by Mary M. Annett
A SHA-certified speech-language pathologists in the Frederick County (MD) Public Schools have now joined the ranks of clinicians who have secured salary increases based on their certification.
Genecile Weston — who has been an SLP in Frederick County, MD, for six years, following several SLP positions in other states — led the charge that resulted in a $1,000 annual salary supplement for herself and the other ASHA-certified clinicians in the school district. They received the first payment of their salary increase in mid-November.
Weston began advocating for a salary supplement for certified SLPs in her district after reading a newsletter article a couple years ago about classroom teachers in the county being recognized for earning national certification. She called upon the Frederick County Teachers Association (FCTA, an affiliate of the National Education Association), ASHA, and an old friend as she sought advice on how to pursue a similar salary increase for certified SLPs.
As Weston collected information about other salary supplement efforts, she read a 1999 ASHA Leader story about the success of Mississippi clinicians who secured a statewide $6,000 annual salary supplement for ASHA-certified SLPs. Weston, a Mississippi native, saw two very familiar faces in the photo that accompanied the story — Lynn Bishop, who was maid of honor in her wedding, and a favorite teacher, Gloria Kellum. Weston corresponded with Bishop about ways to approach a salary supplement, and the two friends met at the 2000 ASHA Convention to discuss the issue further.
Weston reports that her colleagues in Frederick County " were supportive and wanted to be informed of my progress, but were not sure I would be successful. " She set up a meeting with the FCTA group and her supervisor to discuss if district SLPs qualified for a salary supplement. " The meeting went well with the FCTA, " Weston says. " They were impressed by the CCC regulations, dues, state dues, and license fees that some of us pay. They were going to discuss this and let me know if they would support this. The teachers in our county receive $1,000 annually for their national certification. We wanted the same.
" After two years, endless phone calls, meetings in hallways to see how we were coming, and ‘ please don ’ t forget about us when you go to negotiations, ’ I was informed that we would receive the money, " Weston reports. Out of the 57 SLPs in the Frederick County school system, 37 hold their CCCs and are eligible for the salary increase, and eight are working on their clinical fellowship and will be eligible to receive the supplement during the next school year.
For more information on the salary supplement initiative, contact Eileen Crowe through the Action Center at 800-498-2071, ext. 4221, or by email at ecrowe@asha.org. For information about ASHA ’ s State Education Action Team, which has targeted three states in 2001 for assistance with salary supplements and caseload size, contact Susan Karr through the Action Center at ext. 4308 or by email at skarr@asha.org , or Janet Deppe at ext. 4447 or by email at jdeppe@asha.org . For strategies for negotiating with school unions/associations and administrators, check out " Working for Change: A Guide for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in Schools. " Call the Action Center for your free copy of this document.
Genecile ’ s Tips for Pursuing a Salary Supplement
• Persevere. " I think perseverance to see the project through was a main need, " Weston says. " Whenever anyone outside the SLP group (business staff) said no, I didn ’ t give up or accept their answer. I went to someone else who might be willing to listen or provide support. My coworkers were always supportive, and ASHA was great to supply facts about the CCCs. Seeing recognition being given to SLPs in other states also helped me stay the course. "
• Keep a log of conversations. " Record who you spoke to and when. If you say you will check back, then follow through. There was a lot of telephone tag, but it was worth it. " Weston says she feels it might have helped if she was a supervisor or a person thought to be in authority. " Each conversation I had with anyone who could help, I had to explain who I was and what I was trying to do. At first they may have wanted to communicate with my supervisor, who would then pass their correspondence on to me. "
• Make your CCCs known. Weston is now working to make sure the district ’ s ASHA-certified SLPs will be publicly acknowledged through publication in the county ’ s teachers ’ newsletter. " As SLPs, we get such little praise and are often thought of as an assistant or regular teacher, " she says. " I feel we deserve this. Maybe someone will read about their school SLP and ask her what the CCCs mean, and then they may actually begin to understand the hard work done to achieve this title. "