Yuma Grown | New NAU Program Created Through Grassroots Advocacy
Perhaps it’s Yuma’s agricultural roots that inspired NAU Alum, Matt Kaste, to plant and foster a seed of advocacy that blossomed into a new Speech-Language Pathology program in his community. Kaste is the Director of Exceptional Student Services at Yuma Elementary School District ONE where he oversees all special education programs in the district.
Yuma schools are facing a shortage of all the “ists” as Kaste puts it; Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, but especially Speech-Language Pathologists. Speech-Language Pathologists, or SLPs as they are commonly known, are experts in communication and help individuals with their speech, language, literacy, social communication, and voice.
While school districts nationwide face a similar shortage of SLPs, Kaste says Yuma’s needs were particularly desperate. “We have 924 children in the district receiving speech therapy services. 594 of them receive teletherapy because we simply do not have enough SLPs here in Yuma,” Kaste explains. “Teletherapy isn’t ideal for a three-year-old for example who may have difficulty interacting with someone over a computer, or for a child with autism who would especially benefit from the in-person interactions,” Kaste says.
“We just leave an open position on our hiring website for SLPs because we cannot recruit enough. The last time I was able to hire an SLP was three years ago,” Kaste explains.
These dire circumstances inspired Kaste to get in touch with his alma mater, Northern Arizona University, tell them of the needs he was seeing, and talk about what could be done. NAU answered the call. As a result of Kaste’s efforts, all five Special Education Directors across Yuma school districts partnered with the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at NAU to help build a new program.
The special education directors found that, while they had competent Speech-Language Pathology Assistants (SLPas) and Paraprofessionals (Parapros) who wanted to grow into certified master’s level SLPs, they couldn’t afford or coordinate a move to Flagstaff for several summers to enroll in the department’s existing part-time Summer Track program.
The group met several times and continued to push forward despite a global pandemic and other obstacles. NAU’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Department Chair, Dr. Anna Sosa, and the Summer Track program Coordinator, Dr. Sandy Stewart, pushed for funding, innovated around in-person delivery, and received approval to launch an SLPa to SLP program at NAU’s Yuma Campus. The department received accreditation for the program in summer 2022 and approximately 20 students will start classes on the Yuma campus in June 2023.
Developing the existing local workforce is key to the success of this program, Dr. Sosa explains. For one, the Speech-Language Pathology community nationwide is lacking in bilingual therapists. In places like Yuma, which has many Spanish speaking only or bilingual community members, SLPs also must be bilingual to deliver the highest levels of care. By developing bilingual, local SLPas into SLPs, this NAU program will deliver professionals truly equipped to meet the needs of the local community. Furthermore, in providing this educational advancement opportunity, the SLPas and Parapros themselves will be able to secure higher salaries and improve their own quality of life, as well as the lives of the children they serve. This program serves as a vehicle of economic mobility and is a driver of social impact, both key to the new NAU Charter.
“I appreciate all the hard work of NAU staff for putting this together. I made phone calls and sent emails, but that was very little in reality compared to what they had to go through to make this possible for a community they don’t even live in,” says Kaste. “I think it speaks to the heart of the professors and staff to help a community that’s five hours away from where they live. Their own children or grandchildren won’t benefit from the creation of this program, but it will have a huge impact for these kids here. It’s clear that the NAU team’s passion for what they do goes beyond their own community and into the rest of Arizona,” Kaste says.
To learn more about the Speech-Language Pathology program at NAU, visit nau.edu/csd/program-overview