Townsend Community School is a statewide charter school located in Castalia, Ohio. The school allows a diverse population of students to access their education at their own pace by providing a more flexible school environment.
Lake Stevens School District is located about an hour north of Seattle in Lake Stevens, Washington. The district serves more than 9,000 students throughout 14 school buildings.
Skeptical would be an understatement. I thought students would need in-person therapy to build relationships with their therapists and make progress. But, I was very wrong about that.
Students’ cries for help often manifest as misbehavior, so our district focuses on restorative practices that get to the root of their problems.
Prior to PresenceLearning, I felt like students were being carried through the therapy process longer than they needed to be. Now, I feel like the needs of students are being met appropriately.
“I realized PresenceLearning could solve our problems. I wanted to start right away.”
“We have great communication between our staff, students’ families and the online SLPs, and our Customer Success Manager is fantastic. She formally meets with us on a quarterly basis and she frequently touches base to make sure the program is running smoothly. The level of service we receive from PresenceLearning is amazing.” - Mary Luhr, Director of Special Services at Norfolk Public Schools
Our students with autism, who sometimes have difficulty connecting directly with people, have been benefitting from – and participating more – using PresenceLearning.
PresenceLearning could not have been more supportive in our time of need. They worked closely with us to get up and running. Not only did they give us materials to help answer questions, they were on-site train us.
Having the PresenceLearning therapists and our onsite therapists discuss problem-solving strategies and share best practices together has created a really cohesive relationship and has been a real benefit to our team as a whole.
To be successful, it takes a village and the collaborative partnership between PresenceLearning’s team and our entire staff – from our on-site therapists and assistants to technical support team – has been such a positive experience and true benefit to our students.
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
PresenceLearning gives the district the flexibility and creativity to meet the needs of all students.
It’s been amazing to see. Students have developed a real affinity for the online format and it really helps meet students’ need in an efficient way.
Our students are engaged in the therapy process and making great progress thanks to PresenceLearning and the terrific support teams we have in our districts
We were having difficulty hiring additional SLPs and our existing on-the-ground SLPs were already experiencing high caseloads across the board
I think PresenceLearning online occupational therapy is a wonderful program. These children respond really well to computers and technology, and with the right therapist on the other side, students are totally engaged.
Although Georgia does not currently provide Medicaid reimbursement for telepractice, the district paid for the services out-of-pocket and still saw financial benefits over contracting with an SLP through a staffing agency or hiring an on-site SLP.
“Watching the online therapy sessions, it is amazing to see just how engaged the students are. We can tell they are doing good work because the online SLP has a great rapport with students and students are so at ease her.” Sommer Jones, Director of Special Education and Student Services at Synergy Academies
“While there was some skepticism at first about switching to online speech therapy, we have been truly impressed with what we’ve seen. More so than ever, students are excited to go to their therapy sessions. The students remain engaged throughout the whole session because of the high level of interaction with their therapist from PresenceLearning.” Glenda Robinson-Scott, Supervisor of Special Education at MHPSAS
"We have received very positive feedback on the quality of therapy, the amount of student improvement and the amount of information to which parents have access."
“ Having the capability to search through a large bank of therapists to find specialized expertise in a particular area is definitely a strong point.”
“With the growth in the number of students coming into the district who qualify for special education, our RtI program is more important than ever and PresenceLearning is providing the flexibility and help we need to implement our RtI strategies.” - Peggy Jadack, Director of Pupil Services at Sparta Area School District
"PresenceLearning allows us to serve a portion of our students with special needs without having to overload our SLPs." - Kristy Chapman, Special Education Director of the Union County Board of Education
"PresenceLearning has turned out to be a great resource for our district." - Eric Cederquist, Superintendent
"PresenceLearning is working really well for us. The kids like it and the parents like the progress their kids are making." - Trisha Vais, Director, Trivium Charter School
"It's a great service. It can absolutely work and we've seen great results. Students definitely make progress and it has lightened the loads for on-site SLPs. I wouldn't hesitate to say it is highly recommended." - Erika Bare, Special Education Teacher, Medford School District Office
"PresenceLearning has filled a significant gap in finding speech pathologists" - Ms. Vicki Shadd, Director of SELPA/Student Services for Glenn County Office of Education
"I've been very impressed during our IEP meetings with the PresenceLearning SLPs---they've done great data collection and know the kids really well." - Kristin Hirschmann, Special Services Program Director
"I would recommend it to other schools in a heartbeat. I'd say, 'Stop what you're doing and use Presence.'" - Angie Guterres, Provider Coordinator for Special Services, California Virtual Academies