With the
recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it
has become increasingly important for school psychologists to demonstrate
understanding of the educational strategies used to teach students at all grade
levels, primarily in the area of reading.
Reading impacts the educational foundation of all subjects, however the number
of children with reading difficulties continues to increase each year. School psychologists are being asked to make
the often difficult determination between reading disabilities and reading
difficulties that are the result of an instructional mismatch and then to
provide effective teaching strategies to help the student achieve in the
classroom. Often school psychologists do
not have extensive training in the area of literacy and find themselves feeling
ineffective in providing teachers with useful strategies. It is for this reason that I am hoping to
continue my education by applying to the George Mason University Ph.D. in
Education program with a specialization in Literacy.
My interest
in the field of education indirectly began while I was completing a master’s
degree in experimental neuropsychology at
The
summer after graduation, I accepted a position in Prince William County, VA, as
a special education teacher for middle school students with autism. While teaching, I was perplexed by a number
of my students who were able to decode words but could not comprehend what they
had read. I spent much of my
instructional time assisting the students to become functional readers in order
to help them with their daily living skills.
As a beginning teacher, I often found myself looking for guidance while
In
the school psychology program at The College of William and Mary, I had the
opportunity to engage in coursework and experiential learning that allowed me
to focus on my personal interests, while at the same time providing me with a
strong knowledge base in comprehensive assessment procedures. During my time at William and Mary, I
remained closely involved with the field of education. For one year I worked with the America Reads
program to tutor second grade students who needed extra support with reading
skills. I completed coursework on
learning disabilities and wrote a research paper on the early identification
and intervention of young children at risk for reading problems. I also finished a one-year practicum in
school psychology with Hampton City Public schools, and served as a teaching
assistant for a graduate level assessment course. At the completion of my coursework,, I
engaged in a one-year full time internship with Prince William County Schools
in
Currently
I am employed as a full-time school psychologist with Prince William County
Schools at the elementary level. I have
continued to notice, as I did during my internship year, that the majority of
my referrals for evaluation are based on a student’s difficulty with reading
and/or written expression skills. I am
often asked to determine during evaluations whether a child may have a
processing deficit that could be related to a learning disability, or if the
student is having difficulties due to lack of an instructional match with the
way they have been taught reading and writing skills. I feel that while I have a basic knowledge of
these areas, a specialization in the area of Literacy in the Ph.D. program at
If accepted to the Ph.D. program in Education at George Mason, I hope to gain a stronger understanding of the
foundations of literacy and to gain further knowledge pertaining to the fundamentals of education and educational research.
I would be interested in pursing research relating to the areas of reading and writing, primarily with children in grades
pre-kindergarten though second grade and children with disabilities, looking at differences between processing deficits
versus deficits due to a mismatch with instructional techniques. After speaking with faculty members, I feel that George
Mason’s Ph.D. in Education program will provide me with the flexibility to combine my interests in literacy,
neuropsychology, and special education to acquire knowledge that will continue to strengthen my position in the public
schools as a school psychologist. I also hope that my education and experiences at GMU will enable me to function as a
leader in my county in the effort to update the policies and procedures surrounding the identification of students with
reading disabilities. Thank you for your time and I look forward to further discussing the possibility of my acceptance in
the Ph.D. in Education program with you soon.