Debra Severson

Missing from our ranks will be Account Technician Reggie Deis, Library Technician Teresa Cuseo, Instructional Aide M.J. Nelson, School Psychologist Debra Severson, Business Manager Lynne Morello, and teachers Kathie Miller, Katharine Norris, and Mike MacLean.

Debra Severson - School Psychologist
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> Debra Severson - School Psychologist
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Debra SeversonSchool Psychologist

As a school psychologist, Debra works with patients at the Center for Developing Minds to assess their unique learning styles and create individual learning plans for children with learning differences and developmental delays.

Prior to joining the Center for Developing Minds, Debra was a school psychologist for two years with the San Jose Unified School District.Debra also worked for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District and the West County Consortium for Special Education in Sonoma County.Before working as a school psychologist, Debra had seven years experience teaching kindergarten through fifth grade in public and charter school settings.

Debra received a M.S. in School Psychology from the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut, earning a specialty in child clinical counseling.Debra has a B.A. in Education from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut.In addition, she completed advanced training in reading and writing instruction and assessment at the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Writing Project.

Debra is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) and the San Mateo Association of School Psychologists (SPASM).

Deborah Severson, a school psychologist in the Morgan Hill Unified School District, says school psychologists are underutilized and hamstrung by state and federal education budgets.Two students who were arrested for reportedly planning a "Columbine style" attack at Sobrato High in Morgan Hill two weeks ago could have been helped by someone like Severson.But in the reality of California's under-funded education system, the two kids probably were not seen as disturbed enough to receive the districts limited resources for promoting mental health.Only the kids with the most severe learning problems get help from school psychologists.And school counselors, a different position requiring less training, aren't able to spend much of their time working on a student's emotional problems, Severson said.It's a problem in California more so than in other states, Severson said.In Connecticut, where she also worked as a school psychologist, she was able to do much more for students.She was shocked when she first started teaching in California, which she thought would have a far more progressive school system than it does.At one time California was one of the top states in the country for education spending; now it's at the bottom.She said she's found an education system arrested in its development.In Connecticut she was able to do things she doesn't have time for in California, such as holding group counseling sessions for students whose parents are going through a divorce or group sessions for kids with attention deficit disorder.They were proactive projects that she felt helped create a positive atmosphere at her school. Working in California schools Severson said she spends most of her time doing assessments of kids with learning disabilities or severe social problems.Severson's time is spread thinly among the students in three different schools in Morgan Hill where she works mostly with kids with Asperger's syndrome, a disorder similar to autism, but much less severe. Santa Clara County has some of the highest rates of autism in the country for unknown reasons, and it's an expensive problem.The district lacks resources to deal with some kids, paying $100,000 per year per student to send them to nearby private schools who can better serve their needs, Severson said.