What do the schools you work in value about you?
Organization
Helping with academics/flexibility
My different perspective
My flexibility
Helping students succeed. Being Flexible. Working with students that may not get tested.
Professionalism
Commitment to students, roles, and responsibilities
Staring discussions to get the ball rolling, speaking bluntly.
I give kids extra time with a grown up
See kids on consistent schedule, help students
I do a lot of work with our children with autism
Flexibility, easy to talk with, show up and do my job
The ability to help the children grow in speech and language abilities to succeed in school
I do my paperwork, see kids and make parents happy
Being a positive role model and helper to students
I help kids with speech sounds
That I support teachers and those students who need extra help to succeed
That I can help impact literacy skills
I get the job done quietly
Providing accommodations
I help students speak and read more clearly
Helping students with sounds and language skills
They value the additional support, re-evaluations
Supporting student success in the classroom
I don’t think my schools totally get what I can do and therefore don’t value it enough
I help students increase speech and language skills which increase reading, lang, academics, people skills, team skills etc.
Extra language support
Meeting deadlines and having my work complete
Teachers value anything I do extra to save them time or to help their students be successful in their classrooms
What do parents value about your work or school?
That someone has identified that their child needs extra help and is now helping them
Extra attention to needs and support
Fix them
That I believe their child is important and can make progress
That their child is getting the extra help and attention that they need
Building relationships with their child. Knowing we care and want their child to do the best they can.
Help for their child when they don’t know what to do
Parents value my advocacy for their children
The extra support for their child and someone who advocates for them
Parents value that I provide their student with extra support to help them become more confident communicators and learners
Helping their child become more confident
They aren’t always sure what I do or how I help
Taking the time to nurture and support their child’s learning
Consistent therapy sessions per week, which I do not feel my students get
Our work makes a consistent difference. Appreciate our team efforts and expertise.
Additional support, understand what their child needs to be successful to learn.
The support provided to their children and them as families to make positive changes.
Since I work with significantly impaired preschoolers, most parents value the ability to help their children talk (not communicate, but TALK)
That I get to know kids. They like that I see kids individually/very small groups (even though it makes it tougher for me to schedule)
That I’m helping bring their grade up
Communicating with them
Support
Where I work, parent support is minimal
That we care about and want to help their children
The ability to make changes in students education or goals/needs
Communicating needs/successes of their child regularly….feedback on their child’s progress
Teachers really care about their kids
Focusing on specific difficulties that help them understand the general education curriculum
How do you spend most of your time at work?
With students, in REED, IEP, staff meetings, parent meetings, therapy, testing, meetings, paperwork, working in class.
With kids, driving, paperwork
Trying to get stuff off my to do list and still seeing kids
Direct treatment with students
Students, paperwork, planning, meeting with teachers, parent meeting
Interacting with students, staff and families
With students, paperwork, planning, talking with teachers
Most of my time at work is spent helping others. In some way! Even Medicaid billing is helping others and I completely understand that!
Working with students directly
With students or doing paperwork
Direct with student and lots of paperwork, also researching ideas online
With students or on the computer doing paperwork
With students in therapy or doing paperwork and Medicaid
Meetings and students, all paperwork is at home
Working on paperwork and seeing students
Working with students, but not as much as I need to or I used to
60/40 direct/indirect time, all benefiting the families & children I work with
With students, paperwork, IEPs
Working/Playing with students…close second is paperwork
Meetings first, students second
Meetings and then students
Meetings, paperwork and scheduling time to work with students
Roaming the halls
Working with kids, little time for paperwork
My body is with kids, but my brain is on deadlines, phone calls, paperwork, medicaid etc.
Working with kids
Dreading medicaid billing
What do students value about your work or school?
Safe place, fun and focused attention on them
Getting attention
Helping them achieve their communication goals
They like having fun with me and the extra attention
Depends on their age, older want help and younger want fun
Having fun and building relationships
Especially the difficult kids, we may be the only adult who hears them
My relationship with them, do I listen to what they want to tell me?
Do I care about their day and pretzels?
Getting out of class
To improve communication to help in class and be understood with family and friends
One student said “you are helping me put the bread on the table” when he landed an interview after practicing interviews in speech
The relationships over time. That I understand what they need and we have fun while they work
That I make time to listen to them
Individual time, caring students love fun activities and interacting with others
Listening skills, taking notes, having fun
Getting to know them on a personal level, someone who listens
Students value speaking correctly so others won’t tease them
Students like practicing materials they will use in their classrooms so that they can be successful learners
One on one time, attention, games
The opportunity to make a difference to a student, parent or colleague
A safe place where they can ask questions and admit not understanding something without the fear of ridicule. A place where they are respected and valued.
That we work together making something that is hard, less hard
What is the purpose of your work?
So kids can connect with the world outside of them and social media
To increase comfort/skill with communication
To help kids communicate
Make a difference in a child’s ability to communicate, one of our most basic human needs
Give kids the skills they need to interact with the curriculum
To communicate for social emotional and academic purposes
To facilitate inclusion
To reduce frustration
To provide a way to participate
Communication across the board
To increase communication skills in the academic setting related to academic/curriculum/classroom expectations and post high school goals
Be successful learners and communicators
Helping students feel valued, helping them realize their strengths, helping them make connections to the curriculum, the ah-ha moments.
Helping the students communicate in their world
Improved social interactions
It is so powerful, personally, to have a moment when you can clearly articulate an idea you have, supporting another persons ability to have the same opportunity is powerful.
Build relationships, help children
Encouraging and uplifting kids. They can accomplish anything!
Help others
Students
Teachers
Parents, grandparents
Other co-workers
Helping improve communication skills
Help kids become career and college ready
Support the communication needs of others
Improve academic performance and social relationships
To help students be able to understand and communicate for increase quality of life
Helping kids get a better start that can impact them for life
Facilitate communication skills or increase confidence in communication skills
Support developmental growth of young student to encourage success with early childhood curriculum
Helping children and families be successful
Helping children be successful in general education setting
Helping kids access their education by becoming better communicators
What are you passionate about in your work?
Helping children and making families lives easier
Helping children communicate their needs/wishes, best as they can
Helping the students and building relationships with their teachers and families
Helping students increase communication/language and academics/other IEP goals to move forward and improve to meet post high school goals
I love to make a difference in people’s lives
Helping kids who may have been overlooked
Working with kids and making a difference in their life
Life focus future focus for students
Building relationships
Helping children become confident in communicating (friendships)
Building relationships
I am passionate about making a different in the lives of the children I serve. I want to make their lives easier than they would be if they did not get my help.
Helping students be better communicators
That the kids know that I love them
Every child can learn
Helping students feel reassured hat hey are wanted and ok in a world of questions and not good enough social media
Developing positive relationships with the students, helping them realize they can be successful in school
Working with students and seeing when they have an ah-ha moment.
Working with kids and families
Connecting with the students and helping them feel successful
Working with families, being the support they need at initial diagnosis etc.
Helping kids find that light bulb moment
Helping kids know they are not alone, forming a connection to help them when they are struggling
Working with the kids and getting to know them
Kids feeling accepted and worthy, of great value
Forming relationships with children to develop trust and increase progress
Building the relationships and helping families
Smiles and ah-has from kids
Taking kids for what they are and where they are, then helping them learn and grow and change
Being with the kids and helping them
Making connections with people
Knowing students feel safe and respected when they see me. Being a part of the moment when they make a connection and finally understand
What are we proud based on these “chalk talks”?
Individuals feel valued in their school based on their impact on kids
Relationships with students and families
Spend day working directly with kids
Being advocates for student at home and in the classroom
Move the students forward in not only speech goals, but other goals and academics (tied to post school outcomes)
Belief in life long impact on kids, self-esteem
Flexibility
What are we concerned about based on these “chalk talks”?
The amount of paperwork involved, spent on personal time
Caseload, workload
Parent involvement, only advocate for kids
Access to students, GE curriculum vs. specially designed instruction, kids who get multiple services
Time with students, time to connect with teachers
Lack of behavior support, working outside of our roles
Balance of seeing kids and documenting
Work smarter not harder
Special education IEP systems
Pulled to do “other duties as assigned”
Feeling like you can’t speak up to help in areas you have an expertise because you are spread too thin
Professional Learning is geared towards teachers
THE TOP THREE GAP AREAS/PRIORITY FOCUS
SLP ROLE- What are the challenges underneath this? / VotesDon’t make us the focus group person / 7
FTE needs to incorporate MTSS responsibilities, screenings, evals, case management etc. / 12
Consistent MTSS practice for language and articulation / 1
Tier II MTSS Students not counted on our caseload though we are still serving them / 1
How can we provide service for MTSS students and our caseload SLI students / 0
How tiered MTSS intervention is organized, if you have it at preschool and MS levels / 0
Leave room in these guidelines for professional judgment if there is data to support a need or no need / 7
Holt uses skyward and others use illuminate ed, we need consistency / 6
FTE allocation doesn’t match current student needs, caseload vs workload (state guidelines) / 26
Resources, amount of SLP time dictate what roles we have / 0
SLP FTE per building and building assignments / 2
How many buildings an SLP serves / 1
Case management duties / 7
MARSE requirements / 0
Keep in mind we don’t get subs / 0
Consider time spent, recess duty interventions / 0
Building population (special programs, ASD class, CI program) / 1
Teacher understanding of communication deficits and the defined role of the SLP in the building / 1
Number of other special ed staff in your building / 0
Buildings are making more decisions about our time, materials that leads to lack of consistency / 2
SLPs shouldn’t be assigned to recess duty! / 0
SLP collaboration, increased time together to initiate and tackle needs / 11
Building practices that conflict with best practices for supporting students, there is not discussion or flexibility it is “just the way it is” / 2
IDENTIFICATION PRACTICES, ENTRANCE & EXIT CRITERIA- What are the challenges underneath this? / Votes
Communication between Early On and locals in transition from Part C or MMSE to Part B / 0
Not able to access general education data / 0
Data is so important that professional experience is not given appropriate weight, kids are more than a number / 6
Leave room for professional judgment / 1
No access to portable audiometer to screen hearing before language/artic evals / 0
Some use 78 standard score for initial eligibility but decert criteria as 80 / 0
Inconsistency, SLPs across the ISD are using standard scores between 85-78 for initial eligibility / 21
ID practice, no one set of norms for articulation and norms are old / 5
Standard score cut off scores 1.33 standard deviations or more below equals SS 80 or below / 0
MTSS vs. Caseload (when to move a student to caseload) / 8
Pressure to dismiss at middle school level (before 7th grade) / 6
Differences in elementary vs secondary / 0
Limited by what tools are available and budget / 10
Had to write a grant for CELF-5, not enough funds / 0
Testing availability limited by budget / 0
Money for tests CELF 5, Goldman Fristoe 3, tests do not give consistent scores / 3
Using standardized tools that meet the reliability needed / 0
SERVICE DELIVERY (Rationale, Documentation & Model) - What are the challenges underneath this? / Votes
Secondary vs. Elementary / 3
What does this look like at Pre-K and Middle School / 0
SLPs have limited access to technology, wifi, smartboards, all other teachers have these / 8
Service delivery is a bigger issue than SLP choice, it is about district systems / 0
How do we account for severe delivery for kids with more severe disabilities / 1
5 min articulation- Director questioning it, maybe they don’t understand it / 0
Lack of time to implement MTSS when caseload comes first / 0
Building rapport with teachers allows for push in / 3
Schedule / 3
Student availability / 0
Suggestions for Moving forward with this work:
SLPs should have their own PLC and not always meet with other disciplines
This needs to be completed this school year
Look at what we have currently, nationally, in the state, in our county
These need to be open meetings to all Ingham SLPs
If they can be the other half day of PLCs that is preferred
Alternate Days of the week
Send out a Doodle
Keep the same facilitator, partner with SLPs if people are willing