PresenceLearning, the premiere provider of live online speech therapy to K12 students, announced that it has partnered with Amprey and Associates, a leading provider of change management consulting and leadership development services to large school districts nationwide, to help broaden awareness of the company’s services to education. This partnership will help large school districts realize the substantial cost-savings and improved outcomes offered by incorporating live online speech therapy often referred to as telepractice into their special education programs.

“Drawing on his decades of experience as a superintendent in challenging school districts such as the Baltimore City Public Schools, Walter Amprey helps districts find ways to innovate, produce better results and use district resources ever more effectively,” said Clay Whitehead, one of the founders of PresenceLearning. “Amprey and Associates will help us reach students who have communication issues and need our services to learn and thrive.”

“This agreement continues our effort to bring about change through highly-effective partnerships between school districts and businesses,” said Dr. Walter Amprey, founder and president of Amprey and Associates. “We are delighted to have PresenceLearning as one of our selected partners and feel they provide exceptional and effective solutions to school districts nationwide.”

PresenceLearning delivers live online speech therapy using a large and growing network of fully credentialed speech language pathologists (SLPs).  SLPs work with students face-to-face in real time via live videoconferencing sessions using established, evidence-based therapeutic practices without the scheduling and geographic limitations of conventional therapy. SLPs work flexible hours from home without having to travel, taking advantage of PresenceLearning’s scheduling, tracking and reporting tools, as well as its unique suite of interactive activities that make the therapy experience highly-engaging.

Presence TeleCare, the leading provider of live online speech therapy services to K-12 students, announced today that it has changed its name to PresenceLearning (PresenceLearning.com).

“This new name highlights our broad commitment to special education and the growing acceptance of our live online speech therapy solution in school systems across the country,” said Jack Lynch and Clay Whitehead, co-founders of PresenceLearning. “From traditional public school districts to virtual and charter school organizations, educational administrators are discovering that PresenceLearning helps them reach more students with consistent, high-quality speech therapy at lower costs.”

Over the past year, PresenceLearning’s online therapy services have been adopted by a growing number of educational organizations, including dozens of traditional school districts and many virtual academy and charter school management groups. To date, PresenceLearning has delivered more than 10,000 speech therapy sessions, and is expected to exceed 20,000 sessions in the coming months. In the face of continuing budget challenges, as well as chronic shortages of speech language pathologists in many areas, school districts are realizing significant cost savings with PresenceLearning while also seeing better outcomes for their students.

Mike McLaughlin, superintendent of the highly-diverse John Swett Unified School District near San Francisco, CA, has relied on PresenceLearning for the past two years to address a chronic shortage of speech therapists in his district. “It’s a great service,” he said. “We’re seeing real financial benefits—PresenceLearning is saving the school district money. I really think it’s the future of support services for students.”

Report Finds Progress, Problems for Students With Learning Disabilities

An Education Week blog On Special Education, by reporter Nirvi Shah

“A new report from the National Center for Learning Disabilities says too few students with learning disabilities graduate from high school, and some racial and ethnic groups are still disproportionately represented in LD programs, but early intervention strategies appear to be reducing the overall number of students who are identified as having a learning disability.”