School psychologist aids students with disabilities

Michael Slone has worked as a school psychologist for more than a decade. He has worked at the school for the past three years, supporting the more than 120 students here who have or are suspected to have disabilities.

Before coming here, Slone was the director of all student services in the Cambrian School District in San Jose. Before that, he worked as a counselor at Martin’s Achievement Center, a facility for students who required mental health treatment. He was also the director of the Early Childhood Learning Center in Irvine and participated in a private practice in Los Gatos.

“I went back to working as a school psychologist full time because it’s my first love,” Slone said. “I have three young boys and want to be able to spend evenings, weekends and summers with them.”

On a typical day at the school, Slone meets with the school staff, parents and students with disabilities. He also maps out ways to help these students thrive at school.

“[I] create educational strategies and programming for [students with disabilities]  to overcome obstacles and be successful,” Slone said.

In addition, Slone is legally required to review and write reports and educational plans that identify and support students who have disabilities, such as learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Slone particularly enjoys getting to know these students and designing strategies to assist them.

“My favorite part of my job is getting to learn about what makes a student unique in various areas,” Slone said. “Then [I] work to help the student, parents and school staff understand that uniqueness and how it relates to [the student’s] education.”

According to Slone, his job as a school psychologist allows him to both challenge his mind and work closely with students.

“Over the years, I’ve been able to master many assessment and intervention strategies and use that information to help countless students,” Slone said. “As a result, my job is intellectually stimulating and extremely rewarding.”