News & Press
Presence, a premier solution for PreK–12 remote evaluation and teletherapy services, today announced six winners of its “Partner of the Year” awards for the 2023–2024 school year. The awards recognize school partners that have demonstrated exemplary service to students and clinicians. The 2023–2024 Partner of the Year winners are from urban, suburban, rural, and virtual school communities.
“The number of students needing special education-related and behavioral and mental health services has increased, and there simply aren’t enough school clinicians to provide these services,” said Presence CEO Kate Eberle Walker. “Our Partners of the Year are embracing teletherapy as an innovative way to address this concerning challenge. As a result, they’ve been able to reduce heavy caseloads for clinicians and provide students with the tailored, customized support they need to help progress toward their IEP and mental health goals. Presence is proud to partner with and to honor these schools, who share our vision to ensure every child receives the services they need.”
Following a comprehensive nomination and evaluation process, the following schools and school districts were selected to receive the award:
- Corpus Christi Independent School District: Corpus Christi, Texas
- Greater Commonwealth Virtual School: Greenfield, Mass.
- Round Valley Unified School District: Covelo, Calif.
- Saginaw Intermediate School District: Saginaw, Mich.
- The School District of Palm Beach County: West Palm Beach, Fla.
- Tuscarora School District: Mercersburg, Penn.
“We’re honored to be recognized by Presence for our commitment to providing access to speech-language therapy for students across our 52 schools,” said Kimberly Whalen, Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Program Specialist and Private School Program Administrator of the School District of Palm Beach County. “We’ve struggled to find qualified providers for all of our students’ needs, and we’ve now partnered with Presence for three years to offer these critical services to students through teletherapy. Their ability to really collaborate with and extend our on-the-ground team has enabled this hybrid approach to truly benefit our students, our parents, and our staff.”
The Presence therapy platform is designed by clinicians, for clinicians, with the goal of enhancing the human connection between a therapist and their student in every session. With a network of more than 2,000 clinicians across multiple disciplines, including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and mental health professionals, these providers utilize Presence’s online platform to support the full spectrum of their work—from case management to planning to therapy delivery to documentation.
To date, Presence has partnered with nearly 10,000 schools in 47 states. From rural towns in Alaska to urban centers like Los Angeles and sprawling districts in Florida, Presence has conducted more than 6 million remote evaluations and teletherapy sessions throughout the United States.
About Presence
Inspired to drive solutions for the national shortage of school clinicians, Presence is unlocking the potential of schools and clinicians by removing traditional barriers to success through an elevated approach to teletherapy. As a trusted leader since 2009, Presence is innovating how schools assess and address student special education-related and mental health needs. By equipping the largest network of teletherapy providers with award-winning technology and end-to-end clinical support, Presence is meeting the needs of schools, students, and clinicians today—wherever they are. With 6 million remote evaluations and teletherapy sessions conducted throughout the U.S., schools and clinicians trust the experience and expertise of Presence, a pioneer in school-based teletherapy. Presence is teletherapy, elevated.