Brianna Koski was nominated by her colleague, Tracy Williams.
Ms. Koski has been the school psychologist at Marshall Elementary School for the past two and a half years. When she started, her school had two psychologists who were each assigned a specific case load. At the beginning of her assignment, Ms. Koski worked with general education students who received special education supports. Her responsibilities included; testing, writing IEPs, meeting with parents and determining what academic and emotional supports students need in order to be successful.
Two years later, she is now the only psychologist on site, working with students in the emotionally challenged classes. She has taken on the responsibilities for those classes in addition to her current duties and has done so with a smile and a very positive attitude. She has great rapport with the students, staff and parents. The students trust her and enjoy coming to her for counseling and testing – she truly makes a connection with kids.
Ms. Koski has redesigned and improved the Behavior Support Team, meeting with other counselors, nurses and administration to identify students who need social and/or emotional support. She also provides training to staff on social and emotional learning. Ms. Koski continually seeks different and effective ways to meet students' needs and works to design ways to identify students who may be affected by their home life.
"Brianna is well respected by all staff," Williams said. "She's always willing to help in whatever capacity is needed. She takes initiative and doesn’t wait to be asked to do projects or tasks. Brianna is a true team player who always strives to do what is best for all students. She is a true example of what a caring, professional, warm and competent individual should be. Words truly cannot begin to express how hard she works and the huge difference she makes in the lives of our students. She is one of the most dedicated professionals I have ever worked with. We are beyond grateful for all her hard work and so so proud to have her on our staff."
I have had the pleasure of working with with Brianna Koski for the past two school years. I am a school counselor for John Marshall Elementary and have worked closely with Ms. Koski, who is the current school Psychologist. She faces many obstacles in her role as a school psychologist working with a very fragile population of students. The student population that Ms.Koski primarily works with have mild to severe disabilities, have survived or are currently enduring traumatic personal situations, along with the general education population at Marshall. She ensures that the students best interests and needs are always met. That choice to put students first often means working late hours, collaborating with parents, teachers, administration, and most importantly, really knowing and understanding the students she works with. Ms. Koski has a very large caseload of students that she serves, each one very different than the next. She is aware of students strengths, abilities, and the day to day happenings at school. She is always prepared for her IEP's, 504 and other meetings. Her attention to detail make meetings and working with her a smooth process. She is well respected by the students, parents and all staff at Marshall. She often takes the lead in dealing with crisis situations which occur all too often at our site. She is a tireless worker with a great personality to match. She is making a real impact on students lives and deserves this honor more than anyone I can think of.
It is a pleasure working with Brianna. She is always hard-working and really cares for our students. Brianna is very personable and professional to everyone she meets. Our school is lucky to have Brianna as our psychologist. She has helped me numerous times, and I appreciate all she does for me and our school. She has made a positive change for our school. Brianna is an amazing psychologist!
I have taught 6th grade at John Marshall Elementary for 16 years, and Brianna Koski is one of the most hardworking, dedicated, and effective psychologists that I have ever worked with. Brianna has an in-depth understanding of how specific accommodations for students will result in their success in the classroom. Brianna is extremely supportive of teachers. She welcomes teacher feedback and ideas about students who may need services but have not yet been identified. Brianna has a sense of urgency and responds immediately to time sensitive cases that require a quick turnaround—specifically in identifying students for services to ensure a smooth transition to junior high school. Brianna works long hours. Many evenings on my way to the teacher workroom, I have seen her in her office working diligently. Brianna is consistently positive, upbeat, and professional under all circumstances. She is highly respected at Marshall. Because of her expertise, her effectiveness, and her dedication to improving the lives of our students and their families, I recommend that she is chosen for this honor.
Brianna’s unwavering dedication, heartfelt compassion and innovative methods to help students feel safe and thrive are unmatched.
As Brianna’s previous colleague and close friend, I am inspired by her harding work ethic, passion and commitment to improving the lives of those around her. Brianna leads with love everyday and is truly deserving of this recognition.
Marshall is so grateful to have Brianna supporting our students, staff and families. She always gives 110% and she's an invaluable asset to our school!
Brianna is one of the kindest, caring, and most dedicated people I have come across. She genuinely cares about each student at John Marshall Elementary school. Brianna and I work together in the special education team that provides services and supports for those students who may be struggling academically or emotionally. Brianna is the core piece of our team and has done a wonderful job guiding us throughout the year and making sure we get a good understanding of each student we are working with. Brianna has committed her extra time and effort to make sure the students and families in our community receive the proper support they need in order to be successful here at John Marshall. It has been a pleasure getting to know and work with Brianna this school year and I hope for many more years as a team together.
I am honored to say I am a family friend and have known Brianna a long time. She has always been a determined young lady and is one who tries to be fair to all those around her. I trust she guides the children to fulfill their learning needs and capabilities.
I am a school nurse who has a had the privilege of working with Brianna for the past two years. Brianna is one of the most dedicated and inspiring individuals I have known. This past school year has been challenging beyond reason and she has managed to continue to work through each challenge with grace and compassion. Due to unforeseen circumstances she became the only school psychologist at a school typically staffed with two. Her energy and unwavering dedication to children inspired the entire special education team to work harder. One of the qualities I find most inspiring about Brianna is her ability to see solutions to the most difficult situations, when others may only see the problems. During school hours you will find her with students. She may be providing counseling services, testing, conducting a threat assessments, or simply supporting a student who is having a difficult day. No matter what, we know and the kids know she is there for them when needed. After school she will either be meeting with parents, and or staff, analyzing assessment data, writing reports, reviewing student records, all the things necessary to provide support for students. Brianna is most definitely a life changer. Knowing her and working with her has made me a better school nurse. Her life's work is dedicated to changing the lives of children and she proves that every, single, day.
Brianna honestly does it all! She is so dedicated and supportive of our students. She never stops giving her all. It can be the weekend, late at night, vacation time or she is even at home sick and she is still working, sending messages, scheduling IEPs or coming up with another great idea to make an impact on one of our student's life. I have worked with many psychologists over the years and I have never seen one so dedicated,genuinely kind and caring, and who goes above and beyond to meet the needs of our students and families. She is making a difference daily in the lives of so many students at our school! We can't thank her enough for all that she does!
Brianna has been a very close friend of mine since University and I've never witnessed any of my friends excel with such passion for helping others. Bri leads with her heart in everything she does with such a large amount of accountability to her work. She is beyond one of the most persistent people I know and again I express strongly she carries her tasks out with her heart on her sleeve. I'm so pleased that you are receiving this recognition because I've witnessed you putting everything you have into your profession the last two years. Thank you for being you in everything you do :)
Brianna one of the hardest working, most selfless educators Ive ever met. She goes above and beyond to ensure children's needs are met regardless of the situation, and always putting their well being first. There is nothing more important to Brianna then her students and her team. This is apparent with her daily drive and passion to provide an enriched experience for all whom she interacts with. At the end of the day, Brianna does not turn off her passion for enrichment, she continually pushes herself to grow and be an caring advocate for her students.
I am a primary special education teacher at Marshall Elementary. I work closely with Brianna everyday to support my students who have moderate to severe disabilities. Brianna is unlike any psychologist I have worked with before. She is so dedicated to her work and the students that we serve. She is constantly supporting students in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. This year, Brianna has taken on the workload of what two psychologists would do. She is constantly running around school helping students in the emotionally challenged classes, SDC classes, and general education classes. She provides counseling for students who need extra emotional support and helps them learn how to manage their emotions by teaching coping strategies. Brianna is always on top of ed codes, making sure that we are providing the absolute best education and supports that our students can possibly receive. She is constantly learning and pushing herself so that she can be the best psychologist possible. It is such a privilege to work with her everyday. She is more than deserving of this award.
I am a Speech Language Pathologist at John Marshall Elementary and work closely with Brianna. She is one of the kindest, caring, and hard working people that I know. She works with our students, teachers, staff, and family members to make sure the students are getting the quality of education and quality of life they deserve. She brings an energy that provides a close knit environment at John Marshall. She makes John Marshall a place where I call my second home and she is the most integral part of our special education team. She has a bright personality and is well deserving of the life changer of the year nominee.
I am a Speech Language Pathologist that works with Brianna at Marshall Elementary. I have worked with Brianna for the past two years and I can honestly say that she is one of the most hard working people that I know. Her level of dedication to her students is unparalleled. Brianna carefully considers and does everything in her power to meet the needs of each individual student. Whether it be meticulously crafting a social story to help a child remain in his classroom or reaching out to other service providers to provide families with additional support, Brianna does her job better than anyone. Brianna is also a wonderful collaborator: she supports all the special education staff at Marshall by coordinating trainings, providing a variety of solutions to unexpected problems, and more. Brianna's dedication and passion for helping her students inspires me to work just as hard for my students. There is no one more deserving of this recognition.
I am Brianna’s mother. Brianna has always wanted to work with children. Even as a young child she would want to “ play” school. Now as a school psychologists her world revolves around what she can do for the children. She spends time trying to come up with ideas that would help encourage the students she works with to learn. She has such compassion and energy, all of it channeled to make a difference for the children in her care and their families. Her “job” does not end with the end of the school year nor does it end at the end of the school day. She spends countless hours of her time creating an environment to help the children.
I am Brianna's sister and can proudly say that she dedicates her full effort to her position as a school psychologist all day, every day. She is so passionate about making a difference not just in the student's lives but their families as a whole. She also finds new engaging ways to keep the kids she works with moving forward. I've never met someone who genuinely cares about their role the way that Brianna does. She never complains about taking on extra responsibilities, and continues to impress me with her multi-tasking capabilities.
I am Brianna's father and am not surprised on any of the compliments contained in her nomination for this award She has accomplished so much in her life and always strives to do more. No matter what the situation she finds the positive and all ends up well. She is dedicated to the welfare of the students she interacts with. Her mother and I can tell how passionate she is in helping these kids and realizing that some of them are dealing with tough situations in their daily lives. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Brianna and her accomplishments. She amazes me as she succeed in all she seeks to do. She has always cared for children and their welfare. I remember seeing how many how many different groups she was involved with in highschool. I was in awe of that. She has carried that passion for change into her professional career as well as everday life. Truly a remarkable young women that stirves to always do more. Such an overachiever. I feel she should receive this recognition.
