May 5, 2026 – From evaluating students for disabilities to assisting schools with mental health and crisis intervention, Team Duval school psychologists like Delaney Rust take pride in providing a wide range of critical services to students and schools.
“We are fierce advocates every single day,” said Rust. It is our duty and our job to advocate for children, protect children, support them, and make sure that they are receiving supports and interventions.”
Team Duval currently employs 50 school psychologists who serve students in grades K-12 throughout the district. They're known for supporting students, teachers, and administrators in a variety of ways, including problem-solving, data analysis, and reviewing systems.
However, District Supervisor of School Psychological Services Jamie King said a national shortage has impacted the number of school psychologists readily available to contribute their expertise to students and staff.
“We have about 10 vacancies, which is substantial because we only have 60 total positions,” explained King. “We aren't able to do all of the things that we're qualified to do, just because there aren't enough of us.”
It was in light of these shortages that district staff applied for a Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grant through the U.S. Department of Education. In the end, Team Duval was awarded $4.8 million over a four-year period, which will help the district lower its student-to-school psychologist ratios, support recruitment and retention, and enhance capacity in rural and high-need areas.
Thanks to the grant, the district will be able to:
Create six new lead school psychologist positions to mentor new professionals
Fund four additional school psychologist positions
Double the number of paid school psychologist internship positions
Provide moving expenses and partial tuition reimbursement for school psychology interns
Offer stipends to intern supervisors
Reimburse current school psychologists for doctoral and advanced training
School psychologist Deanna Newell, who worked on the grant, said the funding will help her colleagues provide even more comprehensive support to everyone, from teachers to school administration.
“All of these supports are very difficult to do when you have so few school psychologists,” said Newell. “So I’m very excited to increase our numbers so that we can provide this more broad piece of support.”
The district is one of 65 national recipients selected to receive the grant. It's an encouragement to school psychologists like Rust, who are eager to see the work expanded throughout Team Duval.
“It's very inspiring to me to know that I have coworkers that are continually working to address these needs, working to inspire new young school psychologists, and working to make sure that there are opportunities for students interested in this field to have experience,” said Rust.