The School Psychology Partnerships to Increase Rural-Based Services (SPIRSS) is a 5-year federally funded project that partners with three districts in rural Kansas. The project aims to train School Psychologists for employment in rural, high-need schools and help meet the mental health needs of K-12 children and youth. In the first 18 months of implementation, a total of 85 K-12 students were identified for individualized mental health services and 16 WSU School Psychology graduate students were placed in the districts to serve the k-12 students. Collaborating with high-need districts has enhanced the School Psychology graduate program by providing high-quality field experiences in diverse educational settings. These placements are structured to prepare students to work in high-need schools and communities distinct from their own, thereby enriching their training experience. 

 

In addition to serving rural districts, the SPIRSS faculty team has presented at one state-level and three national-level conferences and has an article that will be published in the School University Partnerships Journal. Students serving as Graduate Research Assistants have led two poster presentations, and the research team has been accepted to two national conferences for 2025. 

 

The project has also funded 9 full-tuition scholarships to WSU’s School Psychology Program. If you are interested in learning about the program, visit our webpage. The personnel included in the SPIRSS project include Dr. Angela Beeler, the project director, Dr. Heidi Stinchcomb, the project evaluator, Dr. Patty Hernandez-Nuhfer, the clinical supervisor, LaKaya Bieker, the project coordinator, and Angela Aubrey, the project secretary.