The School Psychologist of the Year Award recognizes an Iowa school psychologist who has made a notable impact on their AEA, district, school, community, and/or students. As I took time to reflect on who has made a notable impact on school psychology in our state in the past year, one name came to mind, Dr. Nicole Skaar.
I nominated Dr. Skaar due to the extraordinary passion, work ethic, and commitment she demonstrates on a daily basis. Her current roles do not represent a “typical” school psychologist role, but she is making a difference in many lives through her work. Dr. Skaar is an associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa and is the coordinator of the only school psychology program in Iowa. In addition to those roles, she serves as a school psychologist practitioner in Belle Plaine School District where she provides direct service to students in need and she is also the current President of the Iowa School Psychologists Association. Through these varied roles, Dr. Skaar impacts practice at the school, district, university, state, and national levels. Her advocacy within our profession is creating rich dialogue between practitioners and legislators in our state. Her hard work and dedication has helped expand our state association, raise awareness of our profession, increase legislative support of our initiatives, and enhance the research base within our field.
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