Hinsdale School District Wins National Award for its Use of Online Therapy with Students with Special Needs
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) November 14, 2017 -- PresenceLearning, the leading telehealth network of live, online special education related service providers, recently named Hinsdale School District in Hinsdale, NH as a winner of its 4th annual Awards of Excellence. The awards recognized 12 educational organizations nationwide for their outstanding organizational leadership, teamwork, and improved outcomes in helping students with special needs succeed.
Hinsdale School District, located in southwest New Hampshire, serves 600 students in grades PreK-12. The district first partnered with PresenceLearning during the 2014-2015 school year when a part-time speech-language pathologist (SLP) it shared with a neighboring district went on maternity leave. While originally planning on using PresenceLearning for only six weeks, the district saw initial success and decided to continue using PresenceLearning’s services when its shared SLP returned from maternity leave. Today the online SLP from PresenceLearning provides ongoing therapy for 20 students, conducts evaluations and reevaluations, and participates in IEP meetings.
“Our case managers, teachers and even parents have an open line of communication with our online SLP,” said Julie Fenrich, director of special services and middle/high school special education coordinator at Hinsdale School District. We videoconference with her during meetings and she participates as if she’s in the room. She has made herself very accessible.”
During the 2016-17 school year, Hinsdale School District expanded its partnership with PresenceLearning to include online psychoeducational assessments, making it the first district in the region to do so. With the help of an onsite support person, an online school psychologist from PresenceLearning will conduct approximately 25 psychoeducational assessments for the district’s middle and high school students.
“I needed to expand our onsite school psychologist’s responsibilities, but I knew she would not be able to do that on top of her ongoing evaluation duties,” said Fenrich. “Now that the PresenceLearning online school psychologist is conducting the middle and high school assessments, our onsite psychologist has more time for therapy with students and other projects. She’s freed up and better utilized. PresenceLearning could not have been more supportive in our times of need.”
The 12 PresenceLearning Awards of Excellence winners were selected based on their positive student progress and engagement indicators, strong organizational leadership, informed parental support, standout primary support person/people, and collaboration with PresenceLearning’s online clinicians during the 2016-17 school year. Each winner will receive a plaque and be featured on PresenceLearning’s website.
“The leaders and staff at these educational organizations, including Hinsdale School District, have shown remarkable commitment and courage by embracing a new way to serve students with special needs,” said Clay Whitehead, CEO and co-founder of PresenceLearning. “Their dedication enables students to make significant progress on their goals in a supportive environment and we are honored to recognize them for their leadership.”
About PresenceLearning
PresenceLearning (http://www.presencelearning.com) is the leading telehealth network of providers of clinical services and assessments to educational organizations. The PresenceLearning care network has provided over one million sessions of live, online speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral interventions and mental health services, diagnostic services and assessments, and early childhood services for children with special needs.
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Kati Elliott, KEH Communications, +1 (410) 975-9638, [email protected]
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