Hallie chats with Lauren Catellier about how the 3:1 model supports school-based SLPs in managing burnout

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie chats with Lauren Cattelier—school-based SLP, mom of two boys, and co-instructor and owner of Therapy Advanced Courses—about a model every overwhelmed SLP needs to know: The 3:1 Model. Lauren shares her experience using this workload approach in her former district, gets real about the difference she felt when she stopped using it, and breaks down exactly how to implement it, document it, and sell it to the admins and teachers who will inevitably push back. From wording it on an IEP to using that flex week for AAC training, parent coaching, and classroom push-ins, this episode is full of practical strategies, refreshing honesty, and a much-needed reminder that advocating for a better schedule is the same thing as advocating for your students.

Bullet Points to Discuss:

• What the 3:1 Model is and why it's a workload approach, not a day off
• How Lauren's district got it off the ground and what made it stick
• How to explain the flex week to parents, teachers, and administrators without getting pushback
• All the ways you can use that indirect week to actually serve your kids better
• Why this model makes it easier to dismiss students when they're ready
• How to advocate for the model even when you're new and non-tenured

Here’s what we learned:

• The 3:1 Model is a workload approach — it accounts for everything you do beyond face-to-face therapy.
• Plan how you'll use the flex week for each student before it arrives, not during it.
• Teachers need the most convincing — come prepared with specifics about how their students will still be served.
• Document every flex week so you can always show exactly how each child was serviced.
• If it's not written into the IEP, it doesn't exist — get it in there explicitly.
• Pushing into classrooms gives you context you simply can't get from a pull-out model.
• Spring is the best time to pitch this to admin — everyone's already thinking about next year.

Learn more about Lauren Catellier:

Website: https://www.therapyadvancecourses.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapyadvancecourses

Courses: https://www.therapyadvancecourses.com/courses

3:1 Model Toolkit

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup

📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie chats with Renee Brown—school-based SLP, mom of two teenagers, and the voice behind @TheBusySpeechMom on Instagram—about a topic every SLP needs to hear: how to advocate for yourself so you don't burn out. Renee shares her unexpected journey from elementary education teacher to medical SLP to school-based clinician, and gets real about what it actually takes to push back on impossible caseloads, have hard conversations with admin, and still show up for your kids every single day. From framing service delivery in terms admin actually care about to building a session routine so smooth your kindergartners run it themselves, this episode is full of practical wisdom, refreshing honesty, and a much-needed reminder that advocating for yourself is the same thing as advocating for your students.

Bullet Points to Discuss:

• How Renee's background in elementary education and medical SLP shaped the way she approaches school-based practice
• Why the interview is your first—and most important—opportunity to advocate for yourself
• How to talk to admin about caseload size in a way that actually lands
• The real connection between early intensive intervention and long-term district savings
• Setting boundaries around contracted hours without guilt
• Simple group session strategies that keep kids engaged and sessions running like clockwork

Here’s what we learned:

• There's a shortage—they need us more than we need them. Walk into every interview owning that.
• Admin isn't the enemy. They don't know what they don't know, and it's on us to fill in the gaps.
• Lead with dollars. Early intensive intervention now means fewer students needing services in middle and high school.
• Don't bring a problem without a solution. Admin loves when you've already done the thinking for them.
• When contract time is up, your time is up.
• Revising an IEP isn't a big deal—it's just good clinical practice.
• A consistent session format means your students eventually run the whole thing themselves.

Learn more about Renee Brown:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebusyspeechmom/

Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/the-busy-speech-mom

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup

📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie is serving up some real talk about IEP goal writing—and it might just change the way you look at your entire caseload. If you’ve ever stared at a goal and thought, wait, why am I even working on this? This one’s for you. Hallie introduces the “so what?” test—the one question you should be asking before you write any goal—and breaks down what functional actually means for different students. She’s covering how to write curriculum-linked goals without crossing into ELA territory, how to squeeze more mileage out of every session, and why our role as SLPs is way more powerful than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.

Bullet Points to Discuss:

• Why not every language skill on an assessment is worth targeting in therapy.
• The “so what?” test: the one question that should guide every goal you write.
• How to define “functional” based on the individual student in front of you.
• Writing curriculum-linked goals the SLP way—without becoming the ELA teacher.
• How to use one resource across a mixed group and hit every student’s goal at once.

Here’s what we learned:

• If you can’t answer “so what?” clearly and confidently, that goal might be more fluff than function.
• Functional isn’t one-size-fits-all—a college-bound student needs self-advocacy; a life-skills student needs to know how to tell the bus driver where they’re going.
• Overlapping with academics is fine—just do it through a language lens, not a reteaching one.
• One good goal can target syntax, vocabulary, comprehension, and organization all at once. Therapy charcuterie board—one activity, all the skills, everyone eats.
• We’re not tutors and we’re not ELA teachers—we’re the language experts. Writing functional goals is how we step into that power.

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup

📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets