I’m back with another post in my SLP 101 series. This series is meant to get you started if you’re new to the field or moving to the schools from another location. I’m hoping these tips and tricks for getting started are helpful. We’ve done SLP 101 for interviewing and salaries, getting you started, welcome letters and attendance and today we’re tackling scheduling! Scheduling for speech language pathology can be a dreaded event and I haven’t found the solution to make it work perfectly each year! 
Before you start to schedule you’ll need to gather the other schedules for your building. This includes building lunch and recess schedules. You’ll need each teacher’s weekly schedule. You’ll also need your intervention specialists schedules. Check with OT, PT, Reading Specialists and ESL teachers for their schedules as well. Once you have everyone’s schedule’s you will be able to work on yours! 
I start by making a grid on a large file folder. I can adjust the times on the side of the folder as needed to meet teacher’s schedules. You can see that I’m in this building for 2 and 1/2 days. I always try to schedule some ‘testing time’ and it helps if I go ahead and make post-it notes for those before I start. 
As you can see, I’ve erased some times and re-arranged because that perfect ‘every half hour’ schedule never seems to work out. Above is an example of what I write on my post-it. I put their grade and names. I start by making my first try for a schedule. Then I go to each teacher and let them give me feedback. 
Once I’m finished I put it into an excel sheet so that I can easily change it as the year goes. I gave you a blurry picture since I didn’t want any of my kiddos’ names to show! At the middle school, I pull each student’s schedule and then start by asking the Intervention Specialists when she thinks the best time to pull the student might be. With fewer students it seems to be a bit easier to schedule. I’ve heard it done many different ways, but that is what works best for me! 
Danielle from Sublime Speech made this hilarious e card that about sums it up! How do you complete scheduling? Is it a hassle or do you have flexible staff? Next up in my SLP 101 features, I’ll share my ‘working folders’.
The SLP 101 series covers topics for school based therapists. Check out these other SLP 101 Topics:
Getting Started in the Schools :: Learning Targets :: Working Folders :: Scheduling :: Welcome Letter, Attendance, Billing :: Interviewing :: Salaries :: Common Core
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I think it’s also important to speak with the principal and find out when you absolutely cannot pull students for speech. I can’t pull out of reading, writing, or math… so I’m limited to pulling from specials, science, centers, and concept refinement.
Unfortunately, the way I have to pull students, I get a lot of mixed groups because I have to go based off of their schedule and not really their needs.
I am the same way! Except we can’t pull from reading, writing, math, specials, UBT, and anytime they are pulled for other services… We always had to pull by grade because of schedules and ALWAYS have mixed groups and skills/goals in the groups. That’s when it becomes extremely important to have good games and activities that can be modified and used for MANY different target skills.
Im doing this right now and it is my most dreaded event of the year! Our school has this staggered lunch within grade levels that throws everything off (especially if I want to do a lunch bunch within a grade level). Totally frustrating.
It’s the worst thing I will do this year – thankfully! This year it only took four revisions because Title 1 Reading times continued to change! I also put my schedule in an EXCEL document because it is so much easier to change. It also has been beneficial when after you have everything done and a teacher wants to change his/her time, I can email my schedule and we can look at it together for possible solutions.
I wrote a post on scheduling: http://oldschoolspeech.blogspot.com/2013/08/that-s-word.html
It was a BREEZE to schedule, and involved little to no stress on my part!
I’m lucky that my district builds “intervention” time into the daily schedule. This way, I simply look at the intervention time each day for my students and know exactly when I can pull them. It pretty much makes my schedule for me. They will never miss new instruction or specials to come to speech. This makes it difficult if students that share intervention time do not have similar needs, but we make it work! It is sometimes difficult coordinating with OT, PT and reading specialists, as they are pulling during intervention time as well.
Painful, frustrating time! I use the sticky note method at my elementary school. Each student has a sticky note for the number of times they need to be seen. I’m on round two. After this, if a teacher says something doesn’t work, I will take my entire schedule to them and let them see the open times and the number of students their change will displace. Once they see how impacted my schedule is, they usually don’t argue much more. At my middle school, which is on block schedule, I try to schedule everyone during the first half hour of their P.E. classes and then work with teachers for my twice a weekers and social skills groups.
Preasure feel frustating times like this you to prioritize more important report.
I schedule everything around the Early Childhood/Pre-K classes because they are only in school for a half day. The staff at my school is pretty flexible which helps a ton! Working in lower elementary has worked out well. When I worked with 4th-8th graders, I had a really difficult time scheduling because the children switched classes so often.
Last year I only had time to spend one day in each building, two of which were new buildings. Well, you know how it is. Class lists, specials schedules, etc. aren’t done yet. So, going in during the teacher workdays to talk to teachers about schedules is almost anti productive. I used to gather each teacher’s can and can’t times etc. Then I’d sit with loads of papers and scratched notes in front of me trying to check and cross-check times which involved several revisits to some teachers because of conflicts. So, last year, I got so frustrated with lack of time to be in the building and the time crutch to start therapy that I send a Google spreadsheet to the teachers along with their student’s initials and how much time they had to be seen and told them to fill it in since they know their schedule best. It worked like a charm and I’m doing it for all my buildings this year. Saves much time and frustration!!! While it’s being filled out, I can be working on therapy planning and beginning of the year duties! Best wishes for a great school year!
This is my first time scheduling students at the beginning of the year. It’s a nightmare! I’ve worked on my schedule every weekend since the students have returned. I just finished the 4th draft today…
I have enjoyed reading some of your tips and tricks!
I am an online SLPA Program Director/Instructor in Alexandria, MN and I am also a working SLP. I know how frustrating scheduling can be for the SLP! Because of this, I teach scheduling to my SLPA students ( it is a mid term assignment within their first and within there second year too). They have to schedule 43 students, K-12 that are in two separate buildings. It is very eye opening for them. As they move through the process, I bombard them with emails telling them i.e. that they can’t take anyone out of Mrs. Smiths math class etc. We all know how it goes!! I try to make it very real.
The SLP’s who end up supervises my SLPA graduates are very thankful and the SLPA’s are too, since no one wants to be “thrown” into scheduling when you have no idea what to do!!