top of page

Organization & Planning Tips For Your First Week as a School Speech Therapist

Updated: Jul 16

Embarking on your first week as a speech therapist in a school can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.


Whether you’re fresh out of grad school, transitioning from a different setting, or moving to a new school, I've got essential tips and strategies to help you navigate your first week with confidence!


Here are my tips for getting organized and planning for a great school year!


Start Here

🔴 Create a master SLP folder in Google Drive and or in a binder

🔴 Create a master spreadsheet with all your caseload information - e.g. students, teacher, service time, etc. (get one here)


Sign up for my email newsletter and get these FREE First Week of School SLP Checklists!

IEP & Assessments

🟠 Print/create "IEP at a Glance" with student goals (i.e. summary of student goals and service minutes)

🟠 Ask SPED colleagues how IEP meetings are scheduled at your site (e.g. is there a master web calendar?)

🟠 Put IEP meetings for the whole year on the calendar marked "tentative"

🟠 Add triennial assessments for the whole school year to your evaluation log

🟠 Locate & organize assessment materials & protocols

🟠 Ask colleagues for list of all open & pending initial/triennial assessments



Therapy Schedule

🟡 Get the school's master schedule & specials schedule (e.g. library, music, etc.)

🟡 Create a first draft of your therapy schedule

🟡 Email teachers their student(s) time/days with *days/ times subject to change (you can also get a free printable schedule to share with teachers here)


speech therapy schedule handout for teachers

I hope this has been helpful! 😊


You might also be interested in checklists for:


About the author Sarah. Sarah is a pediatric SLP and the creator behind Speechie Adventures.

bottom of page