On episode 100 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Gastrid Harrigan has been an educator for over 19 years as a classroom teacher, Assistant Principal, and currently as Principal in Broward County, Florida. In addition, Dr. Harrigan is a Professor of Education at Broward College and Colorado State…
Tag: school leadership
EP 97: Getting a “Yes” from your school administrator (with Marva Mount)
On episode 97 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast, I had the opportunity to interview SLP and Related Services Director, Marva Mount. Marva is a nationally recognized speaker on issues regarding public school speech and language services. She is a published chapter author, and has been awarded the Hall of Fame Award for outstanding contributions…
EP 90: Creating grassroots movements to support kids in your community (with Merlin Anderson)
There’s a lot of talk within the therapy world about effective therapy strategies; but there’s NOT a lot of talk about how to get funding so programs can actually deliver support and resources. That’s why I was so excited to have Merlin Anderson on the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about what’s known as…
EP 89: What district wide activities are relevant to school therapists?
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…
EP 88: De Facto Leaders: A New Show Title and Direction
In this episode, I’m excited to officially announce the new direction for the podcast! The show is now called “De Facto Leaders” (it was formerly “Are they 18 yet?®”) I’ve been hinting at this for a while and have slowly transitioned the types of topics I’ve covered over the last year, but in this episode…
EP 87: What to do when the IEP team doesn’t agree
Part of a school therapist’s job is getting buy-in from the entire IEP team, but that can be difficult to do when team members don’t agree on what’s best for a student. That’s why in episode 86 of the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast, I walk through several case studies from my mentoring group to…
EP 86: Navigating workplace conflict and getting team buy-in
One of the most powerful ways to provide comprehensive services for K-12 kids is by collaborating with other therapists and teachers… Which is why it’s frustrating when team members can’t come to a consensus about what’s best for kids. When you’re working together as a team, at least some conflict is inevitable. That’s why I…
EP 85: Effective clinical supervision and creating leadership opportunities
If you’re a pediatric therapist or service provider, chances are you do some form of “supervising”, whether it’s in your job title or not. Part of being an effective clinical leader comes from working as a team and training others to do what we do, so kids can get support across settings. That’s why it’s…
EP 84: Why you should plan for service delivery instead of planning for therapy
One of the biggest challenges for pediatric therapists is making sure their caseload has support across the day and across settings. This becomes incredibly difficult to do with limited direct therapy time and when service providers are working in silos. That’s why one of the most important things you can do to serve your caseload…
EP 83: How to provide high-quality support for your caseload with the “asset stack” method
A lot of your clinical training taught you how to be a good clinician. But often it doesn’t teach you how to “work the system” and get your kids what they need. The truth is, you can’t make an impact without autonomy over your time, without adequate tools, without the right people, support, and financial…