The Colorado Society of School Psychologists (CSSP) spotlighted NE BOCES school psychologist Megan Wolf in their latest newsletter. The following is taken from the CSSP Newsletter, Spring 2024, Vol 40 edition.
How many years have you been practicing? In what district do you work? Megan graduated from UNC in 2013 and has been a practicing school psychologist since then. She works for Northeast Colorado BOCES. She also did her internship with Northeast Colorado BOCES and before that was an elementary teacher for seven years.
What does your role as a school psychologist look like? As an itinerant school psychologist, Megan gets a lot of windshield time driving to different schools. She is in a different school almost every day. She works with all ages from preschool to high school. Her role is a good mix of testing, report writing, direct service, and IEP meetings. She also serves on some committees and tries to participate in professional development when she is able to. This year she was able to get her five-year-old golden retriever certified as a therapy dog. He absolutely loves coming to school and Megan loves seeing the joy on the kids faces when they see him.
What do you enjoy most about being a school psychologist? It is hard to pick one thing Megan enjoys most about this job. This year in particular is special because a student with autism she has worked with for ten years is graduating. The amount of growth Megan has seen is absolutely incredible and she has shared many highs and lows and lots of laughter with him. He is even considering a career in counseling or psychology directly because of the time spent working with Megan. Megan feels like she has grown in her abilities as a school psychologist just by working with him. When she received his high school graduation announcement, his mom included a note that said “we couldn’t have made it to this point without you”. It makes all of the hard days seem worth it when you know you have made a difference!
What do you find to be the biggest challenge? Megan feels that the biggest challenge for her is being itinerant and not being with a team all the time. Each team is different at each school and so it takes a lot of time to communicate with team members about students and upcoming meetings. It takes a lot of organization and planning to keep track of everything and what needs done for each student.
What is a tip, advice, or resource recommendation you have for other school psychologists? Her biggest tip is to not be afraid to ask for help. Megan has an amazing team that she works with that she knows she can always ask for help, but she also has other school psychologists that she calls or emails when she needs another perspective. Megan is constantly learning new things and always appreciates the direction and guidance of others that she trusts.
What are your hobbies outside of work? Megan enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids. As a family they camp, hike, ski, and travel. Swimming has always been a passion of Megan’s and she started lap swimming and coaching again after many years out of the pool. She recently joined a book club and has enjoyed reading books that she normally wouldn’t read. She also loves to bake and is still trying to perfect her sourdough bread!
What is something people would be surprised to know about you? Megan was in band in high school. She played the clarinet in the marching and symphonic band and the saxophone in jazz band. She was part of the all-state band and CSU honor band. She loves music and would love to play again someday!
What do you value about being a member of CSSP? Megan highly values the advocacy for our school psychologist position that happens through CSSP both within the state and nationally. There are some very intelligent and hard-working people that work diligently to educate legislators about what we do and the importance of our work with students.