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From: Dick Mallard
Date: 18 Oct 2009
Time: 15:58:46 -0500
Remote Name: 70.115.247.118
Jane, this is a very good question. Don't discount working in the schools. But, I will say you should be careful which school you work for. There are districts who do not care how many children you are seeing as long as there are no problems or law suits. And yes, you may have a director of special education that knows nothing about speech-language pathology and therefore cannot/will not make decisions based on your recommendations. Caseload size and lack of administrative support are two of the biggest problems you will face in a school system. There are districts, however, that are ideal. I started in a small district where I was the only speech-language pathologist and they were so glad to have me they did exactly what I asked. I believe small districts are probably easier to work with since they sometimes have a hard time finding people to work there. The district where I consult now is in the fourth year of new service delivery model where I can work in the clinical model that I want. Work for one of those! Then, you will enjoy your job because the district allows you to practice what you know best to do for each child. Time management is an issue with everything. Everyone has one thing in common--we all have the same amount of time. You can manage your time effectively if you have a job situation that will allow you to do that. Obviously, districts who require you to have 120 children on your caseload does not care about you managing your time. Again, this goes back to working in a place that will allow you to be a professional. You need to be very diligent in the job hunting process. To that end, I wish you success.