School Services

If you have concerns about your student's articulation, language, stuttering or voice, please talk with your child's teacher or school social worker. Your school's speech pathologist will screen your child to check if their communication skills are in the broad range of typical, or if your child would benefit from interventions.

Staff may notice some differences in your student's ability to communicate. You may receive a call from your child's teacher or a speech pathologist to discuss possible interventions.

Interventions are short sessions with a staff member to practice speech sounds or language tasks with some support. MPS has Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to help determine if a student needs Special Education, or if they will make progress during interventions.

If your child stutters or is dysfluent, MPS does not complete interventions. Instead, with caregiver permission, we proceed directly to evaluation.

If after screening and interventions, students are evaluated. Communication evaluations assess language, speech, stuttering, voice or a combination of these skills. Your child's communication may also be assessed as part of a larger evaluation for academics (reading, math) and/or social/behavior concerns.

MPS follows the Minnesota Department of Education guidelines for evaluations and disorder criteria. These regulations are different for private schools and private practices, including outpatient speech/language therapy.