The Rolland J. Van Hattum Award for Contribution in the Schools recognizes an individual demonstrating exemplary commitment and contribution to service delivery in the schools. This award is supported by the Rolland J. Van Hattum Fund.
2022
- Julie Malone
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District
- Chula Vista, CA
Julie Malone is recognized as an advocate for student access to appropriate services and for improved working conditions for speech-language pathologists. By raising awareness in her district of SLPs’ accomplishments and contributions, SLPs received increased salaries, benefits, and support. As a founding member of her district’s Learning Coalition, she helped develop a Professional Learning Communities roadmap to focus on educational achievement and created a collaborative database for tracking student essential standards. She helped revise the Communication Severity scales, a guide for service-provision decisions in California districts. Her work on behalf of clinicians has improved speech-language services and improved student achievement in schools district-wide and across California.
2021
- Rachel K. Powell
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- Brookhaven School District
- Brookhaven, Mississippi
Rachel Powell is recognized for advocating for speech-language pathologists and improving speech-language and hearing services in schools. Within her district, she fought for early access to speech-language services and led the collaboration to publish the “Handbook for Speech-Language Pathologists in Mississippi Schools,” providing uniform procedures and criteria for services. She trained teachers on phonological awareness for reading and writing instruction and on interpreting screenings to target interventions. As a representative of the Mississippi Speech-Language-Hearing Association, she promoted SLPs’ roles in schools and their contributions to literacy curricula and student-loan forgiveness legislation for school-based SLPs. Her support for clinicians and students has profoundly affected her district and schools across Mississippi and the nation.
2020
Awarded $2,000; School system awarded $500
- Maureen Staskowski
- Consultant for Speech, Language, and Literacy
- Macomb Intermediate School District
- Clarkston, Michigan
Maureen Staskowski is recognized for her leadership in establishing a professional development system to implement evidence-based service delivery, directly affecting more than 200 speech-language pathologists, and providing a replicable model for other school systems. Her program combines adult learning, technology, and research collaborations to support school-based SLPs. The intervention and prevention projects help students with complex communication needs who use alternative and augmentative communication, preschool and school-age students who need assessment and intervention in articulation and phonology, and students with language/literacy disorders.
2019
Awarded $2,000; School system awarded $500
- Lisa A. Keane
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- Broward County Schools
- Coral Springs, Florida
Lisa A. Keane is recognized as an advocate for school-based speech-language pathologists, evidenced in her service to students with communication disorders and her support of professional peers. She has provided school-district literacy trainings, led efforts to enhance workforce conditions, promoted the value and improvement of speech-language pathology services, and launched grassroots advocacy efforts to increase service-delivery funding. As coordinator of ASHA's Coordinating Committee for Special Interest Group 16, School-Based Issues, she has extended the impact of her contributions to advance school-based speech-language services to the national level.
2018
Awarded $1,500; School system awarded $500
- Elizabeth A. Fitzpatrick
- Speech Coach
- New York City Department of Education, District 75
- Brooklyn, New York
Elizabeth Fitzpatrick has provided exceptional professional staff development to hundreds of speech-language pathologists in schools within the New York City Department of Education. In District 75, she has delivered speech-language treatment to elementary and high school students with autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, hearing impairments, and emotional disturbances. She helped to create the content for a new version of the Citywide Speech Services Communication Profile, a comprehensive document compiling assessment findings and baseline information to facilitate collaboration among personnel on student treatment plans. Her unique contributions provide models of best practice and enhance quality services for students.
View Rolland J. Van Hattum Award for Contribution in the Schools recipients before 2018 [PDF].