April 30, 2015

Alumna named School Psychologist of the Year

Kate Grieve Ed.S. ’09 has been named New Hampshire’s School Psychologist of the Year. The honor is bestowed by the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists in recognition of outstanding service to the profession.

Kate Grieve Ed.S. ’09 has been named New Hampshire’s School Psychologist of the Year. Before earning her school psychology degree at Lewis & Clark, Kate graduated from St. Michael’s college in Vermont in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. The honor is bestowed by the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists (NHASP) in recognition of outstanding service to the profession.  She will be honored at the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards on June 6, 2015.

In a statement, NHASP said, “It is with great pride that NHASP honors Kate’s contributions to help all children achieve their best in school, at home, and in life.  Recognition of Kate’s dedication, organizational skills, and ‘amazing and infectious’ energy will help promote the important and diverse role of school psychologists in New Hampshire.”

Where you are currently employed and what you are doing?

I have worked for the Raymond School district in New Hampshire ever since graduating from Lewis & Clark six years ago. Raymond is a small, rural town 30 minutes northwest of New Hampshire’s seacoast. There is one elementary school, one middle school and one high school, which serve a combined 1400 students. My first two years, the district was fortunate to have a school psychologist in each building. My position was at the middle school. During that time, I became the chair of the student intervention team and an antibullying committee. For the past two years, I have been the only school psychologist for the district and have had the chance to work with young people from 3 to 21 years of age. My main role in the district is to provide consultation to the student intervention teams, conduct evaluations and provide consultation and support with teachers. I have also had the privilege of working closely with district administrators and the superintendent on developing and improving district wide policies and procedures and with brining an RTI model to the district.

What does this award mean to you as a professional ?

I still have so very much to learn as a professional in this field. I learn something new every single day. I try to focus on what I can do to provide the best services possible for students, families and school teams.

How did Lewis & Clark it prepare you?

I felt fully supported by my professors and I learned the value of attending a nationally accredited program. From my classes to my internship, I cannot imagine having the rich learning experiences and unfailing support from any other program.

One professor told me it was okay if I went into the field not knowing everything. She said that as long as I could build and maintain relationships with students, parents and staff everything else would fall into place. I’ve learned she was right.

What is it about your work that you love the most?

School psychology is THE coolest job in the world. Right now, what I love most is that I get to work with children of all developmental stages as well as their parents and educational teams. I also get to support them with transition from school to school to help ensure students’ needs are met during those critical times.

Learn more about the School Psychology program.