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Fairfax County Public Schools is recognizing its school psychologists during National School Psychology Week, held Nov. 3-7, 2025, while highlighting the leadership behind a team of more than 200 specialists.

This year’s theme, “Finding Your Path,” reflects how school psychologists help students, families and staff navigate challenges involving learning, behavior and social and emotional well-being.

School psychologists work with families, teachers and administrators to foster safe and supportive learning environments. They use consultation, collaboration and evidence-based practices to address students’ academic and mental health needs.

Senior Manager of School Psychology Services Donna Desaulniers oversees that work across the division. Her supervisor, Intervention and Prevention Services Director Mike Axler, said she has created numerous opportunities for employees to develop as leaders, including mentoring new psychologists, supervising interns and directing professional learning and divisionwide initiatives.

Axler also credited Desaulniers with helping develop programs that reduce academic, social and emotional barriers to learning. Under her leadership, the department has strengthened risk assessment, crisis intervention and preventive mental health support while creating specialist positions intended to improve services throughout FCPS.

Desaulniers has also launched professional development programs aligned with the school division’s strategic plan. Axler said her initiatives have improved service delivery and staff retention while making a measurable difference for students.

Her influence extends beyond FCPS. Desaulniers mentors professionals through the National Association of School Psychologists and represents Northern Virginia in the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists.

She also helped expand and formalize the FCPS mentorship program for new school psychologists. The program later received national recognition in the book Supervision in School Psychology: The Developmental, Ecological, and Problem-Solving Model.

The recognition coincides with FCPS’s broader commitment to student health and well-being under Goal 2 of its 2023-30 Strategic Plan, which focuses on ensuring students feel safe, supported, included and empowered.