There’s an extreme shortage of Black male school psychologists

Fewer than 1% of school psychologists are Black men. This week, we look into why that matters.

View this email online July 31, 2022 This week, we explore why there’s such a low number of Black male school psychologists and what it means for students. We also have some new numbers from the GAO and polling on how Americans feel about college. Plus, a way to cleanse your Instagram feed. LA Johnson/NPR Happy Sunday, Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken to Black men who work as school psychologists in K-12 public schools across the country. There aren’t many of them. One person put it this way: there’s fewer Black men in school psychology than in the NFL.  And everyone who I spoke to – from Chase McCullum in Mississippi, to Edward McKinney in Tennessee, to Byron McClure in Texas – shared a similar story. They weren’t really considering going into education. But then, in what one person called a “divine accident” they stumbled across the profession. In some cases a college professor told them about it; in others, it popped up in a Google search.  “I really did not know what a school psychologist was,” McCullum, a Black man who became a school psychologist over a decade ago, told me. "Once I found out what it was, and all the things that school psychologists can do, I fell in love with it." Psychologists play a critical role in K-12 schools. They support students with their mental health, help prevent bullying and promote conflict resolution between students. They're often the only person in an entire school who is trained to assess a student's behavioral, emotional and academic needs. A key element of that is assessing whether a student has a disability. And yet there's a clear mismatch between the demographics of school psychologists and the student populations they serve. According to survey data from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), more than 85% of school psychologists are white, while most K-12 public school students are not. The exact number of Black male school psychologists is hard to pin down, but NASP estimates they make up fewer than 1% of psychologists in U.S. public schools. Other groups, including Asian Americans and Hispanics, are also underrepresented. But, some experts are particularly worried about the dearth of Black male psychologists. Black children, especially boys, are disproportionately likely to be disciplined in school, handled forcibly by police and referred for special education services. "That representation of a Black male professional in the school building, it's almost priceless," says Bobby Gueh, who teaches at Georgia State University's Department of Counseling and Psychological Services. And it isn't only Black boys who stand to benefit. "It impacts the entire school," he says.  Read more here. — Pooja Salhotra, NPR Ed intern   Looking at this week's news... A growing number of Americans are questioning the value of going to college. The share of Americans who believe colleges and universities have a positive impact on the country has dropped by 14 percentage points since 2020. That's according to the latest results of an annual survey conducted by New America, a nonpartisan think tank. Since 2017, the organization has been collecting data on Americans' attitudes about the value of education after high school and how that education should be funded. Many of the report's findings have remained stable over time – for example, the general consensus that post-secondary education offers a good return on investment for students remains. But there's been a steep decline in the overall perception of higher education's impact on the country. That decline is driven by economic challenges, according to Sophie Nguyen, who co-authored the report. Read more here. — Pooja Salhotra, NPR Ed intern  Newsletter continues after sponsor message The U.S. government underestimated the cost of the student loan program by billions. A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds the U.S. Department of Education miscalculated the cost of the federal student loan program. From 1997 to 2021, the Education Department estimated that payments from federal direct student loans would generate $114 billion for the government. But the GAO found that, as of 2021, the program has actually cost the government an estimated $197 billion. A percentage of that shortfall, $102 billion, stems from the unprecedented federal student loan payment pause that began under the CARES Act in 2020. The pause has been extended several times under former President Trump and President Biden. The most recent extension runs through Aug. 31. Read more here. — Sequoia Carrillo, Assistant Editor, NPR Ed Clarence Thomas drops out of teaching a law class after students protested. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has told George Washington University that he won't be returning to teach at its law school this fall. The decision followed student protests over the Supreme Court's vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Thomas told the school he will not be available to give a constitutional law seminar which he was expected to co-teach. He had been teaching the course at the Washington, D.C., law school since 2011. "The students were promptly informed of Justice Thomas' decision by his co-instructor who will continue to offer the seminar this fall," GWU spokesperson Joshua Grossman said Thursday in a statement to NPR. Read more here. — Ayana Archie, Breaking News Reporter  Before you go, a social media cleanse…   Jenny Kane/AP From Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen to meme creators and everyday users, many social media consumers seem to be in consensus: Instagram is dying. Or perhaps, it has already died. Instagram has declared itself to no longer be "just a square photo-sharing app." When the company launched Reels, a vertical video product, in August 2020, it was widely viewed as a transparent attempt to catch up with the wild success of TikTok. Multiple celebrities have posted criticisms of the algorithmic changes in the past few days, prompting Mosseri to defend practices like recommendations, which are posts in a user's feed from accounts they do not follow. If you're one of the many who are tired of suggested content and Reels, here's what you can do to clean up your Instagram feed. Read more here.   See you next week. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: npred@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy