Leandra Parris and Devadrita Talapatra, two alumni from the school psychology doctoral program, were appointed co-editors of School Psychology Training and Pedagogy, the official journal for the Trainers of School Psychology.
Parris, a former student of CEHD Associate Dean Kris Varjas and Professor Joel Meyers, now teaches at William and Mary, while Talapatra, a former student of Associate Professor Andy Roach, is an assistant professor at the University of Denver.
“I see this as a dual achievement that is the culmination of a long history of collaborative work and support between myself and Dr. Talapatra,” Parris said.
Since graduating from Georgia State University, Parris and Talapatra have given national presentations and co-authored a chapter on how to teach school psychology effectively and with passion.
After being named co-editors, they asked the board to vote on the journal’s new name, which was “in line with our goal to increase the visibility of the journal and make sure it was clear to audiences that this was specific to teaching and learning in school psychology,” Parris said.
Their other goals include a relaunch of the journal, increased social media presence and increased accessibility.
“Leandra and I both deeply care about training the next generations of school psychology practitioners, scholars and trainers,” Talapatra said. “We both share a social justice lens and have a focus on underserved, marginalized and disenfranchised populations. We are excited to bring that perspective to SPTP. We have Georgia State to thank for bringing us together and giving us an environment where we could cultivate our friendship and feed our ideas.”