Kemp-Koo recruited to reestablish centre for educational assessment at USask

It was August 2022 and she was just finishing up her role as the director of counselling, health, wellness and accessibility for SaskPolytech when Drs. Lynn Lemisko (PhD) and Laureen McIntyre (PhD) from the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education connected with her.

“I had just retired from SaskPolytech, and I think it was just meant to be, the timing, between when I told SaskPolytech I was leaving and when the College of Education was bringing back [assessment] programs,” said Kemp-Koo.  

Now, two and a half years on, Kemp-Koo has been busy as a newly-appointed assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education. Her main role is to coordinate the Counselling Assessment Intervention & Research Services (CAIRS) unit.

“I knew how much potential there was in the School and Counselling program and what a much-needed service CAIRS provides,” Kemp-Koo said.

CAIRS provides cost-effective and accessible best-practice psycho-educational assessment and counselling opportunities through contracted service agreements with university health clinics, school divisions, First Nations Education Authorities and community-based organizations in the areas of specific learning disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and mood disorders, and cognitive deficits or disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders.

“All the assessments at CAIRS are completed by graduate students [in the Counselling and School Psychology program]. All of them under my supervision, as someone without credentials cannot make a diagnosis,” explained Kemp-Koo.

Psycho-educational assessments are comprehensive evaluations of learning styles, academic abilities and mental processes. Kemp-Koo has certainly been busy—over 350 assessments have been completed since she reopened CAIRS in August 2023.

“I have supervised and signed every single one of [the assessments],” Kemp-Koo said with a smile. “It’s easy to work when it’s work that you love. These are really incredible students doing the assessments.”

Kemp-Koo is a well-know educational psychologist in Saskatchewan and has spent much time in the college as a graduate student in the 80s and 2010s, and as a sessional lecturer and term faculty member. She is happy to mentor graduate students and help them focus and build their skills in assessment and counselling.

“Some of the things you offer to people aren’t just the technical proficiency in how you administer the [assessment] task, just like in the classroom, it’s how you teach certain things,” said Kemp-Koo, explaining how psycho-educational assessment is both a science and an art.

Kemp-Koo remembered a client she had assessed in her early career days, who was now coming to CAIRS with their university-age child. They recalled how encouraging Kemp-Koo had been throughout the assessment—it had stuck with them and helped foster a positive outlook about their diagnosis.

“[Educational assessments] aren’t just about getting the start point and the end point right and the scoring right—yes, you have to do that too, but it’s about how you’re interacting with [the individual being assessed],” explained Kemp-Koo.

“We really need to know and communicate the strengths too, we gather a lot of information from parents, teachers, schools [during an assessment],” said Kemp-Koo. “You’re giving them some hope and encouragement and direction so that they can be successful in what makes sense to them.”

There is a lot of growth possible for CAIRS. Kemp-Koo hopes to focus on providing opportunities for graduate and faculty research in the future. With only 15 graduate students accepted each year into the School and Counselling Psychology program, she is planning to contract out some of the assessments to psychologists, so CAIRS doesn’t get backed up. She has also been in discussions with USask Student Wellness to collaborate to provide counselling services.

“This would help alleviate pressure on Student Wellness as they just don’t have the room—it’s a space problem for all the demand,” said Kemp-Koo.

With a passion for mentorship and a deep commitment to accessible psychological services, Kemp-Koo sees CAIRS as more than just an assessment centre—it’s a bridge to opportunity for students, families, and future psychologists alike.

Article originally published at https://education.usask.ca