Our January spotlight, Halsey Darling, who serves our Keystone AEA, was raised in a small town in the northeast corner of Iowa. After spending a couple of years in Chicago and getting her School Psychology degree at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, she prioritized finding her way back to the area she loved in Iowa. She loves to serve the students and families of her old stomping grounds. And when she is not working with her students, she is spending time with her husband, Adam and their two kids, Pearl (2 years old) and Will (6 months old).
Halsey is in her 6th year as a practitioner and states that she is “very fortunate to have begun my career at Keystone.” It was her first choice of employment following graduate school and she is grateful every day that she gets to work in such a wonderful and supportive environment. Her main role at Keystone is fulfilling Child Find duties within her school districts, however she does find time to consult with teachers on a daily basis. She is also part of building and district level special education teams where they discuss specific needs of teachers and students.
The best part of her job is working with the kids. “I love working with kids,” she says. She enjoys seeing the students she works with develop skills and grow. She also cherishes the relationships she has built with teacher, administrators, and parents. Although there are many great aspects of school psychology, less paperwork would be even more ideal in Halsey’s role! When she does have a more difficult day she keeps in mind the advice she would give to new practitioners in the field, “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day! On those hard days, remember why you got into this profession and don’t be afraid to lean on your colleagues for advice and support.”