SPSY 7509 01: Family School Com Systems < Youngstown State University

SPSY 7509 - Family, School, Community Systems

Summer 2026 Syllabus, Section 01, CRN 30133,
Credit hours: 3

Course Meeting Times

Instructor

Dana Elmquist

Professional Qualifications:
Ph.D., School Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2021
Master’s, Educational Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2019
Bachelor’s, Education, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 2015
Nationally Certified School Psychologist

Assistant Professor

Email: dlelmquist@ysu.edu

Office: Beeghly Hall #3308

Office Phone: 330-941-3256

Preferred Contact Method: Email or Blackboard Message

Communication Expectations:
Two business days

How to Refer to me:
Dr. Elmquist or Dr. E

Course Description

7509. Family, School, & Community Systems. This course helps candidates understand how school psychologists interact within and among various systems to identify patterns of needs; plan and implement individual, family, and system wide interventions; and conduct program evaluation. Candidates are expected to engage in various experiential activities to enhance their professional roles in the community and schools, and through their work with families. Prereq.: Selected Candidate in Masters of Education in Intervention Services. 3 s.h.

Course Readings

Group	Title	Author	ISBN
Required	Advances in Family-School-Community Partnering	Gloria E. Miller, Amanda Arthur-Stanley, and Rashida Banerjee	9781351384780

Required Selected Readings (provided in Blackboard):

Cuiccio, C., & Husby-Slater, M. (2018). Needs assessment guidebook: Supporting the development of district and school needs assessments. American Institutes for Research.

Garbacz, S. A., Herman, K. C., Thompson, A. M., & Reinke, W. M. (2017). Family engagement in education and intervention: Implementation and evaluation to maximize family, school, and student outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 62, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.04.002

Harrison, P. L., Proctor, S. L., & Thomas, A. (Eds.). (2023). Best practices in school psychology: Student systems and family services (7th ed.). National Association of School Psychologists. Referred to in course schedule as BP SSFS (2023)

Harrison, P. L., & Thomas, A. (Eds.). (2014). Best practices in school psychology: System-level services (6th ed.). National Association of School Psychologists. Referred to in course schedule as BP SLS (2014)

McCawley, P. F. (n.d.).The logic model for program planning and evaluation. University of Idaho Extension.

Thompson, D., Coleman, S., Goldschmidt, E., & Jamieson, L. (2008). Guidelines for school needs assessment interview. Communiqué, 37(1). National Association of School Psychologists.

U.S. Department of Education. (2013). Partners in education: A dual capacity-building framework for family–school partnerships. SEDL & U.S. Department of Education.

Optional Readings:

Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Advancing consultation and family, school, and community collaboration in school psychology. (2024). International Journal of School & Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2024.2325294

The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.

Critical Tasks

Course Objectives and Outcome Measurement By Assignment

How to Succeed in This Course

Attendance Expectations

Late Work Submission Policy

Additional Course Expectations

Artificial Intelligence Policy Statement

Assignments/Assessments

Grading and Grading Scale

University Policies

Schedule of Topics and Assignments

Week of	Reading(s)	Proposed Topic	Due/To Prepare for Class
6/30	Review Syllabus Miller (2022) Ch. 2 U.S. DOE (2013) Garbacz et al. (2017)	Review Syllabus; Foundations of Family-School-Community Systems	Chapter 2 Reflection (7/2) Access to Microsoft Suite (7/2)
7/7	Miller (2022) Ch. 1 & 3 BP SSFS (2023) Ch. 35 BP SLS (2014) Ch. 30, 32, 33, 35	Designing MTSS-Aligned Family-School Community Systems	Chapter 1 & 3 Reflections (7/9)
7/14	Miller (2022) Ch. 4 & 5 BP SSFS (2023) Ch. 16 & 17 BP SLS (2014) Ch. 34 Cuiccio & Husby-Slater (2018) Thompson et al., (2008) McCrawley (n.d.)	Designing MTSS-Aligned Family-School-Community Systems	Chapter 4 & 5 Reflections (7/16)
7/21	BP SLS (2014) Ch. 1 & 3	Implementation & Evaluation of Systems Change	FSC Systems-Wide Initiative Action Plan Due to Instructor (7/23)
7/28	Miller (2022) Ch. 6-10 BP SSFS (2023) Ch. 34	Chapter Presentations and Case Study	Ch. 6 & 7 (7/28); Ch. 8-10 (7/30)
8/4		Work Week
8/11		Systems Initiative Presentations (8/11) Course Reflections (8/13)	Systems Initiative Paper and Presentation due to BB and SL&L (8/11) Course Content and Presentations Reflection (8/13)

The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.

SPSY 7509 01: Family School Com Systems