In an effort to understand how schools are coping with incidents of peer victimization, this study explored the types of related interventions currently being offered by public schools in Northern California. School psychologists’ perceptions of the importance of the available interventions were also examined (N = 96). The interventions reported to be the most widely available were a) whole-school no tolerance policies and b) school to home communication. Generally, the endorsed availability of interventions decreased as the intensity level of intervention increased. Interventions endorsed as most important were a) the whole-school no tolerance policy; b) general school climate interventions; c) school to home communication; and d) education of school personnel about bullying. Analyses examining the relative use of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions revealed that school psychologists report primary intervention as most important for reducing levels of bullying at their schools. Analyses also revealed that the differences between psychologists’ ratings on each of the levels of the intervention hierarchy were significant. Implications for further scholarship and practice are discussed.

The inclusion of English Language Learners as a subgroup in the No Child Left Behind legislation has leant additional importance to the need for valid and efficient measures of reading for students whose first language is not English. This study examines the use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) reading fluency as a predictor of later reading performance on state accountability tests for fifth grade ELL students. The findings of this study indicate that CBM is a significant predictor of later performance on tests for accountability for ELL students as a whole, and for the individual language groups of Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Implications for these findings are discussed.

Universal screening is one strategy to enhance the early identification of behavioral and emotional problems among youth. Although it appears to be effective, it is unclear if universal screening is more or less effective than current teacher referral practices. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a teacher-rated, universal screener and typical teacher-referral methods in identifying youth at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Results indicated that of the 24 students identified as at-risk by the universal screening measure, only 11 were previously identified through current teacher referral practices — highlighting the potential benefit of universal screening to enhance early identification. Furthermore, results indicated that academic achievement and student engagement outcomes were significantly correlated with at-risk status by identification method. The strengths and limitations of this study, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.

Universal screening of emotional and behavioral problems among students warrants further consideration by school professionals. School-based universal screening may provide opportunities for early identification and intervention, ultimately preventing the development of more severe problems and promoting more positive outcomes in the future. The Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) is a contemporary screening instrument that may be used to identify risk for emotional and behavioral problems in students from preschool to high school. The purpose of the present study was to examine the concurrent validity of the BESS in elementary school settings. Specifically, this study examined the relation between BESS ratings and report-card outcomes (i.e., academic, behavioral, and engagement marks). The results supported the hypotheses that students’ risk-level classifications were significantly related to school-based outcome criterions and that school-based outcome criterions were deemed to be effective discriminators of students’ risk-level classification. Limitations, future directions for research, and implications for practice are discussed herein.

This volume of The California School Psychologist is the last this decade that I will be responsible for in my service as Editor. Thus, prior to a synthesis of articles included in the current volume, it is essential to provide appreciation, commendation, and reflection on the recent volumes of The California School Psychologist. In addition, I will provide a brief summary of the history of The California School Psychologist. Accolades to All Who Have Contributed First and foremost it is essential to recognize and applaud those with whom I collaborated as editor, in particular those who have served as associate editors (Michael Furlong, Brent Duncan, Stephen Brock, and Kristin Powers), and co-editor (Marilyn Wilson, 2000) during the past decade, as their collective efforts have contributed to the quality of the articles published in The California School Psychologist. In addition, we are indebted to the many school psychologists (i.e., faculty, practitioners, and students) who have served on the Editorial Board and Student Editorial Panel during the past decade, as it is their reviews that inform necessary revisions and contribute to the quality of and editorial dispositions regarding each manuscript (each Editorial Board and Student Editorial Panel member is listed on the inside cover of each volume). The faculty and students at the University of California, Santa Barbara are to be commended for their incredibly generous support and contributions to The California School Psychologist, sustaining and enhancing the high quality of the journal through substantive as well as layout production during most of the past decade. Finally, sincere gratitude is expressed for the copyediting and recent formatting completed within the California Association of School Psychologists office, most notably Heidi Holmblad for ensuring the high quality of the publication. A Brief History of The California School Psychologist The California School Psychologist is an invaluable resource for faculty, students, and practitioners in school psychology across the state of California. For faculty, it represents an important venue for disseminating scholarship. For practitioners and students, the journal provides relevant, peer-reviewed information, bringing science to practice and thus contributing to continuing professional development to school psychologists across the state, as well as those who access the contents across the country and around the world, and emphasizing evidence-based prevention and interventions strategies to enhance student outcomes. The California School Psychologist was established by the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) 1996 as a member service. The production and layout was completed at the University of California, Santa Barbara up until the 2008 volume, when the CASP office embraced these responsibilities. Leadership for the first three volumes of The California School Psychologist (1996, 1997, and 1998) was provided by Dr. Pauline Mercado, with Dr. Mike Furlong contributing as the associate editor. Dr. Marilyn Wilson served as editor in 1999 and 2000, with Dr. Shane Jimerson joining her as co-editor in 2000. In 2001, Dr. Jimerson continued as the editor, with Drs. Mike Furlong and Brent Duncan contributing as associate editors. In 2003, Drs. Stephen Brock and Kristin Powers joined as associated editors along with Dr. Furlong until 2007, with Drs. Jimerson (editor), Brock and Powers (associate editors) continuing through 2009. As of 2010 Dr. Michael Hass will provide leadership with Drs. Kelly Graydon and Brian Leung serving as associate editors. It has been both an honor and a privilege to collaborate with colleagues and students to contribute to The California School Psychologist. Since its inception, efforts have been made on an on-going basis to improve the quality and contributions of The California School Psychologist. Progress toward these objectives during the past decade includes: 1) refined and further enhanced the editorial board infrastructure, including the addition of a student editorial panel; 2) prepared, submitted, negotiated, and successfully included in PsycINFO database; 3) prepared, submitted, negotiated, and successfully included in ERIC database; 4) funding provided by a grant secured by the UCSB Center for School-Based Youth Development to further enhance the content, including added pages; 5) prepared a series of special topic sections (e. …

The current migration of Latino/as into the United States has many schools struggling to meet the unique academic needs of this particular group of students. Previous research suggests level of acculturation and perceived social support impact mathematics achievement amongst Latino/a students. The current study employed hierarchical and simultaneous multiple regression analyses to evaluate the effect perceived social support and level of acculturation reported by a sample of Latino/a students (ages 14–18) had on their mathematics achievement. The results revealed that one’s level of acculturation did not impact her or his mathematics achievement, while positive correlations between teacher and peer support and mathematics achievement were noted, with teacher support being the dominant factor. Limitations and implications of the findings for the field of school psychology are discussed.

The increasing emphasis on school-based mental health services is likely to increase the demand for school psychologists to provide counseling with students. Providing counseling in the school context can be challenging, especially given time constraints and limited number of sessions. Solution-focused brief counseling (SFBC) is an approach that warrants consideration for use with children at school. This synthesis provides a brief overview of the extant scholarship regarding SFBC, describes the guidelines for implementing this approach, explores considerations and implications for school psychologists who use this approach to provide counseling services, and recommends future directions for scholarship. Lessons learned through a university and school collaboration to provide student support services are also included.

The transition into kindergarten is important because it sets the foundation for future academic achievement. Identifying a child’s readiness at school entry and intervening appropriately facilitates positive academic outcomes. The Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP) is a school district developed universal screening measure used to assess children’s readiness for school. This action research study reports on the psychometric proprieties of the KSEP, including its prediction of academic achievement through grade 2. Results suggest promising psychometric characteristics. Discussion focuses on uses of the KSEP for school readiness evaluations and future research.

The development of social and emotional competence is crucial for students. Second Step is a curriculum designed to promote prosocial development and prevent violence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing one unit of the Second Step curriculum (Impulse Control and Problem Solving). A controlled, repeated measures design was utilized to assess the level of change in knowledge of social-emotional skills. Results indicated that change was evident from pre- to post-test for third and fourth grade students (N=149). Third grade students receiving the intervention demonstrated significantly more knowledge growth than third grade control students. Notably, fourth grade students receiving the intervention demonstrated a similar level of knowledge growth as the fourth-grade control students. Discussion, limitations, and implications related to these findings are addressed.

Resilience and other positive psychological constructs are gaining attention among school psychologists. Theoretically, external assets (e.g., support from caring adults, participation in meaningful activities) help to meet youths’ basic developmental needs, which, in turn, promote the growth of internal assets (e.g., ability to problem solve, empathize with others). Despite this knowledge, existing measures of resilience-building assets are underutilized. With the aim of facilitating broader access to and use of one strengths-based assessment tool, the current article attempts to further examine and increase the applicability of the Resilience Youth Development Module (RYDM) of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) for practicing school psychologists. The authors provide normative data on the internal assets and school-focused external resources subscales of the RYDM, while examining grade, ethnicity, and gender patterns.