Part-time Faculty - School Psychology Program, Fall 2025 and Spring 2026

The University of Southern Maine’s Department of Educational and School Psychology (ESPY) is seeking part-time instructor applicants to teach in our low residency specialist-level school psychology program during the 2025-2026 school year. The Fall 2025 semester begins September 2nd.

We are seeking instructors to teach one or more courses online, using a blend of synchronous and asynchronous modalities. Class sessions will meet on weekday evenings (after 4pm) using Zoom videoconferencing. The courses we are seeking instructors for include, but are not limited to the following:  

Mental Health Interventions in the Practice of School Psychology (SPY 621) – This course emphasizes learning fundamental mental health interventions to help PK-12 students develop resilience and mental wellness. The course focuses on learning skills important for conducting clinical interviews with parents, teachers, school staff, and students through the lens of cultural humility. Students will have the opportunity to learn basic interviewing skills such as attending behavior, active listening, reflection of feeling, paraphrasing, and questioning as well as more advanced techniques such as suicide risk and threat assessments. Students also will have the opportunity to develop skills to deliver individual and group social-emotional and psychoeducational interventions. Appropriate applications of evidenced based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing are explored. The course content is taught within a problem-solving framework that includes problem identification, assessment for intervention, goal development, and progress monitoring.    

Diversity in the Science and Practice of Psychology (SPY 679) - This course provides conceptual foundations and skills needed by school psychologists to promote effective functioning of individuals, families, and PK-12 school systems with diverse characteristics through an ecological lens. Students will identify individual differences and diverse characteristics that impact student learning and mental health. Emphasis will be placed on learning knowledge and skills related to family systems, including methods to understand family strengths, needs, and culture. Readings and discussion will emphasize the influence of diversity factors as school psychologists collaborate with others to design, implement, and evaluate culturally responsive services. The identification and development of skills to collaborate with families, school staff, interpreters, cultural brokers, and community agencies will be taught through case studies and role-play. Students will reflect on their own personal characteristics, culture, and biases to recognize the importance of equitable practices, respect for diversity, and advocacy for social justice. Ethical and legal considerations for working with students of diverse backgrounds will also be highlighted.

Consultation and Collaboration in School Psychology (SPY 680) - This course examines models and strategies of consultation relevant to the practice of school psychology. The course focuses on the conjoint behavioral consultation model, which involves collaboration among families and educational professionals to address the academic, social, and behavioral needs of individual students, and explores additional approaches to behavioral, instructional, and organizational consultation. Emphasis will be placed on the skills needed to (a) consult, collaborate, and communicate effectively with diverse students, families, and educators while designing, implementing, and evaluating consultation services and (b) apply consultation practices to support teachers, families, and schools in promoting students’ learning and mental health.

We are seeking a student-focused instructor who will be responsible for the full delivery and grading of the course. Responsibilities include preparing for the course, teaching live online class sessions, assessing student performance, and meeting with students as needed. The instructor will be provided with a syllabus template and full course shell with suggested readings, assignments, and presentation materials.

Part-time faculty members are paid by credit hour based on prior teaching experience. Eligible part-time faculty members may elect certain benefits provided by the University of Maine System. In addition, The Center for Academic Innovation provides learning design consulting and faculty development opportunities to help faculty to create engaging programs, courses and lesson plans grounded in evidence-based best practices for every modality.  

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