MIYO Health, formerly known as Teleteachers, were born from a vision to address the glaring shortages in specialized educational services across various remote and underserved communities.
“Teleteachers was founded by a female speech language pathologist who wanted to create a network of other SLPs that could provide services virtually,” Sarah McLaurin explained.
This was especially crucial in areas “where kids live in rural areas where they might have a provider coming out to them once a month or once every few months.”
The initiative stemmed from sheer necessity, as McLaurin recounted, “She even worked in Alaska at one point, and in those villages out there, people had to take five planes and all kinds of transportation. So those kids were going without services.”
The evolution of technology provided a timely solution: “As technology has advanced, there’s the opportunity to be able to provide those services virtually, so that kids can have consistent services that they are legally entitled to.”
Expansion in service offerings
As the demand for virtual educational services grew, so did MIYO health. “
We started with SLPs but quickly expanded to include special education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and even general education. It’s pretty much anything that you can teach in a classroom, we could teach online,” McLaurin highlighted.
This growth was organic but accelerated significantly with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the crucial need for virtual platforms in education.
“The pandemic really pushed the importance and opportunity for virtual services to the forefront,” McLaurin noted. This period also marked a significant pivot for the organization, as they began to package their platform for broader use.
Optimizing the hiring process for education
MIYO health faced the dual challenge of rapidly scaling its workforce to meet burgeoning demand while ensuring that each hire meets stringent qualifications necessary for educational roles.
Sarah McLaurin elaborates on how they’ve optimized their hiring process to address these challenges effectively.
“As we continue to grow it was like the previous tools weren’t fulfilling all of our needs. I think that really came to a head when we had to hire 30 to 40 speech language pathologists and at that time that seemed impossible for a lot of companies.
“So, being able to navigate over to workable, we were able to get the word out a lot farther.”
Workable helped streamline the hiring process by allowing MIYO Health to disseminate job postings widely and filter applications efficiently.
“The challenge was to hire people and get them started as quickly as possible. It was really necessary for us to have somebody to apply today, possibly interview them tomorrow. Get another interview or another step by the end of the week and get them started next week.”
As a result, one of the things they really love at Workable is that “there are so many integrations into free job boards, and then other integrations as well, that we can do. It just automatically sends it out to all these different places.”
Educational background on MIYO Health’s HR approach
The significant impact of having a staff predominantly composed of former educators is evident in MIYO health’s HR strategies and operations. “What’s cool about our staff is that probably 90% of us are former teachers,” McLaurin proudly stated.
This shared background in education provides an invaluable perspective in understanding and addressing the specific needs of schools and students.
McLaurin elaborated, “We were all involved in special education. I was in gifted education as a classroom teacher. It’s wonderful that we know firsthand the burden and the amount of work and pressure that is on teachers in the classroom.”
This deep understanding directly influences how Teleteachers develop their products and services, ensuring they are empathetic to the educators’ daily challenges.
Commitment to educators and appreciation
During Teacher Appreciation Week, it’s especially pertinent to highlight how MIYO health supports and values educators, both in and out of the classroom.
“Our Operations and Hiring Team do such a great job of ongoing support with our providers.” states McLaurin.
MIYO Health sets itself apart from other staffing companies by going beyond simply placing educators.
They engage with them every step of the way and continue to support them in their assignments on an ongoing basis.
This commitment fosters strong relationships with both providers and districts, ensuring a successful and enriching learning environment for all students.
It’s all about helping these kids
MIYO Health aims to reduce the burdens on educators while enhancing the services provided to students.
“We don’t want to put something else on your plate, we want to take things off. We want to make things easier for you. At the end of the day, it’s all about helping these kids and making sure that they’re getting the help and the services that they desperately need,” McLaurin explains.
They also offer mental health services and technologies for schools to address the ongoing mental health crisis. Hence, their new name, MIYO Health, reflects their vision of solving the challenges in mental health and special education delivery.
As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, our conversation with Sarah McLaurin reminds us of the critical role educators play in shaping future generations.
It also highlights the innovative approaches companies like MIYO Health are taking to support these educators through thoughtful HR practices. Also, through commitment to providing valuable, often life-changing services to students across the globe.
Sarah’s journey began in education, fostering a deep understanding of student needs and the power of engaging learning experiences. As an award-winning gifted educator, she crafted innovative curriculum and embraced technology to empower both students and teachers. This passion for education, coupled with her strong analytical and creative skills, led Sarah to the exciting world of EdTech. Now, she leverages her background to develop and launch impactful educational technology solutions, ensuring they effectively address the needs of learners and educators alike.
