Do Work That Matters: Reflecting on the Role of School Psychologists
- Byron McClure
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
By Dr. Byron M.L. McClure, NCSP
I remember walking back to my office after a long day of responding to crises, supporting dysregulated students, breaking up a fight, sitting through back-to-back contentious meetings, and consulting with frustrated staff about student behavior. I stopped outside my door and thought about a student who had pulled me aside earlier that day. They told me they needed to talk. They were visibly upset, fighting back tears, and clearly struggling to hold it together.
In that moment, I had a choice to make. On the other side of that door was a report I still needed to finish.
But on the other side, down the hall, was a student who needed something from me.
I had about thirty or forty minutes left in the day. I could sit down, finish the report, and meet the deadline. Or I could walk down the hall and check in on that student before they left for the day.
I chose the student. I chose that every time.
I know this decision will sound familiar to many practitioners. Finish the report to stay compliant, or step away from the paperwork and respond to the human need in front of you while there is still time.
That choice, repeated over years, captures the central tension of this profession. It is not about caring versus not caring. It is about what the job allows space for, and what it quietly pushes aside. That tension between documentation demands and direct service shaped how I practiced, what I prioritized, and eventually why I built School Psych AI.
The Gap Between Why School Psychologists Enter the Field and What We Actually Do
Most practitioners did not choose this field to manage paperwork. We chose it to support students, guide families, and make decisions that change lives.
But the reality for most practitioners looks different. Caseloads expand. Timelines compress. Compliance demands consume the hours that would otherwise go to counseling, consultation, and crisis response.
I have lived this tension. That tension is not a personal failing. It is a structural problem in our field.
For years, I have been able to practice within an expanded scope of practice. I have worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. I have led schoolwide initiatives, coordinated MTSS and PBIS efforts, supported crisis response, run counseling groups, coached staff, partnered with families, and still carried evaluation responsibilities.
I know that level of scope is not the reality for most practitioners. I had opportunities, supportive leadership at times, and a willingness to take on risk. Most practitioners do not have that flexibility or the luxury to assume those risks.
Barriers Faced by School Psychologists
The barriers are real! Straight up. Sadly, they are systemic and operating as intended.
High caseloads. Understaffing. State timelines that leave no margin.
Districts that measure productivity in reports completed, not students served. Supervisors who mean well but operate within the same constraints.
Again, we are not talking about individual failure. Practitioners are not choosing paperwork over students because they lack commitment. They are working within systems designed around compliance, not impact.
Here is what I believe deeply about the work and practice of school psychologists:
The work is not the document.
The work is not the checklist.
The work is not the late-night report writing that spills into weekends.
The work IS the prevention, the consultation, the counseling, and the decisions that shape school culture.
The work IS the student who needs support before things fall apart.
The work IS the teacher who needs help making sense of behavior.
The work IS the family trying to understand what an evaluation really means for their child.
The work IS disrupting inequitable systems so our students can be successful.
The work IS being a change agent as NASP calls for us to be.
For many practitioners, that work gets squeezed out by volume, timelines, and constant interruption. Writing controls the flow of the job. When paperwork expands, direct services shrink.
When direct services shrink, the job starts to lose its meaning. Burnout follows. Good people leave the field. Those who stay often carry a quiet frustration: the sense that they are working hard at something other than what they came here to do.
Practitioners have not stopped caring, I believe the system makes caring harder to act on.
Why I Built School Psych AI
I have done this work long enough to know that most practitioners already know what matters. The issue is not motivation or skill, but one of capacity.
You cannot do meaningful work when your attention is fragmented and your time is already spent before the day begins.
That reality is why I launched School Psych AI.
Not to replace judgment. Not to reduce the role to a faster version of paperwork. Not to ask people to work harder just to keep up.
School Psych AI exists to remove barriers that sit between practitioners and the work they came here to do. It reduces the time and mental energy spent on documentation so practitioners can redirect that energy where it belongs.
Toward students. Toward families. Toward teams. Toward thoughtful decisions.
I am clear-eyed about this. Technology does not magically fix broken systems. It does not change caseload ratios. It does not rewrite policy. It does not give everyone supportive administrators overnight.
But it can begin to remove friction.
My goal is simple: give time back so practitioners can use it for the work they entered this field to do.
When writing takes less time, practitioners have more space to think.
When documentation becomes manageable, scope stops shrinking. When mental load decreases, people can show up with more presence and clarity.
That might be direct counseling services. It might be consultation with teachers. It might be sitting with a parent who just received difficult news and needs someone to explain what comes next. It might be leading a schoolwide initiative, facilitating a circle, or mentoring a student who reminds you why you chose this profession.
I cannot tell you what the work is. I am not here to define that for you. That depends on your role, your setting, your students, and your strengths.
What I can tell you is this: the work is not solely the report.
The report documents one aspect of our work. It serves a very important purpose and, for many, can shape young people's future success. But it is not the sole reason you became a school psychologist. The current job structure often prevents people from doing the parts of the work they find most meaningful. That disconnect is a major driver of burnout. Not because the work is hard, but because the parts that give it meaning get crowded out.
The Meaning of “Do Work That Matters”
“Do work that matters” reflects what I believe at my core, and it's my standard of practice. It's action-oriented and centers around getting stuff done, and perhaps more importantly, getting the right things done!
The Outcome We Are Working Toward for the Future Practice of School Psychologists
When paperwork becomes manageable, practitioners spend more time with students. Counseling and intervention increase. Consultation improves. Communication with families becomes clearer. Teams stay intact longer because the job feels possible again.
This is how students benefit. Not because AI wrote a better report, but because the practitioner who wrote the report had capacity left over to do something that matters.
I will not pretend that School Psych AI solves every problem. The systemic issues, high caseloads, understaffing, and compliance culture remain. No platform changes a broken ratio or a district that treats school psychologists as evaluation machines.
But within those constraints, practitioners still have choices. They still control how they spend the time they have. If we can give back even a few hours a week, those hours can go toward something meaningful.
A Final Thought
I have committed a total of fifteen-plus years of my life (working across school settings and EdTech) to this work. I have experienced the overwhelming joy of watching a student succeed. I have also sat with the deep pain and grief this role can bring. I have seen what happens when practitioners practice within their full scope, and what happens when they are reduced to testing and paperwork.
School Psych AI exists to protect the parts of the job that brought you here.
Our direction is clear.
Work relentlessly in the service of practitioners.
Name the barriers and problems of practice honestly.
Co-create tools, solutions, and training that matter for the work you do.
That is the standard. That is the promise. That is the work my team is committed to.
If you are a practitioner reading this, I hope you find a way to protect the work that brought you to this field. Not because the barriers are not real, but because the work is too important to let those barriers win. I am here to be of service in the work you do.
The reports will get written. The timelines will be met. But somewhere between the deadlines, there is a student who needs what only you can offer.
Do work that matters.
What is the work that matters to you?
Dr. Byron M.L. McClure is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and founder of School Psych AI. He is the author of Hacking Deficit Thinking and the upcoming book Shift to What’s Strong: 6 Strength-Based Habits.