As a repository and resource, this volume ofThe California School Psychologist provides awealth of information on a broad array of topicsrelated to the work of school psychologists.Considering the multifaceted and comprehensivetraining standards for school psychologists, it isimportant to recognize the scope of knowledgemaintained to serve the children and familiesthroughout the state. Domains of knowledge in-clude; development, psychology, education,diversity, assessment, intervention, consultation,program planning, wellness promotion, crisisintervention, counseling, legal, ethical, research,and evaluation. This breadth of knowledge estab-lishes a foundation for many school psychologiststo provide leadership in facilitating thesocioemotional and cognitive competence ofchildren.

It is important to highlight that during the pastyear The California School Psychologist has beenselected to be included on two international elec-tronic literature bases; ERIC, developed by the USDepartment of Education and PsycINFO, devel-oped by the American Psychological Association.Thus, students, scholars, and practitioners aroundthe world may now access and use the manuscriptspublished in The California School Psychologist.

Articles in this volume contribute importantinformation on contemporary issues in the field,including: the importance of a strength-based per-spective when assessing students; the use of stu-dent support teams to focus on empirically sup-ported interventions and data-based decision mak-ing; important considerations when working with

Native American students; a study examining theefficacy of a cognitive behavioral counselinggroup for elementary students with behavioralproblems; a synthesis of grade retention researchand discussion of empirically supported interven-tions; and conceptualizing school-based violencefrom a risk and resiliency perspective and empha-sizing primary prevention programs. The follow-ing highlights from each article offer an orienta-tion to the topics addressed in this volume.

The first article conveys a rationale andvision for integrating strength-based perspectivesin psychoeducational evaluations. The strength-based perspective is characterized by a holistic,contextual, and optimistic conceptualization thataims to enhance positive development in youth.Integrating this perspective within psycho-educational evaluation places an emphasis onassessing social, cognitive, and interpersonalstrengths. The article includes a cogent discussionof thriving, resilience, positive coping, and pro-tective factors that provides a conceptual founda-tion for organizing assessments of youth’s personaland social resources. While few standardized mea-sures addressing such resources exist, the authorsprovide a review of two useful strength-basedinstruments: the Behavioral Emotional RatingScale (BERS) and the California Healthy KidsSurvey (CHKS). The authors conclude withrecommendations and encouragement for schoolpsychologists to adopt a strength-based orienta-tion as the foundation for assessment, consulta-tion, collaboration, and intervention to enhancestudent success.

The California School Psychologistas a Catalyst for Change

Shane R. JimersonUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Marilyn WilsonCalifornia State University, Fresno

The California School Psychologist, Vol. 6, pp. 2-4, 2001Copyright 2001 California Association of School Psychologists

C A S PC A L I F O R N I A

A S S O C I A T I O N

OF S C H O O L

PSYCHOLOGISTS

The second article provides a preliminaryevaluation of an on-going effort to improve Stu-dent Support Teams (SST). The primary aim ofthe reported reform efforts has been a move awayfrom student deficits and disabilities, towards afocus on empirically supported interventions anddata-based decision making. The author discussescritical components of SSTs including; organiza-tion, management, teamwork, and problem-solv-ing strategies. A self-study checklist that includesthese components is also provided. The initialresults indicate that the reform activities are asso-ciated with increased perceived efficacy of the SSTamong teachers and also influenced a decline inthe number of African American students referredfor special education services. The author alsoprovides a discussion of limitations of the currentcategorical system used to provide services to stu-dents with disabilities. The central tenet of thisarticle is that problem solving SSTs provide ameans of meeting students needs in the least re-strictive environment and that school psycholo-gists have more time to do consultation, counsel-ing, and other interventions.

The third article contributes an introductionto cultural issues relevant to assessment with Na-tive American students. The author provides adescription of schooling experiences of manyNative American youth and examples of culturalfactors that influence their educational experi-ences. Appropriate behaviors for establishing rap-port and trust are outlined. The importance of iden-tifying language barriers and acculturation levelsis also emphasized. Considering the implicationsof comparative groups for the use of standardizedassessments, the author provides a brief review ofthe validity of social-emotional and cognitive testsaddressing the use of non-Native American stan-dardization samples. The recent literature includedin this article may provide a means of gatheringadditional information relevant for preparing towork with Native American students. The authorconcludes with a broadly defined process to fa-cilitate culturally competent assessment. Consid-ering the diversity across California, cultural

awareness and sensitivity are especially importantamong educational professionals.

The fourth article examines the effectivenessof a weekly cognitive behavioral counseling groupintervention for first- through fifth-grade studentswith behavior problems. The focus of the groupsincluded: changing students’ cognitions regardingschool behavior, promoting desirable behaviorsthrough reinforcement, and providing positivebehavioral modeling and learning experiences. Thegroup design was based on previous empirically-demonstrated programs of cognitive behavioralcounseling. Each participating student received anindividualized behavior plan and the classroomteacher provided weekly ratings addressing eachof the target areas. The evaluation demonstratedsignificant improvement regardless of studentgrade level or type of problem identified. Theauthor provides details of the group activities,methodology of the evaluation, an overview of theresults, and concludes that the results of this studyprovide further evidence supporting the use ofgroup counseling programs in the schools. Thisarticle is an excellent example of a scientist-practitioner model; implementing proven pro-grams and completing a systematic formative andsummative evaluation.

The fifth article provides a synthesis of theavailable research addressing the efficacy of graderetention. Following a brief overview of the con-temporary political zeitgeist and trends in theprevalence of grade retention, the author presentsresults from seminal systematic reviews and meta-analyses of research from the past century. Thesynthesis includes research examining the effectsof grade retention on academic achievement,socioemotional adjustment, and long-term out-comes associated with grade retention. Researchresults consistently fail to demonstrate theefficacy of grade retention. The author provides atransactional-ecological developmental frame-work to facilitate the interpretation of the research.This article encourages school psychologists toprovide leadership and emphasize the researchwhen advocating for appropriate prevention and

The California School Psychologist as a Catalyst for Change 3

4 The California School Psychologist, 2001, Vol. 6

intervention programs. The article also includes abrief review of effective alternatives to graderetention. Considering the emphasis on educationalstandards and accountability and California legis-lation regarding promotion performance standards,the research summarized in this article isespecially timely.

The final article offers a developmental riskand resilience model to be incorporated in the pri-mary prevention of school-based violence. Thisarticle examines literature addressing school vio-lence, emphasizing theoretical frameworks in-voked in current prevention programs. The authorsuggests that key principles of developmental psy-chology and ecological systems theory would en-hance prevention programs and recommends thatschool psychologists incorporate the current em-pirical base in their consultation efforts. In par-ticular, the author presents a rationale for adopt-ing a developmental risk and resilience framework.The article also includes recommendations forassessment, implementation, and evaluation re-lated to prevention programs. Given their trainingand expertise, school psychologists are uniquelyprepared to provide leadership in developingschool-based violence prevention programs.

As emphasized throughout this volume of TheCalifornia School Psychologist it is important toreflect on current practices, consider availableresearch, envision the future, and advocate forchildren and families. It is through this processthat school psychologists may provide thecatalyst to enhance the educational policies andprograms to facilitate the social and cognitivecompetence of all students. The articles in thisvolume advance our knowledge and recognizeThe California School Psychologist as acatalyst for change.