describe the social justice implications related to various areas of school psychology practice—prevention, intervention, counseling, and assessment
• Infuse social justice principles into policy decisions to meet the needs of marginalized groups

Keynote Topic (Friday, September 20, 2019):

Social Emotional Learning (8:00-11:00am)

Presented by: Valerie Shapiro, PhD

This session will focus on research-based strategies for making school-based prevention broadly accessible and effective in routine practice. The session will briefly consider five different processes: (1) Building coalitions, (2) articulating principles, (3) conducting assessments, (4) selecting & implementing interventions, and (5) striving for continuous improvement.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn research-based strategies for making Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) broadly accessible and effective in routine practice through the activities of coalition building
• Participants will learn how to articulate principles of SEL
• Participants will learn recommended practices in conducting assessments,
• Participants will learn effective practices of selecting and implementing interventions

Break-Out Sessions

Friday, September 20, 2019

First Break-out Session Choices (12:30- 2:00pm):

Best Practices in Assessing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Presented by: Charles Barrett, MEd, PhD, NCSP

Attendees will be exposed to a comprehensive, evidence-based, and practitioner friendly assessment model that effectively differentiates between language difference and disability (particularly Specific Learning Disability) for English Learner (EL) students. Additionally, participants will develop the skills necessary to effectively design culturally sensitive assessment batteries to validly assess diverse students; cognitive abilities and academic skills. Implications for influencing practice and policy decisions in local school divisions related to serving diverse students and families will be discussed.  

Learner Objectives:

• Attendees will develop the necessary skills to make data-based decisions in order to more effectively serve diverse students and families.
• Attendees will develop the necessary skills to design appropriate batteries to assess diverse students; cognitive abilities and academic skills.
• Attendees will develop the necessary skills to influence practice and policy decisions in their local school divisions related to teaching and assessing diverse students.

Missouri Combating Opioid Epidemic in Schools (COPE): A Primer for School-based Mental Health Professionals

Presented by: Amelia Stern, Ed.S., NCSP; Heather Ferguson, Ed.S., NCSP; Scott Crooks, S.S.P., NCSP

Participants will gain understanding of opioid use disorder, the impact of opioids on schools in Missouri, and what is being done in Missouri to prevent and respond to the opioid epidemic.  

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what opioids are
• Understand how they impact families and schools
• Learn about what is being done to address this and ways school staff can help

Second Break-out Session Choices (2:15-3:45pm):

School Psychologists: Advocates for Social Justice

Presented by: Nicketa Coombs

With the current social climate, there is certainly a need for school psychologists to engage in advocacy and equity work that both supports the rights and opportunities of all, and recognizes potential obstacles to this work, like lack of diversity in the profession and institutional power structures that work against justice in education (Shriberg and colleagues, 2008). This presentation aims to present ways in which school psychologists can advocate for social justice practice and policies, in an attempt to improve outcomes for underserved and marginalized children and families.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn to define social justice from a school psychology perspective
• Participants will learn to identify priority social justice topics
• Participants will learn to identify social justice advocacy strategies
• Participants will learn to identify opportunities and barriers to social justice work in school psychology

All about Executive Functioning

Presented by: Laura Reiland and Amanda Boyce

This presentation will provide an overview of what executive functioning is, how to identify executive function deficits (both in the classroom setting and during testing sessions), and strategies that can be used to help support students with executive function deficits. Participants will walk away with practical resources as well.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will increase knowledge of executive functioning and how it relates to ADHD
• Participants will increase knowledge of how to best identify executive functioning deficits
• Participants will increase knowledge of strategies that can be used to support executive functioning deficits

MASP 2018 Fall Conference Agenda

Thursday

September 19, 2019

8:00 am – 9:00 am:         Registration

9:00 am – 9:15 am:         Welcome and Introductions:  

9:15 am – 10:30am:        Keynote: Social Justice

10:30 am – 10:45am:     Break

10:45 am – 12:00 pm:    Social Justice (continued)

12:00 pm – 12:15 pm:    Special Awards

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm:      Lunch provided

1:15 pm – 2:30 pm:        Social Justice (continued)

2:30 pm – 2:45 pm:        Break

2:45 pm – 4:00 pm:        Social Justice (continued)

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm:        Complete Keynote Evaluation Form (Door Prize/Drawings)

4:45pm – 6:45 pm:         MASP Social Hour (Come relax, network, and  make some new friends! Everyone is invited!)

Friday

September 20, 2019

8:00 am – 9:30 am:         Half-day Keynote: Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

9:30 am – 9:45 am:        Break

9:45 am – 11:15 am:      SEL (continued)

11:15 am – 12:30 pm:    Lunch provided (Membership Meeting will be held for a period of this time)

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm:      1st Breakout session

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm:        Break

2:15 pm – 3:45 pm:        2nd Breakout Session

3:45 pm – 4:00pm:         Wrap-Up and Complete Conference Evaluation Forms

*Continuing education CPDs may only be provided to participants who attend the entire session