Field Experiences
What School Psychologists Do: Voices of Early School Psychology Career Professionals, Held April 10, 2008
A hallmark of the Tufts program is the emphasis on the
application of classroom-based knowledge to school-based
problems encountered in the field throughout the three years of
the program. We have ongoing affiliations with a number of urban
/ diverse school systems where many students complete their
first two years of field experience. These include Boston,
Cambridge, Chelsea, Framingham, Lawrence, Medford, and Methuen.
In addition, we have unique training partnerships with the
Children's Hospital Neighborhood Partnership program and Wediko
Children's Services in Boston that offer special opportunities
for work in urban schools. Suburban placements include Acton,
Concord, Lexington, Lincoln-Sudbury, Natick, Newton, Reading,
and Winchester, among others within the metropolitan Boston
area. Upon completion of the program, students have a minimum of
1950 hours of supervised experience as follows:
- Students are placed in a school setting for a one day
per week pre-practicum during their first year in the
program (150 hours minimum). Our aim is to provide all
incoming students with an opportunity to work in an urban /
diverse setting to enhance their developing cultural
competence through first hand experience. In all of our
settings, students will consider the effects of systemic
achievement disparities and the issues faced by English
Language Learners.
- During the second year, students complete a three day
per week practicum (600 hours minimum). The practicum
experience enables students to further develop skills in
assessment, intervention, and consultation while working
with children in regular and special education settings.
- The third year field experience is a full time
internship (1200 hours minimum) that is typically completed
in a school setting. However, 600 hours of the internship
may be completed in another setting such as a clinic or
hospital, with program approval. Internships may be pursued
in any state. Recent internships have been arranged in
Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, New
Jersey, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Washington. Previous
internships have been arranged in many other states.
All field experiences are carried out under careful supervision
at both the field site and the university.
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