Year 3 Internship - Bridgewater, NJ
I opted to do my internship outside of the state of Massachusetts. Since I am initially from New Jersey, and hope to one-day work in New Jersey, I felt that it was important, for my own professional growth, to do my internship here. My goal was to gain experience with NJ state special education law, special education code, case management, as well as make networking connections with NJ school psychologists.
I was fortunate to accept an internship in a large suburban school district in NJ. My internship has allowed me to gain experience over a variety of levels within the district. My main placement was at the intermediate level, for grades five and six. I have also done testing at the primary level in multiple primary level schools and worked with the Child Study Team at this level. Towards the end of my internship year I was also able to go up to the high school and work with a high school level Child Study Team (CST). Throughout the year there were monthly CST departmental meetings, which I had the opportunity to attend and gain professional development credit. The topics at these meetings varied monthly and kept the CST staff informed on district policies and procedures.
My main placement was at the intermediate level. Since the intermediate school was my “home base” I was able to become a part of the school staff and grow in the school environment at this level. I was also able to gain experience in testing, counseling, and consultation. I conducted both initial and re-evaluation assessments for the fifth and sixth graders. Part of conducting the evaluations included an initial planning meeting with the student’s parents in order to understand their areas of concern for their child. Once an evaluation was warranted, I was able to utilize the information from the initial meeting in order to best plan out my assessment battery. Part of my role in testing a student would also be to present the results at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. As part of my internship I also provided consultation to a special education resource room teacher in order to decrease the disruptive behaviors in her classroom. The consultation was successful in decreasing the student’s behaviors and she was able to expand the program to the other classes she teaches for these students as well as share the program with the other resource room teachers. I also met with a sixth grade male student, who presented with severe anxiety, for counseling weekly in order to increase adaptive coping strategies and decrease periods of upset. Being at the intermediate school I was able to participate in their Intervention and Referral Services committee meetings in order to provide teachers with strategies to use with a student before referring them to CST.
Part of my internship consisted of going to the primary level in order to gain additional testing experience. At the primary schools I was able to assess students as young as five years old and gain experience assessing students using the WPPSI-IV. There were a variety of unique cases at the primary level that I had the opportunity to gain exposure to, in particular I attended a meeting for a student with Alice In Wonderland Syndrome and I also had the opportunity to test a student with seizure disorder, ADHD, and ASD. I found it easy to work with the teachers at this level, and it was a change of pace from the intermediate level and see where many of the students start out.
Towards the end of the year, I was given the opportunity to gain some experience at the high school level. During my time at the high school I was able to attend CST meetings with the high school staff. I was given four students to see for counseling services – a female student diagnosed as emerging schizophrenic and anxiety; a male student who presents with school refusal diagnosed with depression and anxiety; a female student who has difficulty completing homework assignments; and another female student who struggles with organization/planning and work completion. I also was able to observe transition planning during the IEP meetings for students at the high school level.
Overall, interning in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has provided me with a variety of experiences in order to expand my knowledge and grow in my own professional development. I was able to gain a well-rounded experience in assessment, consultation, and counseling. I was also able to learn how to adapt to a new environment with different special education code.
I was fortunate to accept an internship in a large suburban school district in NJ. My internship has allowed me to gain experience over a variety of levels within the district. My main placement was at the intermediate level, for grades five and six. I have also done testing at the primary level in multiple primary level schools and worked with the Child Study Team at this level. Towards the end of my internship year I was also able to go up to the high school and work with a high school level Child Study Team (CST). Throughout the year there were monthly CST departmental meetings, which I had the opportunity to attend and gain professional development credit. The topics at these meetings varied monthly and kept the CST staff informed on district policies and procedures.
My main placement was at the intermediate level. Since the intermediate school was my “home base” I was able to become a part of the school staff and grow in the school environment at this level. I was also able to gain experience in testing, counseling, and consultation. I conducted both initial and re-evaluation assessments for the fifth and sixth graders. Part of conducting the evaluations included an initial planning meeting with the student’s parents in order to understand their areas of concern for their child. Once an evaluation was warranted, I was able to utilize the information from the initial meeting in order to best plan out my assessment battery. Part of my role in testing a student would also be to present the results at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. As part of my internship I also provided consultation to a special education resource room teacher in order to decrease the disruptive behaviors in her classroom. The consultation was successful in decreasing the student’s behaviors and she was able to expand the program to the other classes she teaches for these students as well as share the program with the other resource room teachers. I also met with a sixth grade male student, who presented with severe anxiety, for counseling weekly in order to increase adaptive coping strategies and decrease periods of upset. Being at the intermediate school I was able to participate in their Intervention and Referral Services committee meetings in order to provide teachers with strategies to use with a student before referring them to CST.
Part of my internship consisted of going to the primary level in order to gain additional testing experience. At the primary schools I was able to assess students as young as five years old and gain experience assessing students using the WPPSI-IV. There were a variety of unique cases at the primary level that I had the opportunity to gain exposure to, in particular I attended a meeting for a student with Alice In Wonderland Syndrome and I also had the opportunity to test a student with seizure disorder, ADHD, and ASD. I found it easy to work with the teachers at this level, and it was a change of pace from the intermediate level and see where many of the students start out.
Towards the end of the year, I was given the opportunity to gain some experience at the high school level. During my time at the high school I was able to attend CST meetings with the high school staff. I was given four students to see for counseling services – a female student diagnosed as emerging schizophrenic and anxiety; a male student who presents with school refusal diagnosed with depression and anxiety; a female student who has difficulty completing homework assignments; and another female student who struggles with organization/planning and work completion. I also was able to observe transition planning during the IEP meetings for students at the high school level.
Overall, interning in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has provided me with a variety of experiences in order to expand my knowledge and grow in my own professional development. I was able to gain a well-rounded experience in assessment, consultation, and counseling. I was also able to learn how to adapt to a new environment with different special education code.
Katie Zofcin Internship Field Log | |
File Size: | 775 kb |
File Type: | xls |