New MSEA Director Is Maryland School Psychologist of the Year

“In the absence of alternative strategies, school psychologists are being called on more than ever to provide needed training, interventions, and sup­ports. Unfortunately, in most districts budget restrictions have not increased staffing levels for us, increasing our workloads. We must organize school psychologists around these issues to advocate for increased staffing.”

That’s an excerpt from the nomination statement of Maryland’s new School Psy­chologist of the Year, Donna Christy. Christy, a newly elected member of MSEA’s Board of Directors, is a veteran school psychologist with a keen interest in the public policy that drives the public school response to students in need.

Christy’s resume is deep. She’s focused on reforming pol­icies to replace zero tolerance and exclusionary discipline. Christy and colleagues in the Prince George’s County Edu­cators’ Association have been instrumental in a pilot program to deliver restorative practice models in five schools.

“I am particularly interest­ed in holding our state depart­ment of education accountable for not only setting policy but implementing programs to support those policies. MSEA’s advocacy is needed to raise awareness and present solu­tions for issues that continue to interfere with the learning process, such as psycho-social problems, and disabilities,” says Christy.

“As the first school psychol­ogist on the MSEA Board (and hopefully not the last), I hope to bring these issues to the forefront of policy discussions.”