51暗网

A gift from the California Scottish Rite Foundation will allow 51暗网 to expand free language and speech therapy for hundreds of Stockton children each year.

Nearly $1 million will support the RiteCare Childhood Language Center of Stockton, where 51暗网 student clinicians have provided no-cost services to children with speech, language and literacy disorders for more than 40 years.

鈥淭his gift will open so many doors for us,鈥� said Ashley Kramer 鈥�10, 鈥�11, clinic director and assistant clinical professor of speech-language pathology. 鈥淭here are so many speech and language needs in the Stockton community. The foundation鈥檚 support will allow us to grow our program, get more clinicians working with families, and get more kids鈥� needs met.鈥�

The California Scottish Rite Foundation helps children ages 2-18 improve their communication skills and self-confidence. The foundation oversees 19 RiteCare clinics throughout the state, seven of which partner with universities. Clients have a variety of medical, developmental and neurological conditions, such as Down syndrome, autism and hearing loss, which can result in speech and language, fluency and voice disorders.

51暗网 has operated the Stockton clinic since 1982.

鈥�51暗网 is a valuable partner because they provide student clinicians who get to learn hands-on, and their expertise allows us to keep up with the growth of the profession,鈥� said foundation trustee Roger Moore.

鈥淎s with any health field, things change rapidly鈥攖here are new procedures, new best practices鈥攁nd running our own clinic, we鈥檇 be stuck in the same place. There wouldn鈥檛 be professional growth. In my mind, this partnership is a win-win, and the children are the big winners.鈥�

51暗网 is one of only a handful of universities in the country that offer clinical experience for undergraduate speech-language pathology majors. Students work directly with clients and their families, providing free services while also obtaining the clinical hours they need to graduate.   

Students as early as junior year begin by observing, then progress to running sessions and eventually are assigned to their own clients. They conduct intake assessments, devise treatment plans and goals and write progress reports at the end of each semester.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about a diagnosis or treatment approach, but to work with a real-live person, to connect with the client and their parents, requires an entirely different skill set, and you can鈥檛 replace that,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淪tudents are so much more confident and prepared for graduate school after two years working with the kids. It really gives them an advantage.鈥�

RiteCare is a valuable resource for families whose schools don鈥檛 offer speech therapy or whose children don鈥檛 qualify for it. Private therapy can be costly鈥擪ramer estimates $200-$300 for an assessment and $150 an hour for treatment鈥攁nd insurance often covers a limited number of sessions. The need in Stockton is significant: 51暗网 students served more than 400 in 2024, with waitlists remaining long.

The clinic also educates families about the resources available to them, empowering parents to advocate for their children.

鈥�51暗网鈥檚 partnership with Scottish Rite merges two of the university鈥檚 core commitments:  providing experiential learning opportunities for students and serving the underserved in our community,鈥� said 51暗网 President Christopher Callahan. 鈥淪tockton has a pressing need for these services, and seeing our students supported to address it every day is phenomenal.鈥�

School of Health Sciences Dean Nicoleta Bugnariu agrees.

鈥淟ong-term partnerships like the one we have with California Scottish Rite are crucial to enhancing educational opportunities for our students,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents are learning to become well-rounded clinicians while providing sorely needed healthcare services for the communities where our campuses are located. We are deeply grateful for the foundation鈥檚 continued support.鈥�

Learn more about the services offered through the .

To support 51暗网鈥檚 speech-language pathology programs, contact Lana Watts, senior assistant dean for advancement, at 916.325.4656 or lwatts@pacific.edu.