Ms. Wachter is an exemplary School Psychologist who has been providing direct service to students at her comprehensive high school setting with Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) for the past five years. During her time with BCPS, Ms. Wachter has provided prevention, intervention, consultation, and assessment services to her schools in a highly effective manner. She is able to efficiently balance the needs of her students, families, and schools so that she is serving them all. Recently, Ms. Wachter co-facilitated the first annual Wellness Fair at her high school, collaborating with both the School Social Worker and the Active Minds chapter in the building. This fair was a resounding success, being attended by several hundred students and featuring a wide variety of student-led wellness activities. However, Ms. Wachter also finds time to support her students who are in greatest need, particularly when they are in crisis. It would not be unusual to reach out to her and hear that she has been supporting a student in need all day. At the district level, Ms. Wachter is a key member of the Leadership Core and co-chairs our Professional Learning Committee, taking a key role in the planning and coordination of day-long offerings throughout the school year. Ms. Wachter also provides district-wide support to staff for their technology needs, particularly with new applications that have become an integral part of our practice. At the state level, Ms. Wachter has served as the Chair of the Program Committee for MSPA. She has previously served on the legislative committee and received the “Newbie” award for the 2021-2022 school year for being an active and contributing member of the executive board.

Ms. Jacobus is a school psychologist in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Ms. Jacobus has taken opportunities at the national, state, and local level to advocate for the profession of school psychology and for the well-being of children. While this award has been traditionally be given to policymakers that support the advocacy efforts of the Maryland School Psychologists’ Association, it is the work of school psychologists, like Ms. Jacobus, that enables such policymakers to effectively create, sponsor, and pass meaningful policy changes. At the national level, Ms. Jacobus has advocated for the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP’s) policy priorities, effectively communicating to House Representatives, Senators, and their staff members the importance of adequately funding education, safe school environments, access to comprehensive school-based mental health services, and equitable access to high quality, evidence based curricula. She brought these issues to life for Maryland members of Congress by connecting them to the role of school psychology, stories from Maryland public schools, and statewide data. Following advocacy efforts to which Ms. Jacobus contributed, Congress passed the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (S860/HR1809) during the 2017-2018 session. Locally, through her leadership and work as part of a problem-solving, labor-management committees and related workgroups in  her district, Ms. Jacobus successfully advocated for the addition of more school psychologists in Montgomery County Public Schools so that school psychologists were staffed in a manner to provide more comprehensive psychological services, including mental health and behavioral health services. She was also integral in establishing a behavior threat assessment process to improve school safety and the use of restorative practices.

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