YSU School Psychology program plans virtual program with Manchester

The School Psychology program at Youngstown State University will lead another international collaboration with the University of Manchester in England this spring, but this time it will be in a virtual format.

The collaboration comes after a successful in-person visit last spring in England. Trainers from both universities have continued to collaborate and share ideas since. 

This March, the universities are planning a virtual conference for those who participated in the 2020 experience, as well others in the YSU School Psychology internship cohort and several Manchester students and faculty members. The title of the virtual collaboration is “International School/Educational Psychology Training and Practice during COVID-19: Identifying Successful Strategies to Guide the Next Generation. “ 

Richard VanVoorhis, associate professor and director of the YSU School Psychology Program, said YSU School Psychology interns plan to share at the conference the outcomes of projects they are working on regarding support for pre-K-12 students, teachers and families in school districts.  

“We also plan to utilize breakout sessions so that students from both programs and countries can work to discuss which strategies are working and which strategies, especially those that involve technology, should be kept in the future as we have quickly advanced in many areas over the past few months,” VanVoorhis said.

He added, “We look forward to this opportunity to continue to engage in international partnerships and opportunities for our school psychology candidates, even through these difficult days.”