May 14, 2014

Dear Selection Committee:

Thank you for considering my application for the 2014-15 School Psychologist position with Camas School District. I am
writing this letter as a brief introduction to my personal and professional background as it pertains to this position.

I am a native of California and attended public schools in Fresno through high school. I attended California State
University, Fresno (CSUF) as a Presidents Scholar and participated in both university and departmental honors programs.
I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

I enrolled in the School Psychology Graduate Program at CSUF and completed two years of practicum experience along
with intensive coursework before working in Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) as a paid intern in the 2003-04
school year. During my time in FUSD, I worked at a high school and three elementary schools, two of which housed
intensive autism intervention programs. I gained tremendous experience in psychoeducational assessment, behavioral
interventions, group and individual crisis- and short-term counseling, social skills training for children with social -
cognitive disabilities, problem-solving consultation with teachers, and early reading intervention. During my internship
year, I also presented a workshop for district support staff on improving social skills and social-relatedness for children
with autism and other developmental and language disabilities. I also attended two courses in Washington DC presented
by the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) regarding the Developmental
Individual-difference Relationship model of treatment (a.k.a. Floortime).

Following the end of my internship with FUSD, I worked during the summer as a substitute teacher for the FUSD
preschool and kindergarten autism Special Day Class (SDC) program, where I was able to gain instructional experience in
the classroom as well with the implementation of the DIR model.

I was hired by Central Unified School District (CUSD) in the spring of 2004 as a school psychologist and began working
at McKinley and Roosevelt Elementary Schools. I worked at several other elementary schools in the district, as well with
led the districts Preschool Assessment Team during my eight years with CUSD. My role as a school psychologist
involved behavioral and academic consultation with teachers, developing, implementing and monitoring schoolwide
Response to Intervention (RtI) models, participating in Student Success Team meetings, coordinating and monitoring
outside mental health services for students, conducting psychoeducational assessments, and providing professional
development to site staff. I worked closely with site and district administrators to develop systems for all students that
embody educational best practices. In 2010, I had the honor of presenting a peer-reviewed workshop at the Annual
Convention of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). I was also a member of the Train the Trainers
Cohort of the Central Valley Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Consortium.

I enjoyed my position in CUSD tremendously for the eight years that I was there. I left the district at the end of April
2012 because my husband received a promotion with his company that required us to immediately move to the Chicago
area. During our 20 months living near Chicago, I stayed home and cared for my two young children. My husband was
recently promoted again, and this job has brought us to the Pacific Northwest permanently. I sought a boundary
exception transfer for my Kindergarten-age son to attend a Camas school, because it is imperative to me that he has the
best possible education. We have been thrilled to see his quick progress in a school that focuses on great instruction and
high standards, and it is because of this that I am seeking this position with Camas School District. I would love to be a
part of the school community in which my children are taught. I look forward to the possibility of interviewing for the
school psychologist position. Please contact me if there are any questions regarding my application:
katherinemariewood@gmail.com, or I can be reached at (559) 313-3395. Thank you!

Sincerely,



Katherine Wood, M.S., NCSP