In the news...

 BNET, which is the CBS Interactive Business Network, published an article entitled Exploring Reading Specialists’ Collaborative Interactions with School Psychologists: Problems and Possibilities.

This is a lengthy and in-depth article that explains how school psychologists and reading specialists can work together to help improve children’s reading.  It stress the importance of ‘effective collaboration’, discusses what reading specialists do, what school psychologists do, and what the two professions can do together.  An excerpt from the article stating reasons for this collaboration can be seen below:

1. de-compartmentalize specialized knowledge, to foster triangulation and integration of knowledge

2. strengthen assessment and intervention efforts in the area of reading

3. build a triadic relationship that fosters continuous, pedagogical improvement and supports regular educators' intervention efforts

4. strengthen prevention efforts in the primary grades

5. encourage reflection of professional practices in the schools

6. coordinate diagnostic assessments for the purpose of obtaining better integrated and more comprehensive data

7. co-facilitate progress monitoring of reading disabled children

8. meet standards set forth by professional accrediting societies

9. co-design and coordinate interventions

This article also discusses some potential problems that may be encountered when the two professions attempt to work closely with each other.  The information here would probably benefit school psychologists and reading specialists most, but would also be useful for teachers, administrators, and parents to have a better understanding of the process.