Hi all! I don’t know about you, but I am already starting to feel the effects of the time change. I don’t know whether to drink more coffee, take a nap, or just continue on as normal… Anyway, this week I wanted to focus on the educational side of our field as we have talked in past weeks about a bunch of different settings.

One of the reasons our field is great is because we can work in so many different settings. With that being said, more than half of all SLPs work in the schools, whether that be as a direct hire with a school district, a contract company, or otherwise.

Resource of the Week 🧰

Our resources this week is a study guide for chapter five in the "Advanced Review” book used for exam preparation. This study guide reviews articulatory and phonological development, as well as phonological processes and error patterns.

Weekly Spotlight 💡

Name: Ashley

Number of years in the field: 2

Favorite job so far and why: I love working with children! It is amazing to witness little ones go from saying one a few words and sounds to screaming 'Hi Ashley!' when they see you. I love supporting and encouraging communication and language in little ones.

What other fields did you consider before becoming an SLP?: I considered Physical Therapy. I decided not to do it because I did not feel it was the best fit for me.

Would you choose this field over again? Why or why not?: Yes! I love how versatile our field is. I feel like I will always have something to do. There are so many areas such as articulation and language, voice, swallowing (to name a few) and we can work with people across the lifespan. There are endless possibilities and I love that!

***If you would like to recommend an SLP to be featured in our Weekly Spotlight, feel free to reply to this newsletter edition or send them the link here***

Today’s Posting 💵

This week’s posting is for a school district in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Poughkeepsie City School District is located about 75 miles north of New York City and serves abut 4,700 students across their schools. Their posting for a speech-language pathologist lists typical responsibilities of schools SLPs - conducting evaluations, providing treatment for students, and attending IEP, eval, and other meetings as needed. Salary range for this position is $54,487-$126,091 annually. Benefits for this position are not listed, although I am assuming like many other school SLP positions, pay can be on a 9/10 month or 12 month payout. You could live close enough to the nation’s largest metropolitan area to take weekend trips without being surrounded by the constant noise!

This week’s position in Poughkeepsie can also be found on this website, which is useful if you plan to work in the schools. School districts nationwide use this website for vacancies.

Fun Fact 📌📔

There are over 128,000 public and private K-12 schools in the United States. Approximately 75% of these schools are public, 20% are private, and around 5% are public charter schools. If you want to read more US school statistics, read it here. Depending on the source of report, there are at least 12,000 school districts across the United States. It’s no wonder half of all SLPs work in the educational side of the field. You can read ASHAs guidance about getting started as an SLP in the schools here.

That’s all for today! If you like what you’re reading, consider being highlighted in the Weekly Spotlight as a graduate student. Click this link to complete the form😄 Talk soon,

— Meryl