Blog - in the news

Dave Smith has been a vibrant and essential member of the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists, working with countless children, adolescents, families and educators in his 30+ years as a school psychologist in New Hampshire. Dave engaged in a wide range of activities, including counseling, consultation, program development, and assessments throughout the state, including school districts in Lebanon, Dover, Hampton, Barrington, Northwood, Nottingham, Strafford, Laconia, Winnisquam Region, Gilmanton, and Franklin. Dave has a passion for being a lifelong learner and continues to engage in opportunities to further his knowledge in school law, school administration, learning disabilities, adventure based counseling, language disorders, and computer programming. 

Dave has made essential contributions to the NHASP executive board for 29 years, taking on the roles of Newsletter Editor, Treasurer, and President. He is also a former School Psychologist of the Year. Dave has a keen attention to detail and understanding of what is needed to support the school psychology profession across NH. He was always considered the fiscal hawk and voice of reason on the board, and his understanding of ethical practice and common sense judgement led others to his counsel. NHASP thanks Dave for everything he has provided to others, and continues to do so.

NHASP is pleased to announce that Kathy Secinaro was awarded the 2019 School Psychologist of the Year award this past June, and honored at the ED’ies award ceremony for the work she does as a school psychologist in New Hampshire.  Kathy is described by her colleagues as an individual whose "...enthusiastic initiative and efforts have made a tremendous positive impact in the lives of the children, parents, and staff at Barnstead Elementary School."  She provides a full range of school psychological services to her community, demonstrates strong communication and collaboration skills, completes comprehensive evaluations, counsel’s students in crisis, and participates in systems change efforts to enhance the mental health of others.  Mrs. Secinaro is described as a driving factor in the positive outcomes for kids and inspires fellow school psychologists to shine in their field.”

Another colleague writes, “As a current member of the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists with many years of experience working in diverse school settings, Kathy brings an impressive toolkit to her work with students, staff, and families in our Barnstead school community serving approximately 500 students preschool through 8th grade. Kathy came to us highly regarded after several years of working collaboratively with school psychologists to deliver a broad range of assessments in the Rochester School District…working among 12 different schools. Prior to that, Kathy worked at Prospect Mountain High School, where she did all of the special education evaluations, as well as counseling for special education students…”  Additionally, “Her broad range of experiences with students preschool through 12th grade, her strong communication and collaboration skills, and her strong ability to connect interpersonally with students, families, and staff have led her to be a key resource for our school.” 

Congratulations to Mrs. Secinaro from NHASP and the education community!

NHASP is excited to announce the 2018 recipient of the New Hampshire School Psychologist of the Year, Felicia Sperry. Felicia currently serves as the school psychologist at Mast Way Elementary School in Lee, which is a part of the Oyster River Cooperative School District. During her time in the field, she has far exceeded any criteria needed to earn this prestigious award through both her contribution to students’ lives and school psychology. 

Although Felicia’s accomplishments are vast, her most recent leadership role on the district’s Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Committee is especially notable due to its far-reaching impact on the trajectory of students' mental health. Following tragic events within the district, the School Board tasked the two elementary schools with researching and implementing an evidenced-based social-emotional program that could be used across both schools. As the chair of the committee, Felicia led a group of educators and professional staff in researching applicable programs and determining which program best fit the needs of the schools. Following five years of committee work and discussions with administration, both elementary schools will pilot “Open Circle” during the 2018-2019 school year. While change takes time and can be contentious at times, 

Felicia never once wavered from what was best for children. She remained energetic, committed, and persevered through a lengthy and arduous process. Due to her unwavering efforts, both elementary schools will begin to better educate the “whole child.” This pilot will also involve teachers completing the DESSA for all students in their classrooms, which is a social-emotional monitoring tool. This process will better allow for early intervention for mental health concerns and places mental health on an equal playing field with academic learning. In addition to this accomplishment, Felicia has developed and shared a school-based program to assist elementary school students with vital executive functioning skills. This involves her teaching students in all third-grade classrooms about specific areas of the brain and their relationship to various executive functioning skills. Felicia has also developed supplemental resources for classroom teachers to allow for greater generalization of learned skills, as well as has offered ongoing professional development to other practicing school psychologists.

I have been blessed to have Felicia as my mentor this year and have gained immense knowledge through our consultations and collaboration. Felicia is a school psychologist who has never lost her joy for the profession or her quest for further knowledge. She is in every form of the word, a true change maker. It is a pleasure to work with, laugh with, and learn from. All students and professionals who have the opportunity to work with her are better for it. 

NHASP is pleased to announce that Nathaniel Jones, Ph.D. is the 2017 New Hampshire School Psychologist of the Year (SPY). Nate is a school psychology consultant working at SERESC in Bedford, NH, and is a NH and nationally certified school psychology, licensed psychologist, and board certified behavioral analyst (BCBA). Along with his consultation work for New Hampshire schools, Nate focuses his professional goals towards increasing coordination among educational, medical, and mental health agencies to improve outcomes for youth. This is seen in the professional development opportunities he facilitates and in his work as the coordinator of the Medical Educational Therapeutic Evaluation team at SERESC. Nate’s nomination letter included many wonderful comments from his colleagues who describe Nate as, “an exemplar of what it means to be a school psychologist. He inspires trust, shares his wealth of knowledge, and above all, puts kids first. As a mentor, he is somehow always magically available, even though he is busy working and volunteering a hundred different ways.”

Aside from his professional work, Nate’s advocacy as a school psychologist, in both state and national issues, is commendable. He is always willing to head to the “Hill” to support what is best for children and youth and keeps abreast of current issues in our field so that our association can disseminate information to others in our state. Nate has held many positions in our state association, including six years as state Delegate to NASP, NHASP President, co-chair of the NHASP Government and Professional Relations Committee, and our very own Webmaster. Nate is also the Western Region Representative for NASP on the national Ethics and Professional Practice Committee (EPPC).

The selection for SPY is always a challenging one for the nomination committee, as there are so many wonderful school psychologists among us doing incredible things for the students of New Hampshire. Nate is no exception to that, with his contributions being far-reaching and influential, so we would like to congratulate Nate with this award and thank him for all he does for school psychology. 

NHASP is very pleased to announce the 2015-16 NH School Psychologist of the Year (SPY), Tari Selig! Tari is the school psychologist at Griffin Memorial School in Litchfield, NH, NH state delegate to NASP and is currently a PsyD Student at William James College. In selecting Tari for our NH School Psychologist of the Year, the awards committee recognized her powerful contribution to our field at the local, state, and national levels. Tari’s nomination letter describes her as “an effective collaborator” who “constantly goes above and beyond to ensure that the needs of students are being met.”

Tari is also a past-president of NHASP and has led a range of advocacy, professional development, and organizational activities. She helped lead the effort to revise the standards for school psychologists in NH and is currently working to develop a school psychologist rubric for teacher evaluation work in NH. Tari has also led efforts to promote school psychology awareness week in NH and her strong creativity can be seen in many NHASP resources in recent years. In case you wondered where the school psychology scavenger hunt came from, well, now you know. Who knows, she may yet talk us into that school psychology prom.

The selection process for SPY is always difficult and this year was no exception. Several remarkable school psychologists were nominated by their schools.  All nominees demonstrate the importance of school psychologists in promoting success for all students. The awards committee thanks everyone who participated in the selection process this year and appreciates the opportunity to learn about the great work occurring in our state.