The beginning of the school year can be challenging for school-based SLPs— especially when working with teachers who are either new to your school or new to the field. Effective communication and collaboration with teachers are vital to providing the best care for students. Understanding common problem points in advance will help you be better prepared for your interactions with new teachers. Use these 4 tips to have tough conversations with new teachers and make this school year easier for everyone!
Common Problem Points
Expect to encounter at least one of these common challenges with new teachers. As you consider each one, remember you are all working to help students succeed. Proactively extend grace to teachers, and don’t assume the worst intentions are behind each problem point.
Behavior Problem Referrals
First, you may find yourself inundated with inappropriate referrals. Often, new teachers are overwhelmed and students who cause extra distractions in the classroom are quick to make speech referrals.
Teachers likely aren’t fully knowledgeable of what an SLP does when they refer these “behavior students” to you.
Inappropriate Expectations
Next, some teachers have unrealistic expectations regarding their students’ speech and language skills. They will send students to you when they aren’t speaking out enough in class, don’t say their /r/ sound perfectly as a Kindergartener, or whisper in response to questions being asked.
Teachers who have recently moved to a lower grade level and are used to the higher skill levels of older students are more likely to refer students to you with unrealistic expectations.
Speech Schedule
Another common issue is teachers agreeing to a speech schedule and then expressing frustration when you begin to pull their students from class. This can be for a variety of reasons:
- maybe their classroom schedule changed and they forgot to tell you
- they agreed to the schedule without considering other necessary pieces of information
- they’re just overwhelmed as a new teacher and you’re the first person who receives their frustrations
- and more
Lack of Carryover
You likely will also have challenges with teachers who are resistant to incorporating speech and language strategies into their classrooms. This may be due to a lack of time or resources to carry out these strategies, but it also might be due to a misunderstanding of the strategies’ importance.
4 Tips to Have Tough Conversations with Teachers
It is important to confront teachers when experiencing these challenges! Use these 4 tips to confidently have tough conversations with teachers:
- Establish Clear Communication
- Provide Educational Resources
- Be Proactive
- Collaborate As Much As Possible
1. Establish Clear Communication
First, you must establish clear communication. Open and honest communication with teachers is crucial for the success of your shared students.
Regularly check in with teachers to discuss student progress and any concerns that may be cropping up.
Avoid scheduling excessive meetings as teachers are already so pressed for time. Use email, a shared online platform, or communication logs to keep everyone informed (as long as it’s FERPA-compliant, of course).
2. Provide Educational Resources
Next, equip teachers with the right information to prevent misunderstandings and encourage better collaboration.
Share this FREE guide on an SLP’s scope of practice with new teachers at the beginning of the year to help them understand your role and responsibilities as a school SLP (or all teachers for a good refresher!)
You can also provide teachers with helpful information about developmental norms for speech and language to ensure they aren’t sending students to you with unrealistic expectations in mind.
*Share these helpful educational resources with teachers at an introductory faculty meeting or slip flyers into the teacher’s mailboxes!
3. Be Proactive
You also need to be proactive— both with teachers and yourself!
Be Proactive with Teachers
Address potential issues before they become problems to save everyone time and reduce frustration.
Potential challenges may include:
- Frequent schedule changes
- Schedule conflicts such as scheduling speech sessions during the intervention block
- Pulling out several students from one classroom at different times
- Students missing a scheduled classroom bathroom break and then disrupting the class by asking as soon as you drop them back to their classroom
- Teachers scheduling additional “fun tasks” during scheduled speech sessions and not wanting students to miss out
As much as possible, offer solutions and be open to compromise while still maintaining your professional boundaries. Keeping a positive rapport with your colleagues is important but advocating for your students is even more vital!
While you want to be flexible with teachers, it is important to politely and firmly set boundaries. IEPs are a contract, and not all teachers understand that you are legally obligated to provide these services.
Be Proactive with Yourself
You can be proactive with yourself by spending time preparing to have these difficult conversations (like you are now!)— because they WILL happen.
How to Have That Difficult Conversation by Henry Cloud is a fantastic resource. Listen to the audiobook during your commutes to and from school and learn practical advice and strategies for having hard conversations with teachers and other professionals.
As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission when you use the links in my post. There is no increase in the price you pay!
4. Collaborate as Much as Possible
Finally, always be open to collaboration! Yes, you have to follow what is outlined in each student’s IEP, but you can take a few small steps to make things easier for teachers (which ultimately helps your students too!).
Be sure to share practical, easy-to-implement strategies with teachers. Be willing to demonstrate these techniques and provide frequent support to be sure each teacher feels comfortable integrating them throughout the day.
Also, be willing to change your schedule when dealing with true timing conflicts. It’s a timely job, but it is worth it when necessary.
Use these 4 tips to confidently have tough conversations with teachers, and remember— you are exactly the SLP who your students need to thrive at school this year!
You may also be interested in reading:
How To Embrace & Nurture Your Identity as an SLP
4 PRACTICAL Tips to Share with Caregivers for Summer Speech Success
3 Ways to Build Trust and Respect with Caregivers: A Guide for Pediatric SLPs
