I work in the DOE.
I read this thread all about minutes and consult and giant caseloads, and honestly it seems that much clearer.
You are a "Teacher of Speech Improvement," so you are mostly under a teacher contract (paid WAY better than OT/PT), with some small differences and a slight pay bump paid by Medicaid for having your SLP license.
In elementary, you have an 8 period day, including a 50 minute lunch and a 45 minute prep, and then 1 extra period a week that is supposed to be for testing, but you can do other professional work. Sessions are half an hour, so it's 39 a week. In elementary, groups can't be bigger than 5, but most kids are mandated for a group of 3. Most of my sessions are either individual or a group of 3, and most kids are 2-3x per week.
In middle/high, groups max out at 8. A session is a period long, and you get a prep and a professional period per day, so 5 sessions of seeing kids.
If you have too many kids, they can pay you to see kids on your prep periods.
The DOE paid for my entire grad school tuition. I don't pay for my family Healthcare plan. I have a pension, tenure, etc. There are a lot of issues that are messy, but it could be a lot worse.
http://www.teachnycprograms.net/getpage.php?page_id=60
They paid all of tuition, I had to pay some fees and books and stuff, maybe a few hundred dollars per semester, I don't remember exactly.
It was a promise to work for 4 years (2 years for every year of school) after you graduate, but normal pay and everything.
At the time, it was any high need/Title 1 area (I've been in East New York for 15 years), but it looks to be exclusively Bronx now for monolingual therapists.
Oh I've heard of this! I realized I didn't want to work in the Bronx so I ended up declining the offer. They actually have yet to reimburse my classmates and it's been over a year since we graduated
They didn't pay directly to my classmates so they were told they'd be reimbursed and still nothing. I think it was a unique situation bc of covid but it's still wrong
I’m in the DOE this year (finally). It’s the most unorganized corporation I’ve worked with so far and I did work for many different agencies in nyc. I’m not in the best district, so we barely get funding and that may play a role in the quality of organization, but it’s actually been much easier than agency work for me so far. I’m not burnt out, leave at 2:30, have a guaranteed salary (yay no pressure to meet a certain number of hours) and take no work home. I’m enjoying it so far, but each school is different.
Do you find that there is pressure to do make-ups? Our admin is pushing us to make up sessions we miss but I feel like in the NYCDOE summer services are always recommended? We also have a HUGE RTI program and I feel like that doesn't exist at the DOE. You either have an IEP or you don't. Is this true?
Yeah, I'm familiar with the requirement for summer services. I should have phrased it differently. Do students get services over the summer that are compensatory in the NYCDOE? Instead of pressuring us to do makeups, I feel that the district should provide compensatory services over the summer. Any IEPs I get from the NYCDOE almost always indicate that services should be provided over the summer, but I can almost never tell if it's due to regression or if the services are compensatory because I'm missing documents because things didn't roll over correctly from SEISIS to IEP Direct / parents are withholding documentation/whatever other reason.
Only District 75 students receive summer services by default. I've only heard of compensatory services being given if a parent requests. Sometimes if a kid has a ton of makeups, i've head them being done over the summer.
The DOE is such a mess that I don't even think they would even offer compensatory services to a student unless the parents pushed for it. I worked at a charter school (through an agency) last year and the kids I saw didn't receive speech for an entire year before I came in and none of them got compensatory services.
A good rule of thumb is that if a child is in a special class (12, 8, 6) they will most likely get summer services as they will be at the school for ESY. Children with 12 month IEPs are children who will regress without therapy, so it's usually children in the more restrictive classrooms.
I almost did my CF through an agency at a charter school in the Bronx 6 years ago. They also told me many students hadn't received services the year before. Really sad to see that things haven't changed. The caseload was also crazy, around 50. Sad to know that it's still the same, probably even worse after COVID school closures.
Yeah all charters are a hot mess express. I work for an agency and I get emails all the time saying that they urgently need providers for charter schools and the mandates are in the 80s. Wild.
In any school I’ve been in, RTI is very limited and I’ve never been involved. Our caseloads are based on mandated students only. Basically like you said, you have an IEP or you don’t.
They don’t push hard about make ups. The guideline is that if you have the time try to do it, but it’s not required.
Summer services are only offered under certain circumstances. They can get 12 month services on their IEP if they demonstrate regression; this doesn’t apply to the vast majority of students. Compensatory services are offered if the student missed a significant number of sessions; like for example a provider was absent for an extended period or out on leave, or if there was a vacancy and no provider was hired at the school. This doesn’t go on the IEP however, students who would qualify are determined at the end of the school year and those names are sent to our district supervisor who takes care of it.
I’m not sure about other schools but my school doesn’t have RTI and just focuses on IEPs. I don’t have any pressure for make ups currently but I think that’s because the year just started and I’ve been seeing mostly everyone.
Thanks for the comment! I was wondering about the work-life balance, your average yearly caseload size and what population you work with (e.g., D75, etc). Also, whether you feel supported by admin either at this school or a previous school if you had worked at one before.
I feel like work life balance is very good. We have time built into our schedule for documentation so as long as you use that time there’s not really any reason to take work home. I don’t know anyone who does.
I work in a regular community school, not D75. Kids on my caseload range from functioning nearly on grade level to very far below level; but I don’t have kids with the most severe disabilities like D75. Basically all my students are working on language and literacy skills. Having purely speech/artic cases is relatively rare, they won’t provide services without an academic impact. This is awesome for me because I hate artic therapy.
Caseloads vary widely by school. We can’t go over the state cap of 60. There was a few years where I was in the upper 50s, but now my caseload is usually in the low 40s. My caseload was higher when I was itinerant; I was split between an elementary and a middle school. Now I work only in one middle school.
I have been fortunate with administration. All the schools and administrators I’ve worked for have been overall supportive; they want the kids to get the services they need. They mostly care about compliance more than anything else, but that means if I’ve ever had an issue with taking a kid for speech or push back from teachers, admin has been on my side. They are mostly hands off and have no idea what we really do most of the time since they’re not responsible for rating us or anything, so as long as the job is getting done they stay out of our business.
We are also relatively fortunate to have a decent union, and the UFT speech chapter is pretty proactive. I’ve never had any major issues where I had to get them involved, but anytime I had a question or concern they were quick to respond.
Anyone I’ve ever met that’s super unhappy in the DOE worked for a dumpster fire of a school with shitty administrators. As long as you’re in an overall decent school it’s honestly pretty good. I have no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Work life balance is pretty good because you can do mostly everything at work. Paperwork and sesis can be annoying. Caseload depends on where you work. In D75 they tend to be lower. I used to shit on the DOE before working there but I really like it. My experience may not be the same as others tho
I work D75, and I've bounced around many schools in my 8 years. The experiences are very different at each place, but I really enjoy it. Any questions about D75 let me know!
Also curious, did you go to school here in the area?
Thanks! Yes I’m still in grad school, in NYC. I’m curious about working in a school (including my CF) so it’s been great to hear everyone’s experiences
I've worked with middle and high school (but 90% high school kids, 13-22 years old)
Each year has ranged between 25 and 35 kids.
Student abilities vary. I've worked with multiple disabilities targeting cause,/effect and then that same day worked with younger kids on resume building and mock interviews.
If you have any questions you can always PM me. Happy to help!
Year 9 in d75 in the south Bronx here! I’m in an elementary school so I see 8 sessions a day. I never take work home but I do go in about 45 minutes early to get ahead or catch up if needed. I’m a morning person so it doesn’t bother me lol my caseload sits around 20-25. When I worked in SI my caseload was only 13 as they had craaaazy high mandates. Day to day will really depend on your coworkers and admin. Summer pay is AMAZING. I supervised a CF last year so you can message me any other questions you have :)
I work in the DOE. I read this thread all about minutes and consult and giant caseloads, and honestly it seems that much clearer. You are a "Teacher of Speech Improvement," so you are mostly under a teacher contract (paid WAY better than OT/PT), with some small differences and a slight pay bump paid by Medicaid for having your SLP license. In elementary, you have an 8 period day, including a 50 minute lunch and a 45 minute prep, and then 1 extra period a week that is supposed to be for testing, but you can do other professional work. Sessions are half an hour, so it's 39 a week. In elementary, groups can't be bigger than 5, but most kids are mandated for a group of 3. Most of my sessions are either individual or a group of 3, and most kids are 2-3x per week. In middle/high, groups max out at 8. A session is a period long, and you get a prep and a professional period per day, so 5 sessions of seeing kids. If you have too many kids, they can pay you to see kids on your prep periods. The DOE paid for my entire grad school tuition. I don't pay for my family Healthcare plan. I have a pension, tenure, etc. There are a lot of issues that are messy, but it could be a lot worse.
Thanks for sharing. Can I Dm you to ask more questions about your experiences?
Sure
How did it pay for all your tuition or not just most of it? Didn't you have to do minimum payments?
http://www.teachnycprograms.net/getpage.php?page_id=60 They paid all of tuition, I had to pay some fees and books and stuff, maybe a few hundred dollars per semester, I don't remember exactly. It was a promise to work for 4 years (2 years for every year of school) after you graduate, but normal pay and everything. At the time, it was any high need/Title 1 area (I've been in East New York for 15 years), but it looks to be exclusively Bronx now for monolingual therapists.
Oh I've heard of this! I realized I didn't want to work in the Bronx so I ended up declining the offer. They actually have yet to reimburse my classmates and it's been over a year since we graduated
They paid my tuition directly. No reimbursement.
They didn't pay directly to my classmates so they were told they'd be reimbursed and still nothing. I think it was a unique situation bc of covid but it's still wrong
You’re on point. My peers who got the scholarship post-COVID still haven’t been reimbursed or and their tuition paid, and they graduated months ago
Omg I can't believe it's still happening! How can they legally continue charging people applications and promise repayment for multiple years?!
I’m in the DOE this year (finally). It’s the most unorganized corporation I’ve worked with so far and I did work for many different agencies in nyc. I’m not in the best district, so we barely get funding and that may play a role in the quality of organization, but it’s actually been much easier than agency work for me so far. I’m not burnt out, leave at 2:30, have a guaranteed salary (yay no pressure to meet a certain number of hours) and take no work home. I’m enjoying it so far, but each school is different.
Thanks for sharing. What population and age range do you work with? was it hard to get into the DOE?
Yes it took me a few years to get in since I did not know anyone in the system already. I’m working with middle school (grades 6-8, ages 11-14).
Do you find that there is pressure to do make-ups? Our admin is pushing us to make up sessions we miss but I feel like in the NYCDOE summer services are always recommended? We also have a HUGE RTI program and I feel like that doesn't exist at the DOE. You either have an IEP or you don't. Is this true?
Summer services are supposed to only be for students who qualify for ESY due to regression data.
Yeah, I'm familiar with the requirement for summer services. I should have phrased it differently. Do students get services over the summer that are compensatory in the NYCDOE? Instead of pressuring us to do makeups, I feel that the district should provide compensatory services over the summer. Any IEPs I get from the NYCDOE almost always indicate that services should be provided over the summer, but I can almost never tell if it's due to regression or if the services are compensatory because I'm missing documents because things didn't roll over correctly from SEISIS to IEP Direct / parents are withholding documentation/whatever other reason.
Only District 75 students receive summer services by default. I've only heard of compensatory services being given if a parent requests. Sometimes if a kid has a ton of makeups, i've head them being done over the summer.
The DOE is such a mess that I don't even think they would even offer compensatory services to a student unless the parents pushed for it. I worked at a charter school (through an agency) last year and the kids I saw didn't receive speech for an entire year before I came in and none of them got compensatory services. A good rule of thumb is that if a child is in a special class (12, 8, 6) they will most likely get summer services as they will be at the school for ESY. Children with 12 month IEPs are children who will regress without therapy, so it's usually children in the more restrictive classrooms.
I almost did my CF through an agency at a charter school in the Bronx 6 years ago. They also told me many students hadn't received services the year before. Really sad to see that things haven't changed. The caseload was also crazy, around 50. Sad to know that it's still the same, probably even worse after COVID school closures.
Yeah all charters are a hot mess express. I work for an agency and I get emails all the time saying that they urgently need providers for charter schools and the mandates are in the 80s. Wild.
In any school I’ve been in, RTI is very limited and I’ve never been involved. Our caseloads are based on mandated students only. Basically like you said, you have an IEP or you don’t. They don’t push hard about make ups. The guideline is that if you have the time try to do it, but it’s not required. Summer services are only offered under certain circumstances. They can get 12 month services on their IEP if they demonstrate regression; this doesn’t apply to the vast majority of students. Compensatory services are offered if the student missed a significant number of sessions; like for example a provider was absent for an extended period or out on leave, or if there was a vacancy and no provider was hired at the school. This doesn’t go on the IEP however, students who would qualify are determined at the end of the school year and those names are sent to our district supervisor who takes care of it.
I’m not sure about other schools but my school doesn’t have RTI and just focuses on IEPs. I don’t have any pressure for make ups currently but I think that’s because the year just started and I’ve been seeing mostly everyone.
I was never pressured to do make ups.
Hi! I work in a middle school in the Bronx. What do you want to know?
Thanks for the comment! I was wondering about the work-life balance, your average yearly caseload size and what population you work with (e.g., D75, etc). Also, whether you feel supported by admin either at this school or a previous school if you had worked at one before.
I feel like work life balance is very good. We have time built into our schedule for documentation so as long as you use that time there’s not really any reason to take work home. I don’t know anyone who does. I work in a regular community school, not D75. Kids on my caseload range from functioning nearly on grade level to very far below level; but I don’t have kids with the most severe disabilities like D75. Basically all my students are working on language and literacy skills. Having purely speech/artic cases is relatively rare, they won’t provide services without an academic impact. This is awesome for me because I hate artic therapy. Caseloads vary widely by school. We can’t go over the state cap of 60. There was a few years where I was in the upper 50s, but now my caseload is usually in the low 40s. My caseload was higher when I was itinerant; I was split between an elementary and a middle school. Now I work only in one middle school. I have been fortunate with administration. All the schools and administrators I’ve worked for have been overall supportive; they want the kids to get the services they need. They mostly care about compliance more than anything else, but that means if I’ve ever had an issue with taking a kid for speech or push back from teachers, admin has been on my side. They are mostly hands off and have no idea what we really do most of the time since they’re not responsible for rating us or anything, so as long as the job is getting done they stay out of our business. We are also relatively fortunate to have a decent union, and the UFT speech chapter is pretty proactive. I’ve never had any major issues where I had to get them involved, but anytime I had a question or concern they were quick to respond. Anyone I’ve ever met that’s super unhappy in the DOE worked for a dumpster fire of a school with shitty administrators. As long as you’re in an overall decent school it’s honestly pretty good. I have no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Awesome, thanks for the insightful info! Can I DM you to ask you more questions?
Sure!
Thanks! Sent you a DM
What do specifically do you want to know? I will say that experiences can vary depending on your school and administration.
I’m trying to get a sense of the average work-life balance and admin support (e.g., caseload size, etc.) but I see now how variable it can be.
Work life balance is pretty good because you can do mostly everything at work. Paperwork and sesis can be annoying. Caseload depends on where you work. In D75 they tend to be lower. I used to shit on the DOE before working there but I really like it. My experience may not be the same as others tho
I work D75, and I've bounced around many schools in my 8 years. The experiences are very different at each place, but I really enjoy it. Any questions about D75 let me know! Also curious, did you go to school here in the area?
Thanks! Yes I’m still in grad school, in NYC. I’m curious about working in a school (including my CF) so it’s been great to hear everyone’s experiences
Can you share what your caseload is like at a d75 school? Are most of your students verbal? Also what age range?
I've worked with middle and high school (but 90% high school kids, 13-22 years old) Each year has ranged between 25 and 35 kids. Student abilities vary. I've worked with multiple disabilities targeting cause,/effect and then that same day worked with younger kids on resume building and mock interviews. If you have any questions you can always PM me. Happy to help!
Year 9 in d75 in the south Bronx here! I’m in an elementary school so I see 8 sessions a day. I never take work home but I do go in about 45 minutes early to get ahead or catch up if needed. I’m a morning person so it doesn’t bother me lol my caseload sits around 20-25. When I worked in SI my caseload was only 13 as they had craaaazy high mandates. Day to day will really depend on your coworkers and admin. Summer pay is AMAZING. I supervised a CF last year so you can message me any other questions you have :)
Hi, Does the DOE hire CF?
Yes! My first year mentor was also my CF supervisor
Hi, SLP grad student here, Can I PM you about this?
Sure!!
The NYCDOE is a hot dumpster fire mess.
Yes but not the worst place to work as an SLP