Have you ever wondered what a TSVI does all day? Some TSVIs are employed by one school district so work in one building every day, or only travel within the district. But some TSVIs cover large areas. Those TSVIs are called itinerant, meaning they serve multiple students in multiple districts, and may work with children of all ages, from babies to 21+! The TSVIs employed by NDVS/SB are all itinerant, meaning they spend lots of time in their cars, lots of time writing reports, and lots of time with many different kiddos! Get a taste of what a day in the life of a TSVI is like by reading about NDVS/SB's Outreach Coordinator Erin Storhoff's day on Thursday, December 12, 2024!
6:48 a.m. Started personal car to drive to state vehicle
7:26 a.m. Sat in warm personal car waiting for state vehicle to warm up! Temp is -11 and feels like -20! ☹
7:47 a.m. Leave Casselton to drive to Oakes.
9:25 a.m. Arrive in Oakes to see three students at the public school. Worked on concepts of top, underneath, behind, and next to for an O&M lesson with a
preschool student. And worked on cardinal directions, parallel and perpendicular streets with two elementary students on an O&M lesson. The girls also had to figure out a way to get an individual to their destination by using Boom cards, which are interactive lessons and activities built by educational professionals. All three Oakes girls were gifted a Barbie that has a white cane for Christmas!
10:45 a.m. Head towards Valley City to see three students. On the way, I received a call from the Early Interventionist saying my 11:30 visit is sick and won’t be at daycare. Bummer! ☹ I quickly call the school TSVI to see if I could see my 1:30 visit at 11:30 instead. Yes, that'll work!
Quickly eat lunch (maybe better described as a snack) - Gardettos and water between visits
11:30 a.m. Arrive at Valley City High School. Complete an O&M lesson with a student. It was too cold to be outside, so we worked on cane technique for stairs and played a game of TREKS.
12:35 p.m. Arrive at Jefferson Elementary to complete a Functional Vison Evaluation and give recommendations to the student’s case manager.
2:15 p.m. Stop for a coffee before heading out of town!
3:15 p.m. Arrive back in Casselton. Stop to fill gas tank up before tomorrow's travels.
3:45 p.m. Return to home office to start working on reports!!
Totals for today:
- 203 miles driven
- 5 students served
- 1 coffee drank
- hundreds of Christmas songs listened to while driving!
Erin Storhoff is an Outreach Coordinator at NDVS/SB and serves the rural areas of Region 5, including Rural Cass Special Ed Unit, GST Special Ed Unit, and Sheyenne Valley Special Ed Unit. She has a masters in Special Education - Visual Impairment from UND, and an O&M endorsement from the University of Northern Colorado. She lives with her husband and three children in Casselton, ND.