SLPA S UPERVISION – A N E VER - CHANGING M ODEL Patricia Forget, MS, CCC-SLP Sharon Jamison, MS, CCC-SLP Bridget Stauring, MA, CCC-SLP Nicole Schommer, MS, CCC-SLP Colorado Springs School District 11

F IGURING IT ALL OUT

H ISTORY School Year Seven full time SLP open positions $320,000 spent on contractors with no accountability School year $176,000 spent on contractors, three open SLP slots Feasibility of hiring/utilizing SLPAs?

H ISTORY School year Ten SLPA's hired With bachelor's degree/equivalent in communication disorders Ten different part time supervisors (NOT recommended) Developed a weighted rubric formula for allocation of SLPs and SLPAs Some SLPAs assisted SLPs and some had own buildings Provided modules training

H ISTORY School year Six SLPAs assigned to own buildings Two full time and two part time supervisors School year Five SLPAs New minimum requirement BA/BS and completion of SLPA course Continued to have two full time and two part time supervisors

H ISTORY School year Five SLPAs New minimum requirement BA/BS and completion of SLPA course Continued to have two full time and two part time supervisors School year (To be discussed more later) Eleven SLPAs Four full time supervisors

M ODEL Development of SLPA model Development of SLP/SLPA rubric SLPA Placement: Primarily in larger buildings STAR programs DHH SIED Severe needs

C HOOSING SLP S UPERVISORS Organization Time management Navigate multiple personalities Multiple building expectations Strong advocacy skills Strong knowledge of law and need for documentation

S UPERVISION F ORMS – S TATE RESOURCES SLP-A Fast Fact Updated Feb 2012 and several parts were changed due to Colorado Educator Licensing Act of 1991 Great resource for parents, teachers, and administrators who are wondering what the role of the SLP-A is and what supervision requirements are in place.

S UPERVISION F ORMS - P ERSONAL Attendance

S UPERVISION F ORMS - P ERSONAL Supervision documentation

S UPERVISION F ORMS - P ERSONAL Activity planning/data collection

L OGISTICS District/Administrative Level ESP (Educational Support Professionals) but not EA (Educational Assistant) – Authorized by CDE Staffing Coordinator meetings Department Level Monthly supervisor meeting PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) for SLPAs

SLP-A P ROFESSIONAL D EVELOPMENT Allowed 30 min. of consultation with supervisor per week. Not a sufficient amount of time for training District required PLCs for all staff so we worked with principals to have SLPAs PLCs separately. Started PLCs in , making use of district expertise. Spring 2012 – we started inviting the SLPs to attend This year, we are offering a certificate of attendance for participants to use for continuing education purposes.

W HERE ARE WE NOW ?? Currently employ 26 fully certified SLPs, 11 authorized SLP-As, and 4 full time supervisors. These employees cover 15 elementary and 1 middle schools. Total student caseload covered by SLP-As = approximately 445

F UTURE C ONSIDERATIONS School closures and consolidations Continued budget constraints Consistency & stability Supervisor workload Staff retirements Supporting SLP-As in getting certified Communication concerns Public relations Monitoring effectiveness of SLP-As and supervisors

C ONTACTS : For general questions: Bridget Stauring - For administrative questions: Kim Lovelace -