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Question: NASP is currently revising its Strategic Plan to drive the Association for the next five years. What specific goals should NASP address over the next five years, and if elected, how would you promote activities that support these priorities? It is the stated mission of NASP to represent and support school psychology through leadership to enhance the mental health and educational competence of all children. For NASP to sustain our dynamic presence in the relevant professional and political eco-systems, we must continue to vigorously respond to any changes that may occur in those systems. Changes such as the reauthorization of IDEIA, response to intervention, No Child Left Behind, and the increasing need for school-based mental health services have had a dramatic impact on school psychology and education in America over the last five years. I expect no less a dynamic eco-system over the next five years. Our vitality and responsiveness as an Association must be reflected by the NASP Strategic Plan. In addition to the Mission Statement, the NASP Strategic Plan spells out the values and the key foci of the Association. Key Areas include; Professional Competency, Advocacy, Member Support, Diversity, Operational Excellence, and External Relations & Communications. As President of NASP I would ensure that the Strategic Plan continues to reflect the values and critical issues important to NASP members and school psychology as a profession. The Strategic Plan also includes the goals and objectives of NASP. These goals and objectives and the strategies to achieve them are what drives the Association, from the Executive Council and Delegate Assembly to every committee and work group. Many NASP groups already structure their activities according to the Strategic Plan. As President of NASP I would ask that each and every activity of the Association be structured and planned to meet long term, strategic objectives across as many Key Areas as possible. A key objective under Member Support is to increase the value of NASP membership. In 2006, I proposed to the Delegate Assembly and Executive Council that NASP make the EBSCO Databases available to members at an extremely low cost. EBSCO is a resource that allows members to conveniently access full text professional literature from their computer, avoiding unnecessary trips to a university library. The EBSCO Databases will become available to NASP members in February 2007. NASP has set a goal of 30,000 members by the year 2009. To meet that goal we must welcome into the Association school psychology professionals from all settings. School psychologists practicing in urban areas do not always see the value of NASP membership, often perceiving that their professional identity does not align with the identity projected by NASP (not to mention the identity prescribed by their employer). As President of NASP I would develop initiatives to address the needs and interests of the urban school psychologist, beginning with an Urban School Psychology Interest Group. I would also work to develop a dialogue between NASP and urban practitioners to understand the issues impacting their professional identity and the services they provide. Such a dialogue would include communicating with leaders and supervisors of school psychologists in major cities as well as their district administrators, superintendents or chancellors. These urban initiatives are already integrated within the NASP Strategic Plan in terms of Advocacy (...supporting school psychological services at all levels), Member Support (...increasing the value of membership to new members), Diversity (...increasing the number of school psychologists from culturally diverse groups), and External Relations (...promoting the value of school psychologists to key stakeholders). Presidential initiatives so integrated with the Strategic Plan of the Association have legs that carry them well beyond the term of the individual in office. A key phrase in the NASP Mission Statement is "through leadership." I believe that leadership should be added to the list of NASP values. School psychologists often take a leadership role in their schools and districts, well before they rise to positions of state or national leadership. While NASP provides leadership training once one becomes a state delegate, there is little provided for individuals just embarking on a leadership path through their state association. I would propose the establishment of a NASP Leadership Development Academy to provide basic training for members interested in becoming leaders. Possible workshops might include: Communications, How to Produce a State Conference, Strategic Planning, Ethics and Professional Practices, among many other possibilities. Such an Academy ties directly to the NASP Mission Statement. It also connects to the Operational Excellence Area of Work in the Strategic Plan, providing for an effective infrastructure (e.g., governance structure). It would also develop a new generation of NASP leaders. Chris Willis back to top

Question: NASP is currently revising its Strategic Plan to drive the Association for the next five years. What specific goals should NASP address over the next five years, and if elected, how would you promote activities that support these priorities?

It is the stated mission of NASP to represent and support school psychology through leadership to enhance the mental health and educational competence of all children. For NASP to sustain our dynamic presence in the relevant professional and political eco-systems, we must continue to vigorously respond to any changes that may occur in those systems. Changes such as the reauthorization of IDEIA, response to intervention, No Child Left Behind, and the increasing need for school-based mental health services have had a dramatic impact on school psychology and education in America over the last five years. I expect no less a dynamic eco-system over the next five years. Our vitality and responsiveness as an Association must be reflected by the NASP Strategic Plan.

In addition to the Mission Statement, the NASP Strategic Plan spells out the values and the key foci of the Association. Key Areas include; Professional Competency, Advocacy, Member Support, Diversity, Operational Excellence, and External Relations & Communications. As President of NASP I would ensure that the Strategic Plan continues to reflect the values and critical issues important to NASP members and school psychology as a profession.

The Strategic Plan also includes the goals and objectives of NASP. These goals and objectives and the strategies to achieve them are what drives the Association, from the Executive Council and Delegate Assembly to every committee and work group. Many NASP groups already structure their activities according to the Strategic Plan. As President of NASP I would ask that each and every activity of the Association be structured and planned to meet long term, strategic objectives across as many Key Areas as possible.

A key objective under Member Support is to increase the value of NASP membership. In 2006, I proposed to the Delegate Assembly and Executive Council that NASP make the EBSCO Databases available to members at an extremely low cost. EBSCO is a resource that allows members to conveniently access full text professional literature from their computer, avoiding unnecessary trips to a university library. The EBSCO Databases will become available to NASP members in February 2007.

NASP has set a goal of 30,000 members by the year 2009. To meet that goal we must welcome into the Association school psychology professionals from all settings. School psychologists practicing in urban areas do not always see the value of NASP membership, often perceiving that their professional identity does not align with the identity projected by NASP (not to mention the identity prescribed by their employer). As President of NASP I would develop initiatives to address the needs and interests of the urban school psychologist, beginning with an Urban School Psychology Interest Group. I would also work to develop a dialogue between NASP and urban practitioners to understand the issues impacting their professional identity and the services they provide. Such a dialogue would include communicating with leaders and supervisors of school psychologists in major cities as well as their district administrators, superintendents or chancellors.

These urban initiatives are already integrated within the NASP Strategic Plan in terms of Advocacy (...supporting school psychological services at all levels), Member Support (...increasing the value of membership to new members), Diversity (...increasing the number of school psychologists from culturally diverse groups), and External Relations (...promoting the value of school psychologists to key stakeholders). Presidential initiatives so integrated with the Strategic Plan of the Association have legs that carry them well beyond the term of the individual in office.

A key phrase in the NASP Mission Statement is "through leadership." I believe that leadership should be added to the list of NASP values. School psychologists often take a leadership role in their schools and districts, well before they rise to positions of state or national leadership. While NASP provides leadership training once one becomes a state delegate, there is little provided for individuals just embarking on a leadership path through their state association. I would propose the establishment of a NASP Leadership Development Academy to provide basic training for members interested in becoming leaders. Possible workshops might include: Communications, How to Produce a State Conference, Strategic Planning, Ethics and Professional Practices, among many other possibilities. Such an Academy ties directly to the NASP Mission Statement. It also connects to the Operational Excellence Area of Work in the Strategic Plan, providing for an effective infrastructure (e.g., governance structure). It would also develop a new generation of NASP leaders.

Chris Willis