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America’s Teaching Force, by the Numbers

By Laura McKenna, The Atlantic
Originally posted by The Atlantic, September 10, 2015

“Solutions to the teacher-shortage problem must take into account its complexities; across-the-board initiatives to increase the number of education majors are unlikely to address each state’s specific set of issues. Teacher-training programs could do a better job of providing students with concrete information about the employment realities—which subject areas need teachers and which ones don’t. Given that 14 percent of 20-somethings are unemployed, that information is certainly valuable. And greater certification portability would reduce barriers to relocation, while streamlined recertification options could help teachers who struggled to find work or were laid off during the recession return to the profession.”

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Districts Facing Teacher Shortages Look for Lifelines

By Ross Brenneman, Education Week
Originally posted by Education Week, August 6, 2015

“The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education have in fact shown significant drops in teacher-education enrollment in many states, including in large states like Texas, New York, and California. Many experts chalk up such declines, as well as regional teacher shortages, to the Great Recession and ensuing cutbacks in public spending. Others have charged that poor teacher working conditions, such as low salaries and test-driven school cultures, are nudging existing and potential educators toward other professions, especially with the economy improving…

…Drops in education-school enrollments don’t necessarily equal shortages, though. According to data from its state education department, for instance, New York has a major surplus of certified teachers.

In shortage areas, demographic trends and school-enrollment changes tend to combine with other factors to spur greater demand for teachers…”

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Wanted: More Special Ed Teachers, Apply Everywhere

By Tom Chorneau, Cabinet Report
Originally posted by the Cabinet Report, August 4, 2015

“In what is fast becoming a national crisis, school administrators throughout the country are scrambling to fill special education positions even as some states move to create new incentives…

…A report in March from the U.S. Department of Education found few districts in the country that have not experienced some shortage of applicants for special education jobs during the past five years and put the current deficit of highly qualified instructors for students with disabilities at about 11 percent nationally…”

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Post Navigation Report: Fixing CA Teacher Shortage Requires ‘Profound Shift’ in Thinking

By Craig Clough, LA School Report
Originally posted by the LA School Report, June 29, 2015

“Among the biggest challenges facing California school districts in the coming years is a growing teacher shortage. Enrollment in teacher preparation programs has plummeted since 2008, and more than 100,000 teachers are expected to retire in the next decade.

Despite the gathering storm, the state lacks any cohesive strategy to solving the problem, according to a new report from Bellwether Education Partners, a national non-profit that focuses on improving education, especially for high-needs students. The solution would require a “profound shift” in thinking and involve a multi-faceted approach that would bring more cohesiveness to strategies at the statewide and local level, the report finds.”

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Small Rural Districts Battle to Keep Special Ed Students Close to Home

By Ricardo Cano, The Fresno Bee
Originally posted by The Fresno Bee, June 19, 2015

“Now in its third year, [Strategically Helpful Intervention Nurturing Educational Services] has been hailed as a success by [Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District] because it allows the eight participating students to get the specialized educational program they need close to home.

Yet for many high-need special education students from rural areas, getting the services they need can be a challenge — and often can require a long ride from home.

Unlike the Valley’s larger urban districts, small rural districts often don’t have the money — or enough students, or even teachers — to float their own programs. So they rely on the Fresno County Office of Education to hire teachers and organize classroom programs for those students. The downside: It can entail an hour-long bus ride to get to the program. That can be a deal-killer for some parents.

These faraway districts are used to having to stretch their dollars and often look for creative ways to serve as many of their special education students within the district. Sometimes it means creating a new program altogether like Firebaugh-Las Deltas…”

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How to Fix a Teacher Shortage

By Christopher Magan, Pioneer Press
Originally posted by eSchool News on March 4, 2015.

“Administrators argue that Minnesota’s strict licensing requirements and union rules make it difficult to attract and retain highly effective and diverse teachers. Teachers union leaders say that state law already gives schools flexibility and that the rules Minnesota has now ensure students get the best teachers possible… As lawmakers debate ways to address the state’s teacher shortage, some worry the proposed changes could lead to risky unintended consequences.”

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Solving the School Therapist Shortage

By Mackenzie Ryan
Originally posted by District Administration on February 26, 2015.

“Last year, an occupational therapist job posting went six months without a single application being submitted to Educational Services District 112, which provides special education services to 28 rural districts across six counties near the Oregon border.

And that sent the district’s special education director, Michelle Murer, searching to find another way to provide occupational therapies to rural students. She found the answer this past fall, which bypassed the difficulty of geography altogether: a burgeoning model known as telepractice, in which students receive services from therapists online.”

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Sharp Rise in Occupational Therapy Cases at New York’s Schools

By Elizabeth A. Harris
Originally posted by The New York Times on February 17, 2015.

“The number of children receiving such [occupational] therapy in New York and elsewhere has shot up in recent years, the byproduct of increasing numbers of special-needs students, a new approach toward teaching them and, to a lesser extent, greater academic demands on all young children.”

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In Mississippi, Lack of School Nurses a Threat to Health, Education

By Jackie Mader
Originally posted by The Hechinger Report on November 16, 2014.

“…In recent years, the number of school nurses in the state has fluctuated. In 2008, 20 districts were without a school nurse. By 2010, that number dwindled to two districts. By 2011, though, the number of districts without nurses had skyrocketed to 14, which a state report attributes to the “economy and elimination of time limited grants.”

One reason is that many school districts decide they simply can’t afford to have a nurse, said Estelle Watts, the state’s school nurse consultant for the Mississippi Office of Healthy Schools.

Employing a school nurse often comes down to funding decisions by individual districts and how they budget the little money they have. Since 1997, the state has only fully funded schools twice, which means cash-strapped districts have had to cut teachers and skimp on supplies at a time when they are also expected to upgrade technology for new, online exams rolling out this spring…”

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