As school-based OT practitioners, we’re responsible for much more than direct services to students. Our days are filled with evaluations, IEP meetings, consultations, documentation, and, for a vast majority of us, travel between schools. Yet, in many districts, our responsibilities are still assessed solely by the number of students who have OT listed on their IEP - AKA your caseload.
The truth is, your workload encompasses much more than just your caseload. Understanding and tracking your workload is essential to advocating for the support you need, ensuring not only your own well-being but also better outcomes for the students and schools you serve. Let’s dive into what it means to track your workload and how you can begin taking steps toward meaningful change.
School-based OT Caseload vs. Workload: What’s the Difference?
What Is Your Caseload?
Your caseload refers to the number of students you are directly responsible for serving through IEPs or 504 plans. For example, you might have a caseload of 50 students across three schools, each requiring different types of intervention or consultation.
While caseload numbers are often used as a quick metric to determine staffing for a district, they only tell part of the story and, to a degree, set us up for failure from the get-go. Caseloads fails to capture many of the tasks and responsibilities that allow you to succeed in your role as a school-based OT.
What Is Your Workload?
Your workload, on the other hand, includes all the tasks and responsibilities that come with your job. These go far beyond direct services to students and may include:
Writing evaluations, IEP reports, and progress updates.
Attending IEP meetings, MTSS sessions, and team discussions.
Collaborating with teachers, parents, and other staff to support student goals.
Traveling between school sites.
Participating in school-wide initiatives like RTI or professional development.
Providing staff training or workshops.
A workload approach accounts for all these tasks, offering a more complete and realistic picture of your responsibilities.
Why a Caseload-Only Approach Falls Short
Using caseload numbers as the sole measure of your responsibilities can lead to unrealistic expectations and unnecessary stress. Here are a few reasons why a caseload-only approach doesn’t work:
1. Invisible Responsibilities
Caseload numbers don’t account for the time spent on evaluations, documentation, and collaboration. These tasks are crucial to your role but are often overlooked in caseload-only models.
2. Burnout and Missed Goals
According to a 2020 survey published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT), 60% of school-based OTs reported feeling their caseloads were unmanageable. Even more concerning, 55% said they couldn’t meet all the mandated IEP minutes for their students. This gap not only impacts students but also contributes to OT burnout.
3. Missed Opportunities
When your caseload is the only focus, there’s often less time and support for broader initiatives like tiered interventions or teacher training—programs that can positively impact more students while reducing referrals.
The Benefits of Tracking Your Workload
Switching to a workload approach offers numerous benefits for both you and your school community:
Advocate for Resources: Data from workload tracking can help you demonstrate the need for additional staff or policy changes.
Improve Time Management: By understanding how your time is spent, you can prioritize high-impact activities and identify inefficiencies.
Enhance Job Satisfaction: A manageable workload allows you to focus on delivering high-quality services, leading to better student outcomes and a more fulfilling career as an OT practitioner.
Support System-Wide Goals: A workload approach highlights how your work contributes to broader school initiatives, helping to align your role with district priorities.
Looking to ditch the Caseload Model and move to a Workload Approach?
While at a rural school district with a caseload of over 100 kids, I knew something had to change. That's when I began to study where my time went and create a plan to get support.
After changing how our program operated and convincing my boss to hire another OT, I created this course to help OT practitioners and other providers do the same.
How to Measure Your Workload
Tracking your workload is simpler than it might seem, and it’s a powerful way to take control of your responsibilities. Here’s how to get started:
Step 1: Use the Workload Calculator
Our Workload Calculator at otschoolhouse.com/calculator is a free tool designed to give you a quick overview of your workload. Input your current caseload data and select the responsibilities that most align with your job, and the calculator will provide a snapshot of how much time it should take to complete your job in a given week. This is a great starting point to screen whether or not your workload "should" be manageable.
Step 2: Conduct a Time Study
For a more accurate understanding of your workload, track everything you do during your workday for one to two weeks. Be detailed—record time spent on direct services, writing reports, traveling, attending meetings, and collaborating with teachers. This time study will give you precise data on where your hours are going.
Step 3: Identify Areas of Concern
Compare the results from your Workload Calculator and time study. Are certain tasks consuming too much of your time? Is there an imbalance between direct services and other responsibilities? Use this analysis to identify areas that need adjustment.
Step 4: Advocate for Change
Present your findings to administrators in a clear, data-driven way. Highlight how your workload exceeds your available time and suggest actionable solutions, such as hiring additional staff, reducing your caseload, or redistributing responsibilities.
If you'd like help with this four-step process, I offer a workshop titled Making The Shift: Caseload to Workload. In that course, I walk you through each step and provide templates and tools to help you and your team along the way. Learn more here.
Overcoming Barriers to Change
Advocating for change isn’t always easy, especially in districts that have relied on a caseload-only model for years. Here are some tips to navigate common challenges:
Speak Their Language
Administrators are often focused on compliance, cost savings, and student outcomes. Frame your argument in terms that resonate with them, such as how a manageable workload can improve compliance with IEP mandates or reduce burnout-related turnover.
Start Small
If a full shift to a workload model seems overwhelming, propose a pilot program for your department. A small-scale trial can demonstrate the benefits of the approach without requiring district-wide changes.
Work as a Team
Collaborate with your colleagues to present a unified case for change. A collective voice is often more persuasive than an individual request.
Take Action Today
If you’re ready to take control of your workload, the Workload Calculator is the perfect place to start. This free tool helps you analyze how your time is spent and provides the data you need to advocate for meaningful change.
By combining the insights from the Workload Calculator with a detailed time study, you’ll be well-equipped to make the case for a workload approach that supports both you and your students.
A Final Thought
The work we do as school-based OT practitioners is invaluable. Unfortunately, it is also sometimes difficult for us to quantify its impact. Understanding and tracking our workloads is the first step to both advocating for ourselves and measuring the quality of our services. Unless we understand the time we spend on specific activities, we are not able to identify what tasks are making the most impact. Maybe it is 1-on-1 services. Maybe it is groups or classroom collaborations. But without the data, we won't know.
By tracking your time, you can make the necessary changes to ensure your time and energy are spent where they matter most—on the students and schools you serve.
Let’s make the shift. Your work matters, and so do you.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association . (2014). Workload Approach: A Paradigm Shift for Positive Impact on Student Outcomes. Retrieved from https://pediatricapta.org/special-interest-groups/SB/pdfs/APTA-ASHA-AOTA-Joint-Doc-Workload-Approach-.pdf
Seruya, F. M., & Garfinkel, M. (2020). Caseload and Workload: Current Trends in School-Based Practice Across the United States. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(5), 7405205090p1-7405205090p8. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.039818