New Hampshire is a great place to live and work. Whether you prefer the population centers of the southeast cities and towns, an hour from Boston, the rural north country near the Canadian border, or any of the attractive and enticing regions in between, New Hampshire offers a quality of life that is hard to beat. Four season recreation opportunities are never far away. If you can do it on a mountain, in the woods, on a river, lake or ocean, in any season, indoors or outdoors, you can do it in New Hampshire. Arts, cultural, educational and historical opportunities abound and are accessible throughout the state.
To learn more about travel and tourism in New Hampshire visit www.visitnh.gov
For more information about New Hampshire, from state government to town profiles, business and industry to art, entertainment, shopping and more, visit www.nh.gov and www.nh.gov/nhinfo
EdJobs NH -
www.edjobsnh.com is a job listing website maintained by The NH School Administrators Association.
SchoolSpring - www.schoolspring.com is used by many districts and contains multiple listings often not found elsewhere.
NEA-NH - The NH Chapter of National Education Association maintains a job listing at
www.neanh.org.
NH Department of Education - These sites can also be accessed through the NH Department of Education website.
www.education.nh.gov
Newspapers - Jobs for school psychologists are generally advertised in daily and weekly newspapers. Both print and online editions are worth checking, as listings may differ.
When to Look - While positions may be advertised year round, most new positions begin to be advertised in late March or April. This coincides with the approval of school district budgets at District meetings in March. Positions will continue to be announced throughout the spring and summer, and sometimes into the fall.
School psychologists are certified by the
New Hampshire Department of Education,
Bureau of Credentialing. There are 5 paths to certification as an educator in NH, known as ‘alternatives.’ Alternatives I and II will apply to most individuals seeking certification.
- Alternative I is for individuals graduating from an state approved graduate program in NH.
- Alternative II is for individuals graduating from a state approved graduate program in a state other than NH.
- Alternative III is for individuals who have gained the appropriate skills through education and experience that does not fit Alternatives I and II.
- Alternative IV is for individuals seeking certification in a ‘critical shortage area.’ School psychology has been a critical shortage area in recent years. NHASP recommends that Alternative IV be utilized only for individuals who have completed all of their training, except for the Internship, which would be completed under the Alt IV Certificate and as part of their training program.
- Alternative V is for obtaining a teachers certification and is not applicable to school psychologists
In March 2020, Governor Sununu signed legislation that created a new license for school psychologists under the NH Board of Psychology (BOP). Please visit the BOP page for updated information on this license. All DOE credentialed school psychologists in NH at the time the law was signed were automatically granted this license. New applicants will need to apply directly to the BOP. This license is not required to practice school psychology in NH, but is required for school districts to seek Medicaid to Schools reimbursement for school psychology services.
- Review the certification standards for school psychologists in NH, section 507.08
- Identify the alternative appropriate for your training and experience
- Complete NH educator credentialing form www.education.nh.gov
Working as a school psychologist in New Hampshire offers the potential for great variety in your work and the ability to have direct impact. Many school districts are small, often serving a single town or city. You may be the only school psychologist, or one of a few, serving a district. Others serve large cities such as Nashua and Manchester, offering the opportunity to live and/or work in major metropolitan areas. Whether rural or urban, school psychologists get to work closely with children, families, staff, and administration. The school psychologist is valued for the special skills and unique perspectives we bring to working with children.
Job responsibilities will vary with the needs and practices of the school or district. Some rely heavily on the traditional evaluation and placement model. Others provide greater opportunity for the school psychologist to provide a more comprehensive range of services, consultation, direct behavioral and counseling interventions, problem solving teams and data informed decision making, program development and traditional evaluation. Many schools are developing and implementing RTI/Problem Solving models of instruction and intervention, as well as PBIS and other models for emotional/behavioral RTI. School psychologists play an important role in many of these schools in the planning, data collection and implementation processes. School psychologists in New Hampshire are also filling positions as special education directors, principals, superintendents and other administrative roles.
Most School Psychologists are school district employees, generally paid and covered by the teacher’s contract. Some school psychologists are on administrative or individual contracts, while others are employed by private regional consortiums that may provide a range of services to a variety of school districts. The NH Department of Education has listed School Psychology as a critical shortage area, which makes New Hampshire a good place to look for a position.
Click here to explore NH Staffing and Salary reports, including minimum and maximum salary and number of steps within each compensation level.
Contracting Considerations
The NASP Credentialing Committee released an article on Considerations for Contract Services in School Psychology. This paper can be found here: NASP Contracting Paper. General NASP resources, including this document, can also be found on the NASP Resources and Publications page
If you have other questions or would like to learn more about school psychology in New Hampshire and about living here, please
contact us!
