Monthly First Friday
BHS Staff Meetings
Department-wide professional development on the first Friday of each month. The content introduced here carries into the regional PLCs that follow.
Professional Development
Learning is part of the job, all year long
Boston's school psychologists keep growing after graduate school. Behavioral Health Services invests in professional learning that keeps the department current, builds practical skills, strengthens how the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model is carried out in schools, and brings colleagues together to learn from one another. It also brings nationally sought-after presenters and leaders in school psychology to Boston to work directly with our staff.
Professional Learning in BHS
A department that trains, and keeps training
Professional development is woven into how Behavioral Health Services works. A district CBHM Instructional Coach coordinates professional development for school psychologists and provides one-on-one coaching on implementing the model with fidelity. Central office staff and school psychologists take part in professional development and training supported by the department's partners, and the department names high-impact training and professional development for school mental health staff as one of the six priorities its outside funding is directed to.
Learning runs in both directions. School psychologists are learners in department sessions and with national presenters, and they are also teachers: facilitating professional development for school staff is part of the Tier 1 work every BPS school psychologist does. In 2025–26, school psychologists facilitated 144 professional development sessions across the district.
The same commitment extends to the next generation. Thirty-five school psychologists served as field supervisors for 53 university trainees in 2025–26, and the department's University Supervision Committee helps oversee that training program.
In Practice
- A dedicated coachThe CBHM Instructional Coach coordinates professional development and coaches school psychologists one-on-one
- Learning directly from national leadersNationally sought-after presenters, including Dr. John Murphy, Dr. Charles Barrett, and Dr. Byron McClure, provide professional development directly to BPS school psychologists
- Funded conference travelThe Mary Jane Drinkwater Memorial Fund sends school psychologists to present at national conferences
- Learning across the cityProfessional development through the Boston School-Based Behavioral Health Collaborative and Project PROVIDE
Sources: BHS Annual Report 2025–26 and department announcements.
How Professional Learning Is Structured
A monthly rhythm, and hours you build yourself
Department learning follows a steady structure through the school year, with room for each school psychologist to shape part of it.
Monthly By region Zoom
Regional Professional Learning Communities
Organized by region and held over Zoom, PLCs continue the learning from each staff meeting in a smaller group and offer opportunities for consultation.
18 hours
Outside the workday Built à la carte
Professional development, your way
Like all BPS union staff, BHS staff complete 18 hours of professional development outside the workday. How those hours are built is up to each person: choose from these opportunities in any combination.
Staff can choose from multiple professional learning opportunities to complete their 18 hours.
What Professional Learning Covers
The breadth of the work, reflected in what we learn
These are areas where the department's documented training, coaching, and professional learning have focused. They reflect the comprehensive role of a BPS school psychologist rather than a fixed list of required trainings.
CBHM and MTSS in practice
Coaching and training on implementing the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model with fidelity, data-based decision making, and universal behavioral screening with the BIMAS-2.
Evaluation, counseling, and behavior support
Special education evaluation, tiered counseling interventions, functional behavior assessment and behavior support plans, and de-escalation.
Trauma-sensitive and strengths-based practice
Trauma-sensitive practices, mental health supports, and strengths-based approaches to student wellbeing.
Teacher consultation and team facilitation
Consulting with teachers and families, facilitating school teams, and providing systems-level support.
Supervising the next generation
Field supervision of practicum students and interns, guided by the University Supervision Committee, in a department recognized by NASP for model intern supervision.
Ethical use of AI and applied research
A sequential arc of learning on the ethical adoption of AI across school psychology practice, and applied research through the BHS Research Team.
Drawn from the BHS Annual Report 2025–26, the department's training program description, and leadership profiles.
Learning From the Field's Leading Voices
Nationally sought-after presenters, in the room with our staff
Behavioral Health Services brings nationally recognized presenters and leaders in school psychology to Boston to provide professional development directly to the department's school psychologists, and returns to them over time rather than for a single session.
- Dr. John MurphySolution-focused counseling in schools; has presented to BPS school psychologists multiple times
- Dr. Charles BarrettNationally sought-after presenter and leader in school psychology
- Dr. Byron McClureSchool Psych AI and strengths-based practice; leads monthly professional learning for the department
Returning Presenter
Dr. John Murphy
Nationally sought-after presenter on solution-focused counseling in schools
Dr. John Murphy has presented multiple times to BPS school psychologists on solution-focused counseling in schools. His return visits reflect how the department approaches professional learning: bring the people shaping the field to Boston, and give school psychologists the chance to learn from them directly, and more than once.
Sessions like these sit alongside the department's own coaching and training. They give every BPS school psychologist access to the kind of expertise that is otherwise reserved for national conferences, in a room with their own colleagues and with Boston's schools in mind.
Continuing Partnership
Dr. Byron McClure and School Psych AI
Nationally certified school psychologist, founder and CEO of School Psych AI, and co-author of Hacking Deficit Thinking
In 2025–26, BHS partnered with Dr. Byron McClure to co-develop a sequential arc of learning that guides the ethical adoption of AI across the full spectrum of school psychology practice. The department's early findings pointed to increased use, confidence, and skill, and to reduced administrative burden for school psychologists.
The partnership continues for the current school year. Dr. McClure leads monthly professional learning for BPS school psychologists, and every school psychologist in the district has access to School Psych AI through the partnership. His sessions have been warmly received by Boston's school psychologists, and the department frames the work around continued learning, innovation, and support for school psychologists across BPS.
The collaboration reaches beyond the monthly sessions. Dr. McClure gave the keynote at the 2026 Boston School-Based Behavioral Health Collaborative Annual Conference at Boston University, joined Senior Director Dr. Andria Amador on the Boston School Psychs Podcast, and is scheduled to return to the podcast for two episodes this school year. At the 2026 NASP Annual Convention, four BPS school psychologists presented alongside him on implementing AI to support sustainable practice.
More presenters and training highlights from the department's professional development calendar will be added here.
Ongoing Professional Growth
Beyond department sessions
Alongside department professional development, BPS school psychologists grow through conferences, supervision, research, and citywide collaboration. These are opportunities the department supports, not requirements.
Mary Jane Drinkwater Memorial Fund
An award for professional development travel that helps school psychologists attend and present at national conferences. In 2025–26 it sent four school psychologists to present at the NASP Annual Convention in Chicago.
About the FundSharing Boston's work with the field
BHS staff gave eight national conference presentations in 2025–26, at the Advancing School Mental Health Conference and the NASP Annual Convention, on topics from AI use and student-centered advocacy to restorative discipline and school climate.
2025–26 Research AccomplishmentsBHS Research Team
School psychologists work alongside university and hospital partners on the department's 2025–2028 Research Agenda, from survey design to IRB-approved longitudinal studies and policy papers.
Research & ReportsSupervising and mentoring trainees
Thirty-five school psychologists served as field supervisors in 2025–26. Supervising practicum students, interns, and doctoral fellows is itself a professional practice the department trains and recognizes.
Training ProgramsCollaborative professional development
Through the Boston School-Based Behavioral Health Collaborative, more than 300 mental health staff and partners take part in professional development each year, and its annual conference covers topics from peer supervision to strengths-based practice.
The CollaborativeFree PD on evidence-based practices
Project PROVIDE's monthly professional development series has offered more than 200 hours of free professional development to BPS and community mental health practitioners since 2023.
About Project PROVIDEFor current BHS staffStaff meeting dates, PLC schedules, session materials, and the Project PROVIDE monthly PD series are shared internally. Questions about professional development, including the 18-hour requirement, go to the CBHM Instructional Coach.
Department Leadership
Want to train with us?Practicum students, interns, and doctoral fellows learn inside a department recognized nationally for its comprehensive school psychological services.
Careers & Training