Until recently, I hadn’t heard the term “itinerant teacher” before. It wasn’t until I started looking into side jobs as a special education teacher that I stumbled upon itinerant teaching. I came across a job posting from a local agency, and it has been a great fit! Read on to find out more about what this job entails.
Definition of a SEIT
I live in New York state. According to the state, SEIS (special education itinerant services) are “services provided by certified special education teachers of an approved preschool program on an itinerant basis to a preschool student with a disability”.
These services are provided by a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) “to meet the individual needs of a preschool student with a disability who attends an early childhood program”.
Basically, a SEIT travels around to the child’s preschool, daycare, home, or community setting to provide one on one services. This image from SC Partnerships for Inclusion explains what a SEIT does. They also have a free SEIT academy for anyone interested in learning more.
My experience as a SEIT
What drew me to this role was the flexibility. SEITs get to choose their caseload, how many hours they work, and make their own schedule.
I work my full-time teaching job from 8:00 am-3:00 pm. Then, I was able to link up with one student who is in an afterschool program until 4:30. I was able to talk with her parents and establish my hours. My other student that I see receives his services in his home.
To read more about the specific job duties of a SEIT providing early intervention services, you can read my other blog about this here.
Getting started
The first thing you can do is a job search to see what opportunities are available in your area.
When you get an interview, talk about your experience working with children with special needs. You can talk about your experience writing IEPs, progress reports, communicating with parents, etc.
Once you complete the onboarding process, you will start seeing the new caseload opportunities come through. Since I work a full-time job, my time to do SEIT services is limited. However, if someone wants to make this their full-time job, or close to full time, there are enough cases available for them to do that.
Things to keep in mind
Just like any job, there are pros and cons. Something to consider about a SEIT position is the flexibility of it. If you are someone who needs a job with an 8-hour shift in one place, then this job is not for you.
This job also involves lots of travel. Personally, I plan to only accept cases that are either close to my school where I work full-time, or close to my home.
Since this job requires travel, be prepared to sort of live out of your car when it comes to bringing supplies, games, toys, etc. to have your student play with. I keep a variety of board games, puzzles, books, and sensory activities in the back of my car in a car organizer. This lets me easily pull these things when I need them.
I also have a large teacher bag with a folder in it that contains paper activities, like coloring. I am constantly taking these things in and out of my car when I am doing this job! You could invest in a traveling teacher bag like this one to help you stay organized.
Another thing to consider is besides the actual services provided in the home or school, SEITs do need to complete some paperwork, and you may not be paid for all of the paperwork. This paperwork can include the IEP, a monthly report, quarterly reports, etc.
Check out this SSE blog on how to implement IEP’s in a preschool classroom. Although it’s geared toward a bigger group of students, there’s great resources in this blog for keeping track of students’ IEP goals, progress monitoring, etc.
Being an itinerant teacher can be a great experience for any special education teachers looking for some extra income and a rewarding opportunity.
Interested in early intervention as a side job? Read about that here!
