Contact Information
Biography
Clinical Assistant Professor of School Psychology Dr. Jessica Dirsmith, NCSP is a
Pennsylvania and nationally certified school psychologist and a licensed psychologist.
She has served as both a school psychologist practitioner for over a decade and a
trainer of future school psychologists. Dr. Dirsmith is the 2017 recipient of the
School Psychologist of the Year Award in Pennsylvania. Active in advocacy for school
psychologists, she is on the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania board
and serves as the ASPP Membership Chair. Her research interests include school-wide
positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) with a focus on underserved
populations including racially and culturally diverse students, English Learners,
and students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. She also researches school-based
mental health, emotional and behavioral disability case law, legally defensible assessment
practices, and identification of underserved gifted learners. Dr. Dirsmith focuses
on disseminating systems-level efforts that are efficient, effective, and evidence-based
in order to improve prevention, intervention, and identification practices in schools.
She is passionate about a problem-solving approach, incorporating strengths-based
methods to best support academic, social, emotional, and behavioral learning for all
students.
Education
D.Ed., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2013