School Contracting 101 with Elise Mitchell

In this SLP Creative Con podcourse, we are joined by Elise Mitchell, owner of the Therapist Support Network, as we discuss direct school contracting for SLPs/OTs/PTs. Elise shares her background, including leaving SNF work and staffing-company roles due to burnout and starting direct contracting after connecting with a rural SPED director, leading to her business supporting providers who want to “work with schools, not for them.” We define school contracting as a direct agreement between a provider/private practice and a district (removing the middleman) and note it can be full-time, part-time, specialized, in-person, or virtual. Elise outlines good candidate traits (school experience, independence, willingness to market, and optional multiple revenue streams), pros (flexibility, control, setting rates) and cons (lack of benefits, contract instability). She describes three steps—sell, contract, execute—covering outreach to SPED directors, job-board targeting, vendor requirements, contract clauses (caseload caps, space, termination), billing/invoicing, and scaling via subcontractors.