The letter included another formula for figuring out service hours. Since there has been a large response to Nancy's article, I thought this information was critical to get out. I thank both Ann and Nancy for allowing me to share this portion of their correspondence. Itinerant teachers of students with visual impairments working with these students must develop schedules to accommodate an array of responsibilities such as direct instruction of compensatory skills, adaptation of materials, assessment, programming planning, consultation with parents and teachers, ordering and distributing adapted materials, and travel from school to school. Because of this multiplicity of factors, the following suggested service levels can only be used as guidelines in developing appropriate levels of service to any given student.
Numbers are hours per week of itinerant teacher's time.
The amount of time required to complete the travel requirements of the specific caseload must be incorporated. A final total of 35-45 hours per week is considered acceptable, recognizing that a teacher should not have a caseload at the upper limit for several consecutive years. The type and quantity of service provided to a student with a visual impairment will be based on the results of comprehensive assessment and recommendations by the student's planning team. When there is only one itinerant teacher in an area, creative options to meet the needs of all students may include assignment of specific types of task to other service providers with the appropriate qualifications under the direction of the itinerant teacher. Some of the following considerations are mutually exclusive and will require the supervisor to incorporate additional factors specific to the particular situation.