Beach on the brain?

Hello everyone! I took a weekend trip to Hilton Head, SC. This resort town is about twenty miles away from Savannah. At seven miles in width and fourteen in length, it is the second largest Atlantic coast barrier island after Long Island, NY. I thought I'd include some pictures and tell you all about the jobs we have in Hilton Head. We are currently hiring a full-time school psychologist, a special educatkon teacher, and an occupational therapist. If you have beach on the brain, with a fascination with southern charm, it may be time to start a a new contract assignment! There aren't many tourists at this time of the year, but it's warm enough to lay out on the beach.  One piece of advice I'll give is to not feed the alligators! I included a photo of the warning sign. Alligators become aggressive if you feed them and some locals will tell you that they will eat dogs in the neighborhood!

Feel free to call Christine Keefe about open jobs on this long island of the South at 770-776-2104.

Passing the torch

It's been a wonderful, rewarding 13+ years here at Soliant, but it's time to turn in my key card and move on. I have given my notice and will be leaving this wonderful organization as of noon today. Two of my co-workers have expressed interest in taking over this blog. I wanted to take a few moments to let them introduce themselves to you and give you a bit of a synopsis of their roles here in the office.

Christine Keefe works in our division that places all special ed professionals other than therapists (OT, PT and SLP's). She will be scripting posts and describing jobs that include, but not limited to, Special Ed Teachers, Sign Language Interpreters, Teachers for the Visually Impaired, etc. Here she is!

Hello! My name is Christine and I’m an Atlanta native. I work to help the wonderful folks who dedicated themselves to education find new and exciting fulfilling jobs. I enjoy learning more about what you do! We work nationwide, so please let me know what areas would be of interest to you. I know you all are all planning your getaway to warmer weather for next school year. Feel free to call me and pick my brain about what we do and how we can help you at 770-776-2104. My email is Christine.keefe@soliant.com. I look forward to speaking with you!

Candace Waters will be writing about therapy positions that are available in schools throughout the US. Here's her bio-blurb:

Hi! I am Candace and have been working with Soliant for about two years in the schools therapy department. My background is a perfect fit, as I have been a preschool teacher working with children with special needs and also as a healthcare worker for an ENT where I worked closely with those with hearing impairments. You can reach me at (770) 776-2097 or email me at candace.waters@soliant.com. I am excited to be a part of your professional world.

Thanks to all of you who have visited this site; I hope I have given you some good information, encouragement and interesting job leads. Farewell and wishing all of you a successful life in the wonderful world of Special Education.

Millie

Preschool teacher job in PA

Usually I'm on here begging for SLP, OT or PT candidates. Well...one of my clients in the Reading, Pennsylvania area has asked me to try to find a preschool teacher for their 3-5 year old classrooms. There are under 15 students on the caseload, and it is full time hours for the remainder of this school year.

If an applicant has a certification as a Special Education Teacher, the pay package will get a boost, but that certification isn't a requirement for this position. Of course, the state of PA already has enough requirements (in order to work in a school) to keep you quite busy for several weeks...lol.

If you know anyone who would love to work with the littlest of little ones, send them my way! If they sign on, you can get a bonus after they work for 13 weeks. The number right to my desk is (770) 325-0234 or they can drop me an email at millie.simpson@soliant.com. I'll give them a run-down of required clearances and try to help them through the process.

Thanks, all!!!

♫ And we need you more than evah! ♫

Well, we really did have a total eclipse yesterday; didn't we? Hoping that everyone obeyed the rules for "keeping your vision". I lost vision in my right eye about 5 years ago from not doing so! It's a real thing!

It's been a while since I've scripted a post (which is not so unusual for me), but I had a bit going on. My father passed away, and I spent a good bit of time with my family in Cincinnati; he was 88 and ready to go, but those of us left behind are never ready; are we?

Now it's time to buckle down and find jobs for people and people for jobs!

As promised in my last post, this one will feature positions in larger cities rather than the small town locations. Below are some of our more urgent spots. Many schools have already begun classes and the gaps in Special Ed staff are becoming more important than ever to get covered. Here ya go:

Atlanta, GA If you can name a discipline in Special Ed, we probably have an open position for such; SLP, OT, PT, TVI, DHH, SLI..and any other acronym you can think of!

Chicago, IL I must be honest and tell you that most of our openings in this area won't be right in Chicago proper, but the suburbs are rife with Special Ed needs. See acronyms above, and add Special Ed Teachers and School Psychologists to the mix!

California....what can I say? Name an area, and there's a very good chance that we need Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and/or School Psychologists. How 'bout leaving the snow and cold behind for the upcoming school year!?

Phoenix, AZ - It seems that we are getting daily requests for AZ folk. The process to get credentialed is a bit cumbersome, but we'll get you the info to get you started and on your way. Most of these caseloads are working with the elementary set, so if you like the little ones, it's a good location.

As always, if you are a new grad, we'll do our best to place you and will always make sure you have a supervisor in place to guide you through your CFY.

Call me at (770) 325-0234 or drop me an email at millie.simpson@soliant.com if you would like more information. Thanks for dropping in to read my ramblings!

My flip-flop philosophy for saving soles

Hi, all!

The title of this post is an indication as to how we find ways around problems. I always wear (in warmer months, anyway) flip-flops for the to and fro; car to building-building to car. I found that it's not only safer than wearing my high heeled shoes for the trek, but also saves me trips/money to the local cobbler (sorry Mr. Mongillo) for repairs to the soles of my favorite footwear.

I mentioned our new computer system in my previous post and am still battling that dragon! So, to get around the convolution, I am going to use this venue to send out some of our newest, bestest jobs instead of trying to navigate through our new platform for posting jobs on the internets. Sorry, mothership, but you made everything way too hard!

Below are some open positions in areas that are a bit unusual (not the normal Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Houston, etc.) spots with gorgeous vistas targeting those who are outdoorsy and want to be away from the "maddening crowds".

Angels Camp, CA needs a School Psychologist for the upcoming year. The area offers about any outdoor activity you might want; rafting, hiking, boating, or camping. Oh, and we can't forget wine country! The housing costs are considerably less than most of what you'd normally find in California,too!

Scottsbluff, NE has multiple needs for Speech Language Pathologists. This is on the "panhandle" of the state and really kind of out in the middle of nowhere. However, it's less than 3 hours to the northern mountains of Colorado and under 2 hours to Cheyenne, WY. The revitalized sweet town square will be your hangout for connecting to the community, participating in square dances (swing your partner) and enjoying festivals.

Grand Juntion, CO has requested Speech Pathologists and a Sign Language Interpreter for the 2017-2018 school year. What can I say about this area that you can't just imagine? Beautiful vistas, any outdoor activity you can think of + wineries! Locals will make the trip into Denver for concerts, major festivals, etc. And, it's just a couple of hours to Vail if you want to strap on your skis, but so much more economical for living expenses!

The next post will be geared toward you "city folk" and some of the most appealing positions I can pull from our list. Call me at (770) 325-0234 if you'd like more information or more locations. You can also drop me an email at millie.simpson@soliant.com. Just give a YEE-HA and I'll send you off to one of these gorgeous areas!

Cha-cha-cha-changes

Well, in the poetry of Paul Simon..."I have been one poor correspondent". There have been changes that I could use as an excuse for not keeping up with this blog, but I'll only mention the one that is consuming my days at the office of late. An entirely new system has been plopped into all of our computers at work. It will (they say) eventually be more organized and help us to place all of you on better contracts than in the past. However, it feels as if I've arrived home to my kitchen and someone has moved EVERYTHING to another locale! My spatula may be in my sock drawer or my measuring spoons in the bathtub, and all I want to do is COOK DINNER!

OK, enough of that, I'll limp along and figure out this new and improved way to conduct business at work if it KILLs me! HA!

In the meanwhile, this is GO TIME in school districts across the country! Most have or are about to finish out the 2016-2017 school year and they are calling us to help them to find qualified candidates for their open positions for the upcoming year. Even though I am sitting in my office at home without our lists of open jobs at my fingertips, I can tell you that most states are needing Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Sign Language Interpreters, School Psychs, Special Ed Teachers, Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Teachers for the Visually Impaired, and most other disciplines related to Special Education.

I can recall needs in (alphabetical order) AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, LA, MI, NE, PA, RI, TX, VA, WA, WV. Those are just the states that come to mind. Our lists will grow longer the closer we get into summer, as directors will return from their vacations, budgets will be approved and gaps in their staffs will become more apparent and the front of the school year looms ever nearer.

Call me if you are looking for a change, relocating or want to try a travel contract. I'm talking to you northern Ohio! Wouldn't you like to leave your snow boots with your sister and pack up those flip flops and head to FL or AZ? If you are just starting your career, it's a great way to check out different locations to see where you might want to eventually "land". I'll be glad to take a break from fighting with my computer and talk to a real person. lol! My desk number is (770) 325-0234 or drop me a note at millie.simpson@soliant.com.

Saturated Special Ed markets and work from home ideas

A couple of weeks ago, I landed on a "diamond" of a Speech Pathologist. She is bilingual, has her ASHA certification and a good bit of experience working in schools! I swoon over a resume with those qualifications! The down side to this multi-layered SLP is that she had just moved to Austin, TX. Now Austin, as most people can imagine, is a wonderful city with a vibrant night life, a clean downtown area and a multitude of offerings for both those seeking cultural activities and those who prefer outdoor adventures. There are also more than a few universities within 100 miles of Austin that offer master's programs for Speech Language Pathology. Because of Austin's popularity and the influx of SLP's into the city, there are seldom openings for SLP's through a contract service such as mine. School districts seldom need help finding qualified candidates, as they have them knocking down their front doors.

So....the next layer to this highly qualified "gem of an SLP" who landed in my inbox is that she is licensed to work in three other states besides TX-she is a perfect candidate to deliver services remotely through our tele-services department, VocoVision. We just happened to have a school district in Connecticut that needed an SLP to help them finish out their school year, and CT is one of the states where she holds a current license. So, just after a week of screening and instruction with our VocoVision team, she was ready to go and started work from her home office today!

If you live in one of those markets that has an overload of therapists and few open opportunities (Austin, Nashville, Miami, Birmingham, Boston, etc.), you might consider obtaining a license in a state where we're seeing a need for tele-therapy. A few of the states we are seeing are CA, IL, NM, and WA state. We will walk you through the processes and do our best to get you set up.

Think about a commute that consists of walking from your kitchen to your den, being there when your children arrive home from school, having a write-off on next year's taxes for a home office and...did I mention no commute??? (I live in Atlanta, there's NEVER not a traffic jam on my commute.)

Send me a note, millie.simpson@soliant.com or give me a call, (770) 325-0234 if you'd like additional information on what it takes to get on the band wagon for tele-services!