Counseling and Psychological Services faculty member Michelle Storie’s outstanding contributions to the field recently earned recognition through the Early Career Faculty Award from the national Trainers of School Psychologists (TSP) organization.

For Storie, this award –- which she officially received at the TSP conference at Seattle University –- validates a hard decision she made several years ago to leave working directly in schools as a school psychologist.

“I’m very flattered. It’s very re-affirming,” Storie noted. “Making the choice to leave the schools after 18 years to go into higher education was a tough choice for me. I feel really lucky that I’ve had some amazing mentors and I have fantastic colleagues I’ve been able to work with.”

Storie made the move out of “the desire to make systems-level change with how reading is taught in the schools and school psychologists’ knowledge of reading practices,” she wrote in her award application.

Coming to SUNY Oswego has made that goal possible. 

“I think SUNY Oswego has been on the forefront of making this shift to the science of reading,” Storie said, noting the support of School of Education Dean Laura Spenceley and many colleagues, such as curriculum and instruction faculty member Doreen Mazzye, who serves on the related SUNY workgroup. 

“It’s very much a collaborative and collegial environment as opposed to competitive,” Storie noted.

“This shift has been happening in teaching reading,” Storie said. “I find that there are like-minded individuals who want to do the right things and do right by kids. They value the importance of using evidence-based practices to meet the needs of kids, and make that the heart of what they do.”

The Oswego way –- going all the way back to founder Edward Austin Sheldon’s innovative teacher-training methods –- lives on in Storie’s efforts to provide current graduate students with the tools to lead the way in helping the next generation. She has been working on developing a public-university partnership to further extend the impact of her department’s work.

“What we’re hoping to do is train our school psychologist candidates to the point that they could provide training for tutoring for those who need it,” Storie explained. “We’re hoping to be one of the first grad programs in school psychology where students would conduct a Science of Reading-aligned reading intervention and monitor reading progress. We’ve always had an academic interventions class, and this would be a more structured approach than we’ve utilized previously.”

TSP’s goal is to encourage innovation and excellence in graduate training programs for specialist and doctoral school psychologists, and to foster high-quality training in school psychology programs.

At the TSP conference, Storie also presented “Igniting Change: Incorporating Science of Reading into Your  Graduate Training Program,” which addresses how school psychology graduate programs can better train students to implement stronger reading practices. 

“My goal is for all school psychologists to be knowledgeable about the Science of Reading, how the brain learns to read, and what research supports as evidence-based reading approaches,” Storie explained. “This presentation is a long time coming. I have been presenting nationally, statewide and locally on the importance of  using evidence-based processes for reading intervention.”

“Throughout her career, Dr. Storie has demonstrated a deep commitment to the preparation of future school psychologists as both a practitioner and trainer,” Spenceley said. 

“Her work in hosting interns and practicum students while supporting field-based research in schools has empowered a generation of practitioners toward evidence-based practice, and she has translated those experiences from the field into exceptional work as a faculty leader in the preparation of future school psychologists,” Spenceley added. “I am thrilled to join the chorus in celebrating her work and have no doubt she will continue to make her mark on the field.”

Making the experience even better was that Storie and her students were able to attend the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) conference, which overlapped in Seattle, as well as present findings.

Three of Storie’s students –- Marcus P. Lombardo, Victoria L. Perez, and Nocyia B. Logan –- presented “Mentorship Matters: Empowering and Retaining Graduate Students” at NASP, showing how Oswego leads the way with best practices and outcomes in developing peer mentorship programs.

“Our graduate fellows are outstanding, and I’m so happy their paper presentation was accepted for such a big conference,” Storie said.