Meet Program Graduates

John J. Murphy, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology and Counseling, University of Central Arkansas: I initially chose the University of Cincinnati's School Psychology Program based on its well-respected faculty and solid national reputation as a leading school psychology program. Upon graduating from UC, I worked 13 years as a full-time school psychologist and Director of Psychological Services in Covington (KY) Schools. I am currently Associate Professor and Director of the School Psychology Program at the University of Central Arkansas, where I have been since 1995. My comprehensive school psychology training prepared me well for both roles, most notably by instilling a scientist-practitioner mindset that I have successfully applied to field-based clinical work and university responsibilities such as teaching and supervising students. The program's strong emphasis on collaborative problem-solving and child advocacy have allowed me to function effectively in a variety of service contexts and settings. I continue to reap the benefits of my training on a daily basis. Most importantly, I believe that the children, families, and schools with whom I have worked have benefited from my thorough training at the University of Cincinnati.

Antoinette Halsell Miranda, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of the Ohio State University School Psychology Program: My name is Antoinette Halsell Miranda. I graduated with my master's degree from the UC program in 1982 and with my doctorate in 1986. I'm currently an associate professor and director of the Ohio State University School Psychology Program. I have been there 14 years. Prior to that, I was a school psychologist in the NYC Public Schools in Brooklyn for three years. It was a great training ground for diversity! I recently led the restructuring of the OSU program. The framework of the program is training students as scientist-practitioners who function as data-based decision makers and collaborative problem solvers. The program has a commitment to diversity at the research, training, and service levels. The program also has an urban speciality focus. I would like to say I chose UC because it had a great reputation. However, I chose it because a 1st year master's student in the program told me about it while I was a senior in the psychology department at UC. (We were resident advisors together). So, I decided to apply and got accepted. Having said that, it was one of the best choices I made. I had a GREAT graduate school experience at UC. The program was cutting edge and really trained me well. In fact, my philosophy of service delivery continues to be aligned with UC's program philosophy. The faculty were top-notch, student oriented, and extremely supportive. I will be forever grateful to Dr. David Barnett, my doctoral advisor. He has had a profound effect on who I am professionally. He was and continues to be my mentor!

Seena M. Skelton,Ph.D., Educational Consultant at the Southwestern Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center (SWO SERRC): My name is Seena M. Skelton. I earned a Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Cincinnati in School Psychology and a M.Ed. in 1996 also from the University of Cincinnati. I hold a B.S. in psychology from Central Michigan University. As an educational consultant at SWO SERRC my activities involve designing and providing training, as well as technical assistance for schools implementing a multi-tiered prevention model to promote behavior and academic success for students in elementary and secondary school settings; and training and consultation for school personnel, community members, and parents on various topics related to the education of students with disabilities and students at-risk for academic difficulties. Additional professional interests and works include increading regional capacity for supporting educators to address issues related to the education of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, supporting systems-level regional planning for expanding the use of positive behavior supports, and assisting with early literacy efforts. As an adjunct faculty member at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati, I also instruct pre-service teachers in inclusive educational practices and issues related to culture and mental health.

A school psychologist by training, I began my career as a school psychologist for the Hamilton County Education Service Center (HCESC) in 1997. During my time at HCESC my experiences included parent and teacher consultation, coordinating family education and support programs, supervising school psychology interns, conducting professional development trainng, facilitating intervention assisstance teams, and conducting educational assessments in a Head Start early childhood education program. Prior to my position at HCESC, I was a mental health consultant for Northern Kentucky Head Start where my experiences included supervision of school psychology practicum students, parent and teacher consultation, intervention design, and teacher and parent training. I completed an internship in Princeton City Schools. I have presented at various national and local conferences speaking on topics ranging from intervention-based services to addressing cross-cultural issues in professional practice.

Jennifer Ostrom,Ph.D., School Psychologist at the Tempe Elementary School District: My name is Jennifer Ostrom. I graduated from UC with a Ph.D. in School Psychology in 2001 after completing my dissertation on the acceptability of collaborative problem solving to elementary and secondary teacher interns.Consultation has always been my area of focus. While working in Warren County in the Little Miami School District during my last two years at UC, I helped with the implementation of the intervention-based assessment process in one of my schools. After completing my dissertation, I worked for 1.5 years as an assistant professor in a term position in the special education program at Western Michigan University. While there I taught assessment and consultation coursework to undergraduate and graduate students.

I moved back to Arizona, my hometown, in 2002 and began working in the school district (Tempe Elementary School District) I attended as a child. I spent one semester working in a middle school, but have spent the last two years working in two elementary buildings (Carminati 3 days a week, Arredondo 2 days a week). Both of my schools serve diverse students with diverse needs. Approximately 30-50% of the students are considered English Language Learners (with Spanish as the primary language) and most receive free or reduced lunch. We have a student mobility rate of up to 70% (most of our families live in poverty and move quite frequently in this area). Carminati is a full inclusion school--students with mild and severe disabilities are served in the general education classroom.

Arizona is not nearly as far along as Ohio in regards to the implementation of the intervention process, so my skills in this area have been highly valued by fellow psychologists and the staff members in my schools. I have worked on the district's committee that developed standardized intervention procedures district-wide and have spent a great deal of time training other district psychologists and as well as teachers and staff members in my schools the intervention-based assessment process. I also serve the intervention teams in both of my schools. I have done much training in the area of curriculum-based assessment and facilitated the first CBM norming in the district at one of my elementary schools. I am also consulting with the English Language Learning Department and Indian Education Department in the Tempe Elementary District on using CBM to evaluate their programs, as well as the progress of their students receiving intervention support. It certainly has been exciting to be involving in the system-change process in the district towards the use of an intervention model. We need more UC students out this here!

For more information, please contact the UC School Psychology program secretary at: