OSPA Past President Mike Forcade has been a long-time OSPA member and board member. He is a past president and currently the co-chair of our Fall Conference Committee. Here's what he has to say about the importance of involvement with your membership association.
This message is to the OSPA members who are passionate about their job and our profession in general. Leadership development is critically important in school psychology as witnessed by its inclusion as one of the four Key Initiatives for NASP focus. While the daily demands of the job often leave little energy or time, promotion and advancement of the profession is a critically important component of our work but easy to overlook. Many of you work tirelessly within your assignments on a daily basis to promote practices you understand to be critical to student success. That is leadership 101 and is a positive sign that you are a change agent.
Taking that to the next level, consider the important role OSPA plays related to your daily practices. Our state-funded internship is, by far, the longest and most successfully funded method of recruiting, training, and deploying highly trained school psychologists in the entire country. You can thank OSPA for the establishment and continued funding of the internship. The Inter-University Council of School Psychology Training Programs (IUC) is regarded as one of the best collaborative efforts to promulgate training and practice standards. IUC and OSPA leadership have been highly successful in influencing the Ohio Department of Education on key issues related to the practices of school psychology, students with disabilities, school safety. The shared vision of this collaboration has made possible those intervention-based services you work so hard to promote in your assignments. In short, OSPA provides the infrastructure for the practice of school psychology not only by member support and professional development, but by promoting and advocating for best practices with stakeholders, ODE, and the Ohio legislature.
Moving up the leadership ladder is not usually a conscious decision. But, if you are already a leader among peers within your daily work, consider getting involved in your regional association. Run for a seat on the OSPA board to learn from the inside how the organization functions. Join a committee and actively participate. Or, jump in and run for secretary! Just as with NASP, we need to develop a cadre of future leaders to cycle into key leadership roles within OSPA. Take the baby steps to gain familiarity with OSPA so as to not be intimidated about running for an office in your region or on the OSPA board.
I can only speak for myself, but I am sure my leadership evolution was mirrored by many others. I would not have become involved on my own, and required prodding and encouragement from others. The top leaders in OSPA at the time were well known and I did not see myself as their peers. My lack of familiarity with OSPA led me back to my regional association and a backdoor seat on the OSPA board. I was appointed by the then-president to lead an ad hoc committee. Over the course of two years I learned that my beliefs were a good fit and holding an elected position was not out of reach . And, even though I lost my first election attempt for OSPA president, I prevailed the next year.
The years I have spent in OSPA leadership have been the most enjoyable and rewarding in my career. The profession in Ohio is what it is today not because of one leader but because of a succession of many leaders as board members, committee chairs, office holders, regional members, and inspired practitioners. My leadership goal at this stage of my career is to pave the way for those who MUST follow. I pledge to advise, tutor, mentor, and support anyone interested in becoming a leader. Please consider taking the next step in your personal leadership development. Step boldly into the future! OSPA needs you.