Why I Left the Schools: A School Psych’s Journey to Advocacy
We're excited to launch our first ever blog post, and we're glad you're here!
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GPS Education Consulting L.L.C. is an Education Consulting, and Non-Attorney Educational Advocacy company that specializes in improving academic, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for children and adolescents (birth through 21) who require more support and creativity than typically provided in the classroom. On behalf of these amazing children and their champions (looking at you, reader), we work with families, schools, and community partners across the country.
We know that the education system can be complex and confusing, especially for families of children with academic, social, emotional, and/or behavioral needs. Let’s be honest… it can also be complex and confusing for people working within the education system.
We are strong supporters of the education system. There aren’t sufficient words to describe the admiration we have for the herculean efforts of the majority of our country’s education workers. That being said, the system has struggled to keep up with all of the responsibilities that our society has tasked them with. This was absolutely true prior to 2020, and has only been exacerbated following the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
How do I know this? ….Great question!
As a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) with active state Department of Education credentials in both Colorado and Maryland, I worked passionately and determinedly to support kids, families, and their support networks as a School Psychologist for one of the nation’s best school districts for 9 years. The experience and training that I received from them was top-notch, and I am so proud of all of the wonderful work that we were able to do for kids and families. However, I felt like the opportunities to engage in this meaningful work began to dwindle over time as I struggled to be in several places at once to meet the growing needs of our learners. While I cannot speak to anyone else’s experience, I know that:
I felt like there were not enough hours in the day or clones of myself or colleagues to provide the high-quality care, devoted attention, and individualized problem-solving efforts that my students, their families and support networks, and my colleagues deserved. The complex and day-to-day issues compounded, and it felt like I was drinking out of a fire hose. I felt discouraged and defeated. I felt like those moments to create a positive impact on the lives of others were moving further and further out of reach due to an increasing presence of competing and urgent priorities.
I knew from experience that, if there was more time to spend learning from one another, and collaborating as a team of experts on each child (e.g., Teachers, Instructional Support Staff, Administrators, Related Service Providers, Student, Parent/Guardians, Outside Service Providers, etc.), we would be able to create a more meaningful and enduring positive impact for the child.
When my wife learned that she would be completing her career training at a hospital in Colorado in the summer of 2022, I resigned from the school system. I have so much respect for so many of the amazing coworkers and colleagues there, and the students impacted my life profoundly. It felt bittersweet. On the one hand, I felt like I was letting the kids and their families down, and also letting my colleagues down. Yet on the other hand, I also felt a sense of relief to move in a different direction.
I had always thought about other opportunities to use my skills, knowledge, and experience to help kids, and I decided to take steps toward making that a reality.
Since moving to Colorado, I have worked as a Psychometrist within an extremely knowledgable and talented Neuropsychology Clinic team at a hospital renowned for its expertise and quality of care. This position provides me with additional experience and understanding of psychological service delivery within a clinical/medical setting. Additionally, it increases my opportunities to support children and families with complex medical profiles and provides me with opportunities to learn and administer a broader scope of assessment instruments (e.g., language, visual processing, fine motor, gross motor, and direct measures of executive functions and attention). I am very grateful to be on this team!
Even so, I still felt that pull to pursue more opportunities to help kids and families through more than just my assessment skills. I also saw over-and-over just how needed these services are to kids, families, and schools. I believe that my training, experience, perspective, and interpersonal skills allow me to be useful to stakeholders in a unique and valuable way. Furthermore, I felt that I could be most useful working for kids outside of a school system.
So (with my wife’s blessing and encouragement), in April of 2023 I began working part-time at the hospital to focus on developing my Consulting and Advocacy business. As a result, GPS Education Consulting L.L.C. moved from a dream to a reality!
As we look to the new school year we are eager to create a more meaningful and enduring positive impact for kids and their support network! In order to do so, we believe that it is vital to provide you with the information and support you need to advocate for your learner’s education. One way we hope to accomplish this is through a series of blog posts covering a variety of topics related to education, including:
Transitioning from summer break to the school year
Tips on how to start the school year positively
How to advocate for your child's mental health needs
How to advocate for your child’s academic and learning needs
How to advocate for your child’s social, emotional, and behavioral needs
Ways to support your child after a diagnosis
Ways to create and contribute to a culture of collaboration with school staff
Red Flags in an IEP Meeting or Section 504 Meeting
And more!
Feel free to email us at Evan@GPSEducationConsulting.net if you have a topic you’d like us to consider for a blog post.
We hope you will join us on this leg of our journey to help our readers navigate the education system and advocate for their learner’s success.
Best,
Evan Gallena, Ed.S., NCSP
Founder & Lead-Consultant: GPS Education Consulting L.L.C.
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Also, if you haven’t done so already, click here to schedule your FREE conversation with us to see how we can chart a path toward success!
