On behalf of the 2011 SASP Executive Board, thank you to everyone for a successful 2011 SASP.

Miniconvention

A Brief Recap of the Event
The 2011 SASP Miniconvention was held on Thursday, August 4th from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC in the Division 16 Suite. Division 16, the parent organization to SASP, funded the refreshments and food for the evening, and also awarded each of the presenters with a scholarship to partially offset the cost of travel.

The evening formally commenced with a keynote address given by Beth Doll, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education and Human Science at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Dr. Doll’s keynote address was titled, Why Mental Health and School Success are One in the Same. The remaining time was allotted to paper presentations, a poster presentation session, and networking.

The following topics were presented during the paper presentation portion of the convention:

• The Utility of Brief Behavior Rating Scales: A Discussion of the SEARS Short-Form Assessment System.
  Rhonda Nese, MEd, Erin Doerner, BS, Nicole Kaye, BA, Natalie Romer, MS, University of Oregon.

• Developing Service-Learning to Teach a Social Justice Framework.
  Gregory Moy, MEd, Alissa Briggs, MEd, Sofia Flores, MEd, David Shriberg, PhD, Loyola University Chicago.

The following topics were highlighted in the poster session portion of the convention:

• Applying Functional Thinking to Parent Engagement and Participation in Education.
  Susan Jarmuz-Smith, MS, University of Southern Maine.

• A School-Based Approach for Addressing Female Physical Aggression.
  Jennifer M. Cooper, MA, The Ohio State University.

• Learning to be an Effective Consultant: Collaborating with teachers to implement behavioral interventions that work.
  Amy Bremer, BA, The Ohio State University.

• Out-of-School Time Programs & Family Involvement: Theoretical Framework and Applications.
  Amanda Spalter, MS, Paige Mission, BA, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Searching for Meaning: Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness in At-Risk Youth.
  Glori Gray, MSW, MA, Kimberly Snow, MA, George Fox University.

2012 SASP Convention Update

Name Change
The SASP Miniconvention will officially change its name to the SASP Student Forum for the 2012 year. The change in name reflects a common agreement among board members that the miniconvention was more than “just a miniconvention.” Rather, it is a forum for networking and presentation of research for school psychology students. In addition, it is an opportunity to listen to some phenomenal keynote speakers in a setting that is conducive to student-led question and answer sessions. We hope the new name will better reflect the intent of the miniconvention.

Once again, I want to thank everyone involved in the planning and organization of the 2011 event, as well as all presenters and attendees. It was a great event and I look forward to seeing everyone next year in Orlando, Florida.

Cheers,

Kelly Hugger, SASP Convention Chair
School Psychology Doctoral Student
University of Southern Maine