PSP Grant Funding

Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline

Partnering with local school districts and Highline College, the Seattle University School Counseling and School Psychology Programs were collectively awarded a Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant.

The purpose of this five-year project is to:

1. Recruit individuals from diverse backgrounds into school-based mental health professions
2. Eliminate barriers to professional training in school-based mental health
3. Funnel school-based mental health graduates into high need school districts.

The project will provide need-based partial tuition and stipends to graduate students in the project. Grant applicants should know that by receiving the tuition support, they agree to work in a high-needs school district for one academic year for each year that they receive tuition support. Here is a PSP Student Agreement Grant DRAFT example.

Read more about the $3.5 million grant here.

Frequently Asked Questions

• For the application essay, we should write about our role as our soon-to-be role, correct?
  • Yes, write about your imagined ideal self as a school counselor or school psychologist.
• Just to clarify about the essay: we are speaking to how our ideal self as a school counselor will support both wholistic K12 student development and K12 student diversity?
  • That is correct! You may have a better understanding of the role depending on what year you are in. We will take that into consideration as well.
• Do the districts choose us, or do we get a say in the district we work with during the program?
  • Districts and schools will review your placement requests (resume and letter of interest), just like in the regular placement process.
• Does it have to be a high-need school or just a high-need district?
  • Priority will be to place students in Kent and Marysville first, but we will consider other partners after as long as they meet our criteria and Kent/Marysville have reduced capacity for training sites.
• When would the scholarship money be available - I saw something about spring quarter 24?
  • Scholarship funds will be available in Fall 2023.
• If we do not get into the program this year, can we apply again next year or is it just for this year?
  • You can apply any year depending on capacity.
• Do other scholarships count against your determination of financial need, beyond the FAFSA?
  • Yes, any gift aid will reduce unmet financial need.
• Does the GI bill render you ineligible?
  • It depends on the benefit – some it will reduce unmet need but student will still be eligible, some benefits will cover all unmet need.      
• Are the tuition support and the internship stipend different?
  • Yes, the tuition support is a conditional scholarship that will be applied to your tuition account. The internship stipend will be paid to you by your internship site but is funded by this grant.
• What would the structure of the first/pre-practicum year look like in terms of obligation to the district? 
  • None for school counseling. Just engage in the interview process with the district when it is time, come to workshops, and other events. None meaning not a heavy list with the districts.
• I may have missed this earlier, but do you have to apply to Kent or Marysville specifically, or can you apply for both?
  • You can indicate your preference on the application form but it will allow you to indicate multiple practicum/internship sites.
• If on your interest form you said you would go to either, but are leaning toward one district more than the other can you make that preference known as well or are you applying to both?
  • You can make that preference known in your essay.
• Regarding financial need assessment: are we required to submit our FAFSA for this application or to be considered?
  • Yes, completion of the FAFSA is required for the application.
• How are the Internship stipend amounts determined (is this part of the 5,000 awarded to 3^rd years)?
  • Internship stipends are in addition to the scholarship funds (up to $5,000 available for internship students). Stipends will vary based on district and job role (as school psychology interns are full-time) but they will be about $6,000 for the year. There will also be up to $1,000 available to reimburse internship students for other approved expenses like child care, transportation to internship sites, fees, etc. 
• If we are placed within a district and the opportunity arises to be emergency certified and be paid during the internship year, would we be able to take the opportunity without having to leave the program?
  • If you get an emergency certification in the partner district and are in a high-need school, it doesn't impact eligibility in the program. If you leave the program to go to another district, you will be ineligible for the program and may be subject to repayment requirement, per the student agreement. 
• Will a 4-year plan for graduation affect my eligibility for this scholarship, if at all?
  • If awarded, you would be eligible for the same amount of funding as a 3-year student, but the award would just be spread over 4 years instead of three.