TAKE ACTION NOW!
2024 National School Psychologist Week (NSPW) Virtual Fall Conference Advocacy Campaign (formerly the Postcard Campaign)
Join hundreds of your colleagues during this conference in speaking up for our students and our profession! Access our virtual advocacy campaign to send a message to all five of your state elected officials in one click!
Preview the Fall Conference GPR Communication statement:
I am a school psychologist. I promote students’ mental health and academic learning. I help teachers meet the needs of their students. I work with parents to support their children’s school success. I partner with administrators to evaluate data and implement effective systems and interventions. The NASP Practice Model is my framework for effective service delivery in the school context. Stand up for Washington’s students by supporting mental health services in schools.
I am also a school-based mental health provider. Current data estimates that one in five children will experience a significant mental health issue each year, and only about 20% of those students who need care will receive it. Students are more likely to seek help if these services are in schools. Please support legislation that will strengthen the work of school psychologists!
I provide essential services to staff and students every day. Washington is facing a critical shortage of school psychologists, at a time when our students need psychological services more and more. We have estimated that we need to double our work force in order to provide comprehensive psychological services that our students need. Support legislation to recruit and retain high quality school psychologists to address this shortage and get our students the services they need. Please support legislation providing National Board Parity for Nationally Certified School Psychologists to help schools recruit and retain people like me.
As a school psychologist, I also stand for social justice for all of my students. School psychologists provide culturally responsive services to students and families from diverse backgrounds. Please support policies and legislation that help all students succeed, such as those supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ students, equitable access to education regardless of race or zip code, and fair discipline practices.
Thank you for your time and your support. Please contact me for more information about the topics I mentioned in this letter and thank you for serving my community.
ABOUT ADVOCACY ACTION STEPS
Who: WSASP's Government and Public Relations (GPR) committee has been hard at work in Olympia, and now we need your vital contribution and active support!
What: Advocate for your self, your field, and kids! Contact your representatives TODAY about the below-mentioned important issues! Your representatives value your opinion as a constituent, and the more of us they hear from, the louder our collective voice!
When: The legislature is in session. As bills cycle through the process and move to a vote from the entire legislative body, we will alert you to action through our member email system. When the time is right for each bill, the Form Letter Link will be activated, and you will get an email reminder to take action!
Where: Thanks to NASP, you will only have to send the message once to get to all three representatives based on your home address, and we will be able to pull data about how many of us are taking action!
Why: With more letters of support and phone calls from all stakeholders and professionals in school psychology and allied fields, the legislators in the House and Senate will be informed and can realize the wide range of importance these issues represent. If we are not at the table, we are on the menu!
How: You can contact your legislators today. You can submit public comment via the legislative website (see directions below, via NASP, directly with an email address, or via Our Voice, through WEA (Click here for a step by step tutorial on how to use Our Voice to email your representatives). The GPR Committee will provide form letters as appropriate for each bill of interest to WSASP. When these letters are made available, you can use them exactly, add personal stories or comments, or write an original letter to submit to your legislators. Once your letter is ready, using NASP's Advocacy Action Center, you can send it to all your state representatives with one click. We ask that you send one letter for each bill, as this is how representatives prefer communication, and it keeps our message clear.
