Rob Kubick, PhD
Awards Chair
School Psychologist
Akron Public Schools
The following are remarks made by Rob Kubick at the OSPA Awards Ceremony of the 2022 Fall Conference:
Good afternoon, friends and colleagues. I’m Rob Kubick, Chair of the OSPA Awards Committee. It is my great pleasure to be with you today to help recognize OSPA’s 2022 Ohio School Psychologist of the Year.
The purpose of this award is to recognize one school psychologist each year who provides outstanding service delivery within the practitioner realm. It is required that at least seventy-five percent of a candidate's time be spent providing school psychological services to students, teachers, and parents, typically in a school setting. Nominees must be OSPA members and are nominated by the regional association. Our recipient is then advanced as Ohio’s nominee for NASP recognition as the National School Psychologist of the Year.
It is my great pleasure to introduce our 2022 Ohio School Psychologist of the Year, Dr. Erich Merkle.
Erich was nominated for several reasons, including his outstanding characteristics as school psychologist practitioner, his unique contributions to our profession, and lauded activities that distinguish him among his peers.
There are many reasons that underlie Erich’s earning this recognition. First, his promotion of community-based behavioral health collaboration in education. Armed with his strong clinical and mental health training and practice, over the last 20 years Erich has provided hundreds of training sessions to pediatric hospitals, physician groups, allied medical organizations, community social service agencies, governmental agencies, behavioral health providers, and numerous professional associations related to interdisciplinary collaborative practices for youth with behavioral health involvement, both here in Ohio and across the country. These efforts have provided him a level of expertise such that he is a co-author of a chapter on coordination with community and school behavioral health in the upcoming 7th edition of Best Practices in School Psychology.
Second, his advancing safe and supportive schools for the LGBTQ+ community. Erich has been nationally requested trainer who has supported countless school districts in crafting or enhancing LGBTQ+ affirming practices and policies to support gender and sexually diverse students. He created the first Employee Resource Group in the Akron Public Schools, called APS Pride, that provides an LGBTQ+ personnel organization that facilitates social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusive practices within his large urban school district.
Third, his multi-tiered behavioral health supports on COVID-19. At the onset of the pandemic, Erich published daily, then weekly, community articles called “Merkle’s Mental Health Moment” that have been shared throughout the Akron community on topics related to self-care, behavioral health, families, parenting, and education. Today, he continues those efforts and has authored over 300 such passages for the Akron Public Schools, the Cleveland Browns' Stay in the Game attendance program, and many media outlets as a frequently requested contributor.
Fourth, his legal and ethical training in the profession. Over the past decade, Erich has featured hundreds of training sessions related to helping school districts advance comprehensive student supports for students with physical or mental impairments under Section 504, ADA, and IDEIA. His well-received training sessions have been featured throughout numerous statewide associations including OPA, OSPA, Ohio Social Worker Association, Ohio Counseling Association, school districts, Educational Service Centers, all of Ohio’s pediatric hospitals, locally within the Akron Public Schools, and many more.
Fifth, his integrating student supports in child and adolescent risk assessment practices. Erich has provided comprehensive training throughout Ohio to school teams on risk assessment involving child maltreatment, suicide and threat assessment. He is also recognized as an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services credentialed trainer on child maltreatment reporting and intervention that has increased his presence as a school psychologist trainer to governmental and social service agencies. Because of these efforts, Dr. Merkle also oversees the Akron Public Schools risk assessment practices and provides consultation to hundreds of such cases per year.
Sixth, his consultation on school psychological practices in litigated, high profile, and clinically complex cases. Regular participants on the OSPA (and OPA) listservs, as well as broader social media, know Dr. Merkle is regular consultant for our school psychology community in situations involving complex clinical cases, litigation, and legal questions among our membership. He is regularly accessed throughout Ohio to help practitioner school psychologists when they seek a professional opinion, and he frequently serves as the immediate point of response when our community reaches out to OSPA and sometimes even ODE, to provide evidence-based, legally defensible, and practical advice. Erich also serves his district as an in-house litigation and clinical expert involving IDEIA due process, OCR investigations, and supporting school personnel involved in such situations.
Seventh, his advancing school psychology media outreach and serving as a professional ambassador. Erich has provided over 50 media interviews across local, regional, national, and syndicated newspaper, radio, and television outlets. He also has the distinction as the only school psychologist who was the both the President of OSPA and OPA, where he has been twice recognized with leadership awards by OPA including the President’s Award and Public Sector Psychologist of the Year. His work has reached APA and NASP, where he has contributed to efforts on Section 504 reform and LGBTQ+, serving as an author on NASP’s LGBTQ+ web pages.
Eighth, and finally, his rich legacy of outstanding service to OSPA. Erich joined OSPA and its Executive Board 22 years ago. Within months of joining OSPA, he developed our Association’s first two listservs and first website. He would go to serve in numerous Association leadership roles, including Private Practice Chair, Historian, KAASP Regional Representative, President, LGBT Liaison, OPA Liaison, and Ex-Officio PFAC Member. He continues those three latter roles up to today.
His many nominators had much praise to offer Erich for his outstanding contributions. Ann Brennan, our previous OSPA Executive Director, noted, “His dedication to the betterment of OSPA is well known and appreciated among the OSPA staff and membership. There has not been an issue in recent years where I not seek Erich’s advice, knowing that he could be relied upon for a rapid response, providing expertise and wisdom that helped frame an OSPA position. I know of no one more deserving of this award and I am honored to make this recommendation.”
Michael Ranney, the CEO of the Ohio Psychological Association (where Erich previously served as President) noted that Erich “was the perfect, steady and thoughtful leader to guide us through the beginning of the pandemic. His strong leadership and important perspectives enabled us to thrive over the past few years.”
Tammy Brady, Director of Special Education in the Akron Public Schools, noted that Erich “has become somewhat of a ‘jack of all trades’” in our office. He “shares his time and talents in a collaborative and professional manner” within our school district and the larger community. “He is always willing to step up to any challenge to do what is best for our students and our district. I am privileged to have him as part of my leadership team.”
Lisa Johnson, who coordinates services and programs across the entire district in support of students with very intensive behavioral and mental health needs, has partnered with Erich on a daily basis for more than a decade. She noted that Erich “embodies the very finest qualities of excellence in school psychological service delivery. I am sure that OSPA had school psychologists like Erich in mind when they first created this award.”
Speaking for myself for a moment, as some of you know, Erich and I have been colleagues in the Akron Public Schools for the past 15 years, including the last three years in which we’ve shared an office as our downtown administration building. Many folks have commented that we’re “The Odd Couple” because we do have rather different approaches to our shared work. In addition to that, in this election season, it’s notable that two guys that are self-described as a democratic-socialist and a traditional conservative can occupy a 10x15 room for 40 hours a week and not kill each other. We can still be productive and supportive colleagues. We provide a witness to the idea that folks can hold close to their principles, while understanding that people of good conscience can and do disagree on a variety of matters. Still, if people have genuine respect for diversity, including a diversity of thoughts, viewpoints, and perspectives, they can find ways to collaboratively work together for the common good.
To share a room with Erich is to share a room with Wikipedia. His standard score on the Information subtest is well above 19. It’s more like 1,019. He can provide you with tax advice, hook up cutting edge AV technology for your home theatre, put you on a Keto diet with instant results, jump start your car, cook a nine-course meal with all the fixings, and target the perfect holiday gift for your spouse.
Now, sure, Erich can be too smart for his own good sometimes. Sure, there are days where it seems like he just knows every damned thing. Sure, in virtual meetings his verbal manifestos can exceed 75 decibels. Sure, his relentless need to know and dominate every aspect of school psychology can make me want to jump out of a window in an office that isn’t equipped with them.
Sure, there are days when I anxiously await the sweet release of death just to get five minutes of peace away from the guy. Sure…
Where was I going with this…? Oh, yes, Erich…
As this speech has detailed, Erich has had a remarkable heritage of contributions to OSPA and broader statewide psychological practice. Erich often describes his role as “Giving psychology away.” By this, he is referring to the need for all of us to share with others our professional expertise in ways that build capacity in both individuals and systems. Well, I’ve been a decades-long witness to Erich’s giving psychology away, and he has been both thoughtful and generous in doing so. School psychology in Ohio, OSPA at large, and most importantly, the students and families we serve, have all been beneficiaries of his generosity.
It is for all these reasons that the Executive Board of the Ohio School Psychologists Association is proud to recognize Dr. Erich Merkle as the 2022 Ohio School Psychologist of the Year. Congratulations, Erich!
The following remarks were delivered by Dr. Merkle.
Thank you Dr. Kubick for such a gracious and thoughtful nomination. But, don’t worry, we’ll come back to you later….
As I look around this conference, I celebrate knowing so many of you and cherishing friendships within our Association. Despite this, I know few of you know of my background. Curiously, my life has had a number of adverse childhood events (ACEs) that probably predestined me into becoming a school psychologist long before I had any understanding what this profession is about. While I was born in Sandusky, Ohio, and spent time living in Lorain, Ohio, and in Farmington, NM, I eventually came to live in Sandusky, Ohio, after my mother became ill. At one point, I was placed into social services and my father took me into his custody. Obviously those were significant life changes and I was placed into special education because I could not academically perform. After a year in special education, teachers questioned why I was in their programming and was afforded a chance to try a general education, then honors, and eventually AP coursework. Clearly, I was a student with loss and who was situationally depressed, not a student with learning or other impairs despite being identified as such. Later on, I attended Heidelberg College, trying to triple major in biology, chemistry, and math towards going to medical school. Organic then physical chemistry were my downfalls and I vacillated between psychology and anthropology, basically graduating with enough hours to have lots of majors but master of nothing. In that time, I decided to become a therapist and went to Kent State to become a clinical mental health counselor, which also allowed me to earn another master’s degree in human development.
After graduating with those two masters, I tried to work as a trainee and entry level therapist, realizing it was not for me. The agency I worked for invited me to apply to a small school district who needed a “mental health consultant.” Not knowing what I didn’t know, I took the position, only discovering that what they really wanted was a school psychologist but could not find one. This was also a time of crossroads and eventually decided to return back to Kent State to pursue a doctoral degree in school psychology, although given my problem child trajectory, probably caused their faculty to question the insight of their decision that eventually launched me into the world of school psychology I live today.
Now onto the appreciation of so many supervisors and colleagues who fostered my growth and development:
Professors Cathy Telzrow and Caven Mcloughlin: Despite being a perennial problematic student who had endless plans of correction, they were formative mentors into my induction into the role of being a scientist practitioner. Professor Mcloughlin also linked me into OSPA in winter 2000 when the Association needed a website and listservs, which I dutifully created and managed until Dr. Kubick fired me from the roles in fall 2005. Fortunately for OSPA, Jeff York has been a far more accomplished and spectacular technology chair ever since!
There are also an endless array of clinical supervisors throughout my school psychology training without whose mentorship and supervisor, I would not be where I am today: Mrs. Sondra Gossett, Dr. Rich Montagnese, Dr. Elizabeth Bard, Dr. Perry Clark.
After my unceremonious dismissal from OSPA, thanks to Dr. Kubick, I returned to OSPA leadership and fulfilled a number of positions on our Executive Board: Private Practice Chair, Historian, KAASP Chair, OPA Liaison (with appreciation to Dr. Mary Anne Teitelbaum for her mentorship in the transition), and eventually and reluctantly OSPA president, after being threatened by our former OSPA Business Manager, Cheryl VanDenBerge. Oddly, through those efforts I also had the amazing experience of becoming the president of the Ohio Psychological Association as well, which I’m sure they still celebrate Dr. Teitelbaum for having me join their Board of Directors.
After working in 56 school districts, I would find my way to Akron Public Schools, which even today one might question the wisdom of Dr. Bard in hiring me. Despite that, I made the transition to central office leadership work, becoming the District’s Central Office School Psychologist in 2009, where I continue to serve today. My work today is enhanced through the leadership of Akron’s Director of Special Education, Mrs. Tammy Brady. While many of us have the experience of simply being managed, few of us have the privilege of being led and mentored by an administrator whom so many of us consider a friend who just also happens to be our boss. I also have to recognize my dear friend, Ms. Lisa Johnson, who launched me into District leadership, realizing despite our differences, I had a bit more to offer. These days we find lots of work (and world) topics to debate, but I cherish having her friendship and guidance in the work. Then there’s Dr. Rob Kubick, who drew the short straw and shares an office with me, even after enduring me as a doctoral student colleague 22 years ago. Dr. Kubick is a fantastic human with the disadvantage of poor political affiliation, yet who is always there for everyone — even me, whether providing the equivalent of Amazon Prime dissertation editing and dropping off the manuscript at 4 am or sitting with me in the hospital throughout the night to afford me some company. Of course we know as the Award’s Committee Chair, this year’s applicant pool must have either been very short-sided or I must have paid him off well to advance my nomination. Let’s hope OSPA does better next year!
I also would be remiss without celebrating my wife, Holly. Whether helping support the Merkle Bistro, dissertation editing, or being my best friend, she is my rock. Equally, her family have been tirelessly supportive, including my father-in-law Larry Sherer (who has the privilege of the best birthday present ever, sitting here to acknowledge me!) and my mother-in-law Mary Lou Duff. Finally, I can’t neglect our furry children, including Rolly Dawg posthumously and Penelope Ray. Finally, there’s my father, who frankly still does not know what the hell I really do and had some flimsy excuse to bail out today after fracturing his knee. Here’s to a quick recovery, dad!
Lastly, to each of you in OSPA. You have allowed me, as a misfit toy, to have a community, a home, and professional network. So many of you have inspired me and helped me learn, so I celebrate knowing so many of you as colleagues and dear friends. I am deeply humbled and despite having been recognized twice by OPA, there is something so remarkable to have our community of school psychology take the time to confer the School Psychologist of the Year upon me. I hope you find your passion in school psychology, whether testing, counseling, administrator, or even getting your local teacher’s union to call you out by name in their newsletter, each of you have so much to offer our children, families, and staff we serve. Thank you and the first round at the bar if you find me is on me!