ASPP In Action
Shining a Light on Student Mental Health During Suicide Awareness Month
Dr. Jessica Dirsmith, President of the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Rachel Eisenberg, ASPP Communications Committee Co-Chair were interviewed as mental health experts on The SPARK during Suicide Awareness Month. Drs. Dirsmith and Eisenberg discussed the role of the school psychologist in supporting students' mental wellness. They shared tips for how we can work together to create safer, healthier learning environments for Pennsylvania youth.
Listen in on The SPARK.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Student Awarded 2025 PPI Grant
Kennedy Dorman was selected by ASPP’s grant committee to attend the 2025 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Public Policy Institute (PPI) in Washington, D.C. ASPP is honored to provide Ms. Dorman with this opportunity to address her goal of networking and seeking mentorship in order to be able to effectively advocate for school psychologists and the impact they can have on students. See below for a statement from Ms. Dorman on the impact that PPI had on her journey as an advocate:
PPI gave me the invaluable opportunity to come together with school psychologists across the country. I was able to share storeis and experiences with school psychologists from Alabama, California, Florida, Arkansas, Massachusetts, and many other states. Even without my own group, informally titled Team PA, there was so much diversity in terms of experience and professional roles across members. Advocacy is safer in groups, and I was glad to find my people. Being a part of the PPI team truly widened my perspective of the community surrounding school psychology.
When you are a student in your professional field, I feel like it is far too easy to get into the minset of always being the one who knows the least and has the most to learn. While I will always believe in lifelong learning, PPT really motivated me to ask, What expertise to I have?" and "How can I share knowledge that I have with others who need to learn?" When school psychologists come to Capitol Hill, the people we meet listen because they know we want what is best for the youth. Mental health care providers are the most trusted messengers to discuss student wellness policies, and I felt encouraged to use that trust to share evidence-based recommendations with representatives and constituents that did not have a background in education. Being a part of Capitol Hill day helped me to realize how much I can help to inform and educate others, even as a budding school psychologist.
Less than a week after the conclusion of PPI 2025, I was pleased to find out that roughly $5 billion of funding was released for K-12 schools and the associated grant programs. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, with whom our group had the opportunity to work, share the good nes on social media and credited NASP's impact in making it happen. Reading about the news only days after participating in Capitol Hill Day felt both satisfying and empowering! It deeply cemented to me the widespread and real impactthat school psychologists can have in the world, as longa s we show up and make ourselves present within our congress's decision-making. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this win for public education!
ASPP Goes to Washington: NASP's Public Policy Institute 2025
ASPP is proud to have sent 7 representatives to NASP’s Public Policy Institute (PPI) from July 21-23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Attendees engaged in two days of federal legislative policy training and priority-setting regarding educational funding. A third day consisted of traveling to Capitol Hill to speak directly to lawmakers and their staff.
Team PA met with federal lawmakers, including Senator John Fetterman, who supports school psychologists as mental health professionals that are essential to student success. Team PA and NASP are also grateful and proud to have the support of Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, who is leading a bipartisan initiative to protect federal funding and the Department of Education.
The PPI participants from Team PA included Ronnie Mitchell, ASPP GPR chair; Dr. Jason Pedersen; Dr. Julia Szarko; Stephanie Major; Athena Vafiadis; Rachel Fridley, NASP’s PPI graduate student scholarship recipient; and Kennedy Dorman, ASPP’s PPI graduate student scholarship recipient (not pictured with Senator Fetterman).
We are proud of our ASPP members who continuously promote the field of school psychology and advocate for the children and familles that we serve.
Lehigh University Graduate Student Awarded Grant to Attend NASP's Public Policy Institute
Hannah Crespy was selected by ASPP’s grant committee to attend the 2024 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Public Policy Institute (PPI) in Washington, D.C. ASPP is honored to provide Ms. Crespy with this opportunity to address her goal of incorporating advocacy into her school psychology career. See below for a statement below from Ms. Crespy, which describes her efforts to spread awareness of evidence-based practices, and her desire to build her advocacy skills to advance these efforts.
As someone who has dyslexia and required evidence-based remediations outside of what my public school could provide, I came to the realization early on that many students do not have access to free and evidence-based interventions. Further, I recognized that I had the privilege of having my psychologists advocate for my educational rights, but most other students do not have this resource. With this understanding, I knew that I wanted to create a career to help ensure that all children with a reading disability (RD) have access to evidence-based interventions as early as possible.
I started my advocacy journey as a high-school Sophomore, where I met with the district’s director of special education to discuss the importance of evidence-based interventions. Although the school did not modify its RD instruction, after this meeting, I knew that this advocacy would be something that I wanted to pursue later in my career. Another experience instrumental in my pursuit of equitable RD reform includes my research on RDs and anxiety, stigma, accommodations, and academic success among college-age adults. I completed an independent undergraduate research project in this area, and am actively engaged in completing a doctoral qualifying project extending that initial work, which I plan to present at the next NASP annual convention. Further, after I complete my studies, I aim to help implement the response to intervention (RTI) frameworks in schools. This model emphasizes early identification and cultural competency through its tiered levels of support and continuous progress monitoring. Due to these important factors, I plan to fight to help integrate RTI frameworks into schools or advocate for national legislative changes that include RTI integration into schools.
I am very excited about the PPI training and welcome this opportunity to further develop my advocacy skills for education reform.
2025 Executive Board Summer Visioning and Strategic Planning Day
The ASPP Board met on May 31, 2025, for their annual Visioning Day. The executive council, delegates, and committee chairs convened to reflect on our accomplishments, growth, and learning from the past year. This allowed the board to reset ourselves by ensuring our recent and future activities align with our organization’s vision and values. Team members focused on this year's theme, "All of Us, for ALL of Them," addressing our shared commitment to equity, collaboration, and collective impact. We are all stronger when we come together. The board developed a plan with actionable objectives to advocate for children and youth, ensure that all initiatives reflect a commitment to equity and inclusion, foster professional collaboration, advance professional learning and growth, address caseload concerns, and elevate the voice and visibility of school psychologists. make our vision actionable, team members focused on two of our broad strategic goals: social justice and leadership development, creating a plan with actionable objectives and strategies under each goal. This Strategic Plan will be made available to our members to provide transparency about the current and future direction of ASPP and help facilitate meaningful participation of our members in the organization. We look forward to a great year ahead!
ASPP In the Wild!
This past May and June ASPP sponsored several social and networking events around PA including Mindful Moves, a yoga event in the Southeast, Bike with Psychs in the south central region, and Hikes with Psychs in the Northeast and Northwest. We look forward to offering more opportunities for ASPP members and soon to be members to network and enjoy one another's company. All are welcome!