Hey Reader,

One of the most helpful things I ever did as a school-based OT occurred in a room with ZERO students.

It was short inservices for teachers.

Nothing fancy. No 90-minute PD that took months to plan, draft, and edit.

Just a focused, 15-slide conversation that helped teachers better understand how and when to collaborate with OT.

And those short inservices did more for collaboration than any beautifully 10-page written assessment report ever could. (They also took less time to draft)

Inservices are out of our routine, and that makes them scary and daunting to think about.

But when done correctly, it leads to teachers who:

• Understand what we do
• Are more likely to approach us
• Carry over strategies to suggest
• And see OT as a partner in student participation rather than a service that only shows up after a referral.

What more could we ask for from something that takes a few hours to draft and 30 minutes to present?

A 20-30 minute focused in-service can help you clarify that school-based OT supports more than handwriting, fine motor, and sensory tools. It can help teachers see how we support access to routines, transitions, written output, self-care, classroom materials, environmental demands, social participation, and independence throughout the school day.

And if you are nodding along as you read this because you know this is something you neeeeeeed to be doing, here is a pro-tip to help get you started:

Before you create the in-service or even decide on a topic, ask your teachers what they actually want to learn about.

If the teachers want to learn about handwriting, you won't have to convince them that handwriting is more than just fine motor. Their brains are already open to learning from you.

Simply send a quick email or ask during a staff meeting:

Their answers will tell you exactly where to start. And if their answer isn't sensory or handwriting, guess what! They just opened the door for you to expand the role of OT in your schools.

A few topic ideas worth considering:

• How OT can support participation beyond handwriting
• When to reach out to OT before making a referral
• Classroom strategies for sensory regulation and attention
• Supporting written output without relying only on more practice
• OT collaboration as part of MTSS
• Simple environmental changes that support independence
• What information helps OT provide better consult support

To make this easier, I put together a simple Teacher Inservice Starter Kit you can use to plan a short teacher-facing inservice. It's 100% free - You don;t even have to share your email address.

​Download the Teacher Inservice Starter Kit​

Inside the School-based OT Collaborative, I've also shared a more complete sensory-focused teacher in-service presentation that Impact Tier Collab members can access and edit.

So if sensory regulation, attention, movement, or classroom supports are the topics your teachers are asking about, you do not have to start from scratch.

Want the conference plus the editable in-service resources? ​ The Back to School Conference is a great way to start the year with practical, evidence-informed ideas. But if you want the conference and ongoing access to resources like the sensory teacher in-service presentation, templates, tools, mentorship, and additional CEUs, the Conference + Collaborative option is the better fit. You get the Back to School Conference, plus the year-round support and ready-to-use resources that help you actually implement what you learn. ​Explore Conference + Collab access​

Resource of the week 🧪

Resource of the Week: OT Schoolhouse Podcast Episode 203

In Episode 203, Dr. Courtney Boitano shares how school-based OT can fit within MTSS and why teacher consultation can be such a meaningful part of tiered support. It is a helpful listen if you are thinking about using teacher inservices to open the door to stronger collaboration.

​Listen here​

LAST WORD 👋​
​Don't wait for the IEP to Collaborate!

If we want teachers to understand the full scope of school-based OT, we cannot wait until an IEP meeting or evaluation report to explain it.

We need to create small, practical opportunities for teachers to learn what we can support, how we think, and when to reach out.

Short and targeted in-services around what the teachers actually want to learn will not solve every collaboration challenge, but it can give teachers a clearer entry point into working with you.

And real quickly, thank you for reading, responding to, and sharing with your colleagues my email last week about Justice. So many of you shared how that email impacted you, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share it.

And to wrap up, remember to download the Teacher Inservice Starter Kit and share it with your colleagues as well.

And after you conduct your in-service, email me and let me know how it went.

Until next time,

👋 Jayson

Jayson Davies, MA, OTR/L
​
​Say hi 👋 on Instagram, LinkedIn,
and inside the School-Based OT Collaborative​