De Facto Leaders

If you’re a school therapist, you’ve likely been asked to do a lot of things within the school system that don’t seem totally relevant to your role as a clinician. Yet at the same time, you may often feel siloed off, like you’re not a part of the school team. That’s why in episode 88 of the De Facto Leaders podcast (formerly “Are they 18 yet?®”), I wanted to talk about what school therapists can do to feel more included, respected, and valued within the school community. Specifically, I talk about: Staff meetings: Should school therapists have to attend them? And if you can’t, how can you stay on top of what’s going on in the building? Employee evaluations: What should therapists do if they’re evaluated by an administrator who’s never been in a clinical role? How can therapists ensure they follow their district’s procedures, while at the same time ensure they have access to mentoring and support related to their discipline?  I break all these questions down in the episode. 

Show Notes

If you’re a school therapist, you’ve likely been asked to do a lot of things within the school system that don’t seem totally relevant to your role as a clinician. Yet at the same time, you may often feel siloed off, like you’re not a part of the school team. That’s why in episode 88 of the De Facto Leaders podcast (formerly “Are they 18 yet?®”), I wanted to talk about what school therapists can do to feel more included, respected, and valued within the school community. Specifically, I talk about: Staff meetings: Should school therapists have to attend them? And if you can’t, how can you stay on top of what’s going on in the building? Employee evaluations: What should therapists do if they’re evaluated by an administrator who’s never been in a clinical role? How can therapists ensure they follow their district’s procedures, while at the same time ensure they have access to mentoring and support related to their discipline?  I break all these questions down in the episode. 


We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year. 

Creators & Guests

Editor
Rose Anne Miguel

What is De Facto Leaders?

On the De Facto Leaders podcast, host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan helps pediatric therapists and educators become better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. With over 15 years of experience supporting school-age kids with diverse learning needs, Dr. Karen shares up-to-date evidence-based practices, her own experiences and guest interviews designed to help clinicians, teachers, and aspiring school leaders feel more confident in the way they serve their students and clients. She’ll cover a range of topics designed to help you support students' emotional and academic growth and set kids up for success in adulthood, including how to support language, literacy, executive functioning, and how to help IEP teams working together to support kids across the day. Whether you want to learn more effective strategies for your therapy session or classroom, be a more influential leader on your team, or find creative ways to use your skills to advance in your career, Dr. Karen has you covered.