Graduate Student / CFY Speech and Language Pathologist Placements
Lawrence Public School District
The Lawrence Public School District offers graduate speech and language pathology students school year placements at the pre-practicum, practicum, and internship levels, as well as full time Clinical Fellowships. Placements are available in a variety of settings and graduate students/ CFY clinicians are encouraged to participate in District-wide and school-wide trainings, initiatives, and professional development opportunities.
Our placements involve collaboration between the universities and the field site ensuring the graduate clinician completes the hours / activities consistent with the American Speech and Language Association (ASHA). It is our hope that student clinicians who successfully complete their training will apply for full time employment for their Clinical Fellowship Year in the District once they have completed licensure.
Lawrence Public Schools is a large, urban district with many speech and language pathologists, who are assigned students within various schools. There are approximately 14,000 students, many of whom are multilingual learners. Lawrence is a mid-size city located 25 miles north of Boston and 3 miles south of the New Hampshire border. The District serves a primarily Hispanic population and is classified as a Commonwealth Gateway City.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The role is for our graduate student clinicians/ CFY to gain knowledge in treating and / or diagnosing the following Communication Disorders:
- Language Disorder
- Speech Sound Disorder
- Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder
- Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder
- Unspecified Communication Disorder
The student / CFY clinician will be working with students with the following disability categories within a public-school setting ranging from preschool to high school:
- Development Delay
- Autism
- Sensory Impairment
- Physical Impairment
- Communication Impairment
- Specific Learning Impairment
- Intellectual Impairment
- Emotional Impairment
- Neurological Impairment
- Health Impairment
PROGRAM GOALS
The student / CFY clinician will gain knowledge in providing therapy and collecting data in small groups or individual sessions in an inclusion or pull-out setting depending on the child’s needs.
The student / CFY clinician will gain knowledge in providing therapy to students in the general education setting as well as in our specialized programs (Practical Academics 1 & 2, Independent Learning Programs and Medical Support/Sensitivities).
The student / CFY clinician will attend IEP meetings with their supervisor and gain knowledge in developing Individual Education Programs (i.e., annual goals / benchmarks, current performance level, accommodations).
The student / CFY clinician will gain knowledge in communicating with staff and families through phone calls and emails. Speech and language pathologists collaborate with other school personnel, parents, and guardians to enhance the communication needs of the student.
The student / CFY clinician will gain knowledge in low and high tech AAC.
The student / CFY clinician will gain knowledge in conducting, analyzing, and scoring evaluations and writing final reports.
The student / CFY clinician will learn how to bill for services under the ASHA/ MA state guidelines.
SUPERVISORY STAFF
Sheila Jones MS CCC-SLP has been assigned to answer any questions you might have regarding internships, practicum hours and CFY opportunities. She can be reached at sheila.jones@lawrence.k12.ma.us
All supervising speech and language pathologists have completed ethics training and supervisory professional development hours to meet the criteria of ASHA. In addition, all are seasoned therapists that are fully licensed through the DOE of Massachusetts, State Licensing Board of Mass., and ASHA certified.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants for the Pre-practicum, practicum placement must be enrolled in their first year of graduate school in an accredited university. In addition, the applicant must have completed any coursework required in accordance with their university.
The CFY applicant must have a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, passed the Praxis examination for state licensure and completed an initial license for the DOE of Mass.
Please send your application or inquiries to:
Sheila Jones MS CCC-SLP
Lawrence Public Schools
Office of Student Support Services
237 Essex Street 3rd floor
Lawrence, MA 01840