NCPSSERS

Districts Tap Paraprofessionals to Meet Demand for Special Ed Teachers

Linda Jacobson
Originally posted by EducationDIVE, October 19, 2017

“In the first year of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s STEP UP and Teach program, 150 paraprofessionals enrolled in the program, which provides up to $4,800 in tuition reimbursement, professional development and guidance from a mentor as the candidates take on more teaching responsibilities in classrooms and work toward their degree. … Many [of the] paraprofessionals come from the communities where they work, which in diverse school districts can help to increase the numbers of educators who share the same race, ethnicity and home language as the students they serve.”

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Solving the Teacher Shortage in Special Ed via the Web

Kimberly Beltran
Originally posted by Cabinet Report, April 18, 2016

“It is virtually possible, believes a small Austin firm, to put a highly-qualified educator in front of every student who currently doesn’t have one, including those in special education – a population that could be in the hundreds of thousands nationwide.

Virtually, because a fully-licensed and certificated teacher of record can lead, via web-conferencing, a regularly-scheduled class of students through a core subject lesson using curriculum from the pupil’s home school district.“

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Special Education Teacher Shortage Creates Opportunity for Students

Nika Anschuetz, USA Today
Originally posted by USA Today, December 14, 2015

The nation is in need for trained and qualified special education teachers. “Special ed teachers are so in demand that those pursuing general ed might consider this: The certification makes them more marketable.”

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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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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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School Districts Stressed By Lack Of Trained Specialists

By Jessica Bies
Originally posted by Disability Scoop on September 2, 2014.

“A shortage of school psychologists and other highly trained specialists is making state and local school districts reconsider how they fill their special education departments — and in some cases has driven administrators to new extremes when it comes to hiring staff.”

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Metro School Districts Try ‘Grow Their Own’ Approach to Hiring Special Education Teachers

By Kim McGuire
Originally posted by the Star Tribune: West Metro on May 5, 2014.

“A first-of-its-kind master’s degree program at the University of Minnesota promises to groom education assistants into special education teachers by training them on the job in the classrooms where they already work…”

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