Meet Our Speech Team
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) within the school setting work to prevent, assess, diagnose, facilitate and treat speech, language, and communication skills. Monroe County has 4 SLPs, 1 Speech Teacher (SLT), and 1 part-time Speech Assistant serving our 12 schools.
Speech-Language Pathologists participate on committees, collaborate with teachers, families, and other school professionals, complete procedural compliance paperwork, perform therapy and evaluations, collect data, and engage in multiple activities to support ALL students in achieving communicative progress.
In an effort to enhance student education, the SLP may participate in Student Support Teams (S-Team) meetings, plan and assist with the provision of interventions, conduct appropriate assessments, and share the assessment results with the Individual Education Program (IEP) team. During IEP team meetings, eligibility recommendations are discussed and, if the student meets the criteria for a Speech and/or Language Impairment consistent with Tennessee State Regulations and the disability adversely impacts the student’s educational performance in their learning environment, a treatment plan is developed for that individual student. Students who are identified as having a Speech and/or Language Impairment may be served in a variety of settings such as group/ individual therapy, inclusion, and/or on a consultative basis.
Kelsey Boring provides therapy and case management for students at Madisonville Primary School, Madisonville Intermediate School, Madisonville Middle School, and Sequoyah High School. Ms. Boring may be reached at [email protected]
Mallory Gruenenfelder provides therapy and case management for students at Madisonville Primary School, Vonore Elementary School, Vonore Middle School, and Sweetwater High School. Ms. Gruenenfelder may be reached at [email protected]
Karen Kirkpatrick provides therapy and case management for students at Tellico Plains Elementary School, Tellico Plains Junior High School, Tellico Plains High School, and oversees therapy at Coker Creek Elementary and Rural Vale School. Ms. Kirkpatrick may be reached at [email protected]
Betsy Mashburn graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Biology in 2018 and continued her education at the University of Memphis, where she graduated with an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology in 2020. She currently provides case management and therapy services at Vonore Elementary, Vonore Middle, Madisonville Primary, and Sequoyah High School. Ms. Mashburn may be reached at [email protected]
Alicia Russell provides therapy across the county under the supervision of our licensed speech pathologists. Ms. Russell may be reached at [email protected]