Are you a new SLP in the Public Schools?

23 Aug

Are you a new SLP working in the schools for the first time?  It can be quite overwhelming when you first walk through that school door. You are often the only SLP in the building so you are left to figure it out on your own. I first wrote on this topic in 2010 and I find that most of it is still  relevant today.  I thought it was worth a rewrite for our newest SLPs.Library-300px

When I first started working in the public schools, I was uncertain on how to start the school year. I did my school internship during the spring semester and therefore didn’t get the experience for the fall opening.  Everything was scheduled and running so I had no idea what I should expect.

My first school year was in a setting where I was the only SLP.  Since that first fateful day, I’ve started school years in about 25 different buildings in 10 different districts with every kind of mix of caseload you can imagine.   Some things have changed over those 30+ years, but much remains the same.  For your sanity, acknowledge that you will be overwhelmed for the next few weeks.  Even the most seasoned SLPs have that feeling the first week of school. `

The first week of school usually consists of meetings and trainings that may or may not be relevant to you.  This is where your ability to discriminate what is important comes in.  You will find much of the information you are given doesn’t pertain to you directly.   Try to stay tuned long enough so you get the information you need and don’t get overwhelmed by the stuff you can ignore. A lot of it is meant for general education teachers only.

You will need the following information. Try to obtain information on building schedules such as lunch, recess and any duties you may be assigned.  Staff meetings and child study meetings will be important for your schedule. You will need a list of teachers, grades they teach, and contact information such as phone numbers and emails.  Find out your technology person so you can get set up with a phone number and email.  Get important district numbers such as the Special Education Director and mentor SLPs if there are other SLPs in your district you can call when you need information.

Don’t forget to introduce yourself to the office secretary and custodian.  These can be important people to you during the school year so get off to a good impression.  The secretary may be able to give you class lists with teacher’s names.  This is very useful for scheduling and finding your students.  It is likely to change but at least it is a start. Gather all this information and post, file, or place it in a special notebook that will be easily available when you need it.

A floor plan of the building is helpful for finding your way around.  This may be posted as a fire alarm drill plan in your room. I am directionally challenged so maps are very important to me. One year I worked in a district that had two High Schools with flipped floor plans. I worked in both buildings.  I spent my year heading out in the opposite direction every time I stepped out of my room.  You would think I would have a 50% chance of being right but it didn’t work out that way.Sketch232133541

Try to get into your office/therapy room and see what furnishings and materials are available to you.  Sometimes you can switch out things like shelves, chairs and tables those first few days.  We use to have a room of unwanted furniture that went into district storage after that first week.  It was almost impossible to get furniture after that. It was also difficult to get rid of unwanted furniture.

One of the most important things to do is to get to know your teachers.  We may be tempted to do the more tangible things such as paperwork and bury ourselves in our office. Getting to know the people will be the most beneficial in the long-term.   The teachers you work with are your best resource and it’s good to have them working with you.   It’s important to introduce yourself so you are on speaking terms and they can recognize you. The teachers are most available on the non kid days so take advantage of that.

In my district case managers are required to make teachers aware of any special needs students in their classrooms.  Some my students have picture schedules and other items that need to be explained to their teachers. I give teachers IEP information or make sure they know how to access IEP information.  I request a copy of their class schedules with highlighted times when it would be best to see students from their rooms.  This comes in handy when I start scheduling.

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Many places now use computer programs for electronic IEPs and Medicaid Billing.  This may require some training, but it doesn’t take long once you start using a program. I recommend finding a mentor if at all possible to answer questions.   Computers have helped with keeping paperwork organized, but I don’t think it has decreased it any.  The paperwork load continues to increase as the powers above keep adding one more form to fill out.  The rules can be quite different on how IEPs and CUM files are stored and who has access to them.  If you are lucky there will be a procedural notebook you can use as a reference.

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Then it’s time to dig into those files.  I usually have files from new kids that have moved in.  These need to be looked at and updated fairly quickly.  Hopefully someone knows where the caseload files are and can direct you to them.    The first year is the roughest because you do not know kids from last year and the file represents all that you will know about a child.  I try not to get too hung up on what it says in the files.  Most of the time the worse cases in print are not really as complicated as they may seem at first reading.  Usually until you put a face to the file you will not remember much of it.  I usually read it over and put the goals and objectives on to my data sheets I use for recording information from therapy sessions.  This goal sheet is what I use when I do scheduling for therapy sessions because it is easier to manage a one page synopsis when scheduling and making groups.  I use a simple excel template for each child.   I update the sheet as new IEP goals are written annually.  The 1st year involved a lot of time to put them together.  After that I’ve saved them from year to year and it has saved me a lot of time and effort as I only need to do the new students.

There are a lot of apps out there to help with organization.  I typically run a to do list on my desk top  under headings such as permission to test,  testing due, report due, schedule parent meetings, IEP, and file paperwork.  As I go through files I started to place students under the headings.  I found that this relieved a lot of stress for me because I didn’t feel I had to keep it all in my memory bank. I try to look a month ahead which is not always easy to do.

I do not see students the first week of school.  The scheduling often changes after that first week and I found myself making too many changes.  A lot of kids need to become comfortable with their classmates and schedules.  I found that scheduling by grades and classroom worked best rather and then by goals. I found that I could differentiate within a small group rather than trying to get all articulation students together and all language together from several classrooms. I often took students on the off day of their specials schedule which meant it would be a special day in a classroom of the same grade. I avoided taking students from a special class because it was not fair or worth not having the motivation of the student.

I often spend the time the first day in the kindergarten room.  Teachers always benefit from a few extra hands to get kids settled and parents need reassurance that Johnny can do without them. I am often the case manager for one or more new  kindergarten students and need to get to know them. The rest of the week is spent organizing the schedule, getting meetings set for new move ins, and checking on kids I haven’t seen since last spring that may be able to test out.  I try to have everyone scheduled for services by the second week so I can do a test run.

Here is wishing you  a great beginning to your new school year. May your move ins have complete files. May your schedule have adequate breaks so you may actually have an adequate lunch break and your schedule have room for your ten 4th graders that can’t miss any core instruction.  Good Luck!

Free Trial Association Task Cards

31 Jul

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I recently added a new resource on Teachers Pay Teachers and as usual I made a trial version for my readers to try.  I used my association cards a lot last year and realized they really needed updating.  I decided to add pictures to make them more appealing.  I also made them double sided so that an answer could be given and QRC code could be added for reasoning.  This allows students to independently check their answers and  the use of technology can be  motivating.  The pictures are appropriate for older students so may be used beyond elementary age.

If you would like to try the free trial just click below.  free trial button                                    Association cards animal and householdtrialpdf

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a Back to School Sale starting tomorrow. If you would like the complete set please visit my store by clicking on the sale sign below or the cover at the top of this post.  You will be able to get them at a discount when you use the code.   I would really appreciate any comments you may have.

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Have You Thought About Writing a Blog?

12 Jul

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“http://worldartsme.com/

Are you thinking about  designing your own blog?  Do You feel you have ideas to share and writing appeals to you? Do you read other blogs and say,  “I can do this.” Maybe you have a TPT store and wonder if a blog would help it to become more successful.  The goals and motivations for writing a blog are as varied as the people out there.

The number of Speech Language Pathologist (SLPS) who are writing blogs has mushroomed over the last few years. This has definitely made it easier for beginning SLPs to get materials,  A bit harder for blog writers to come up with new material.  Gone are the days of blowing your budget on high-priced commercial products as  you try to meet all your student or client needs. Now there are high quality products made by our fellow  SLPs. Some are even presented as free on Blogs and Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT).  As a group we are creative bunch and  love to share and communicate.

Individuals often wonder if they have enough to write  about.  I started this blog in 2009 and here I am still writing 7 years later.  I found this to be less of a problem than you might think. Once you are tuned in to finding topics, they will present themselves.  Some times the oddest topics make it big.  I wrote once about pulling out pool noodles and balloons for a therapy session.  It was written on a  whim. I was running out of ideas for my early language learners and thought that other SLPs may have the same problem.  A colleague pointed out  that the  post was mentioned in the blog jam section of ASHA.   That was not the post I would think was worth mentioning. I was urprised to see it there.  Up until then I had kept my blog writing endeavors low-key.   I didn’t think many of my colleagues were aware  I was writing it.  All of a sudden I had some notoriety.

Some topics work better than others of course.  I had visions of bad  comments flooding in and no one reading what I wrote. That never occurred.  I found that my audience was appreciative and my readers have  been more than kind.  I would not let that fear prevent me from writing.

As  I look back, some of my posts  were duds and some were surprisingly  well received.  Some took a while before people noticed them.  I have had a few occasions where free apps were offered if I reviewed the product.

The important thing is to be passionate about your topics and let your experiences come out in your writing and  have patience  if it seems no one is listening. Don’t be too hard on yourself at first. You will be surprised how much  your writing improves over time.

You don’t need to write everything at once. I typically write on a topic over multiple days.   I read it several times and make revisions. You don’t always know until after you hit that publish button if it is a good post. The draft button is my friend. I still feel  apprehensive every time I hit publish.  After you publish, it is strangely motivating to see how many people come to read and visit.  Comments are like gold stars.

I have read suggestions by others on how to get started writing a blog.  I get a chuckle because I didn’t have that list to follow when I started.  It shows you that you really don’t need the list.  I made mistakes along the way but I think I turned out all right anyway.  If I had followed a list mine would look something like this.

1. What is your goal?

I started out with a different goal than most people. At the time I was just looking for a place to store digital materials so they would be available when I needed them.  I had plenty of experience with not having materials when I started  new job settings.  It saved the day a number of times when I was able to bring it up on my iPad or print it out.  I decided I should put it up for sharing as long as I went through so much work. I wasn’t thinking of a commercial enterprise at the time.  Generally I was put off with too much advertising for products on other sites. Eventually I relented  to some advertising of  TPT products so I could have a self hosted site that was self-sustaining. It opened up new options.

2. Write frequently

It is important to write frequently so you establish an audience.  This is probably true at first. However, I didn’t put myself on a schedule.  I wrote on topics as they came up. Sometimes it was weekly because I wrote about groups that met weekly like my Social Pragmatic groups or Circle of Friends group.  An SLP work schedule can get pretty hectic as you know and I preferred the less pressure cooker approach. You need to have patience and just tell yourself it will grow slowly.  I saw most of my growth in the second year and each year increased.  I also listed resources separate from the Blog Posts so people would be inclined to visit later to find materials.

3. Where will I start? Will I use af free site or will I self host.?

I  started with wordpress.com. mainly because I had a daughter going through college at the time and she had taken a class using it.  I figured I should take advantage of that college education.  I did not have one iota of  experience building a blog. I didn’t even know if it would work for me so free was good. Free sites give you an opportunity to learn the ropes before committing.  Free WordPress.com sites have their own communities of followers and a forum  that was also very helpful. It was like starting in a playpen. You could get an idea of what it is like and have a safety net. They had a good spam catcher and hacker prevention. I missed that later on when my self hosted site got hacked. I fortunately got bailed out by my host who told me about a good security widget. That saved the day.

The free site did have some inconveniences.  You had to agree  to  advertisements that would pop up not of your choosing.  It was usually relevant to your blog content like mine usually had to do with education. You were not allowed to use  your site for advertising or affiliates.  I think TPT advertising may be frowned on although I never got an official notice.   There was less creativity  because you used Word press templates rather than your own design. You didn’t have access to plugins  And wdgets which allow you to do more personal touches. Free sites are good way to see if you want to do this long term. It is possible to transfer your site to a self hosted site once you get established. It is also possible to carry your followers along with you. WordPress provided transfer instructions that worked.  If I can do it anyone can.

I learned it was important  to take careful consideration to the name you choose for your blog.  If you choose a free blog the url may have the host name in it. The name you choose becomes part of  the url.  In my case I used a nickname and not my blog name.  It became (cjmonty.wordpress.com).  I regretted I started with this because it became confusing later on.  I decided to become self hosted later on and bought a domain name to correspond to the blog name.  It is important to research names that you can use in a domain so it will be less confusing when you make the switch.  Some domain names are already taken so be sure to check this out before you select a name.

I decided to become self hosting after 5 years.   How did I come to this decision?  It was a hobby I actually enjoyed.  I decided I wanted more control. There were a few times that my site over used the band width and was shut down.  I know, such a bad problem to have.  I decided I had outgrown my site and needed to get more serious about it. I also wanted more to say on how my site looked.

With self hosting, I bought a theme that I could manipulate the background and display.  I got access to plugins and widgets.  I got rid of pop up advertising and  could do my own advertising.  As TPT grew I was able to cover the cost of the blog.  Hopefully everyone benefited from the improvements.  I must end with a  warm thankyou to all of you who have supported the blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Pair Pear Tree

2 Jun

pear tree2016I have written before about how I have an end of the year tradition of putting up a pear tree. The students add pears on which  they have written  homophones or homonyms.  I give them a sucker in exchange for putting the pear up.  It becomes a bit of a competition and a learning experience.  It amazes me that students still come up with new ones after about 8 years of collecting them.

The tree is special because It is in  remembrance of my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Pilatski who had great ways to engage her students. I have fond memories of her.  She would like that it became a tradition.  Also one of my colleagues bought the pear die a few years back  in remembrance of her mother, a former teacher,  who also collected homonyms. It made my paper cutting so much easier.

I say this is the last pair/pear tree because I am retiring at the end of this school year and I don’t know if the tradition will be continued.  It still is a very nice  finale for my bulletin board.  I hope you have enjoyed all the art work my students have completed in their quest to give and follow directions in speech class.

I am retiring, but Speech Therapy still runs in my veins.  I will need to see how I reinvent myself.

 

The Order of Things Comparative Task Cards

14 May

My caseload includes  6th and 7th graders this year so I have had to dig out  activities for older students. These are a remake of comparative cards I have used in the past.  I have used them with my general education 4th and 5th graders as a speech task for articulation skills and they are able to do them.  My 6th and 7th grade language learners often need review of the vocabulary and the memory component is often a challenge. I like that they are direct instruction for what is needed in academics and the common core.

The original set of cards was text only.  I decided it would be useful to provide answers so students can independently check them.  This expands the ability of using them with partners if you are teaching a small class.  Pictures bring some  eye appeal  and a bit of cuing even for the older students. I try to make the pictures appropriate for an older more sophisticated eye.  Bubble heads do not go over very big with my teens.

The premise of these cards is very simple. Four items are listed along  with a  descriptive term.  Students reorder the items according to the descriptive term.  It seems simple but actually requires quite a few skills.  They need to have knowledge of the vocabulary listed and descriptive details for measurement so comparisons can be made.  They also need to use their short term  memory in oder to change the order.  The task lends itself to thinking about comparative vocabulary and using er, and est word endings. If you want to test them out, click on the button below and you will get a set of 12 task cards to try out.

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The order of things free sample 

If you would like a full set, I have them listed on TPT

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