Preparing Occupational Therapy Students in a Role-Emerging Private School-Based Setting

This capstone project occurred in collaboration with Cornerstone Christian Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a role-emerging area of practice, occupational therapy must focus on integrating services in private schools just as much as public schools. The need for resources to support future fieldwork students at Cornerstone Christian Academy makes it difficult for occupational therapy students to enhance their experiential learning opportunities and serve an underserved population of primary and middle school students. The capstone project consisted of daily engagement with Cornerstone Christian Academy’s educational personnel, attending students, and the parents of the students for 14 weeks to ensure all stakeholders involved will benefit from the capstone project. These interactions resulted in creating an evidence-based fieldwork manual tailored to guide fieldwork students through their experiences. Delivery of occupational therapy services in private institutions such as Cornerstone Christian Academy can serve as a model to bring attention to the limited educational support such institutions may face. Shedding light on the increasing demand for school-based support services in private schools and fieldwork experiences in role-emerging areas provides an opportunity for occupational therapy to fulfill multiple needs to achieve the common goal of academic success