Barstow Unified School District
A K-12 school district serving more than 6,000 students
The Challenge
The district needed a way to reduce overwhelming caseloads and extensive travel time for its SLPThe Solution
The district partnered with PresenceLearning to deliver live, online speech-language therapyThe Results
PresenceLearning balanced the caseloads for its onsite SLPs and provided a proven alternative delivery method that is now used by 140 students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, up from 16 students during the district’s initial implementation“
PresenceLearning really helps our students thrive and make great progress on their individual education programs, plus our onsite SLPs have more dedicated time to spend with these students since the time they previously spent traveling was reduced.
Joni James, Director II of Pupil Services at Barstow USD
The Story
Of Barstow Unified School District
When its SLPs started to experience overwhelming caseloads and spend an inordinate amount of time traveling to and from various school sites, Barstow USD in Barstow, CA knew it needed a better way to support its onsite clinicians and the students they serve. Under the leadership of Director II of Pupil Services, Joni James, the district turned to PresenceLearning. In the initial year, PresenceLearning was successfully used with approximately 15 students with special needs from one elementary school, in addition to one student on home hospital. Since then, the district experienced ongoing shortages of onsite SLPs and used online therapy in a greater capacity to fill the void and help balance the caseloads of the district’s onsite SLPs.
Now, 140 students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are receiving online speech therapy. The district additionally plans to further expand its partnership with PresenceLearning during the 2018-19 school year to include online psychoeducational assessments. Barstow USD’s outstanding organizational leadership, teamwork, and improved outcomes in helping students with special needs succeed has resulted in it winning a PresenceLearning Award of Excellence for two consecutive years.
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Even our middle school students, who used to be embarrassed to go to in-person therapy sessions because of the ‘stigma’ around it, have been flourishing with PresenceLearning.
Joni James, Director II of Pupil Services at Barstow USD
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