District Administration - December 2008 - (Page 26)

DESPERATELY SEEKING SPECIAL ED TEACHERS serves a suburb of Chicago, makes sure to include new special education and general education classes in the same teacher orientation and induction sessions, says Kitty Murphy, the district’s assistant superintendent for student services and special education. Too often special educators undergo separate orientation and induction, she says. By avoiding that trap, the district hopes to ensure that special educators understand that “we are one system,” Murphy says. “We are not special ed over here and general ed over here,” she says. “And then when they know that is the case, they feel more supported. And I think too often special ed and general ed are run as two separate systems.” At least every other month, the district also holds discipline meetings to give special education teachers across the district the opportunity to meet and discuss issues, such as curriculum adaptations and modifications. “ at’s really an opportunity to network with their fellow teachers,” Murphy says. e district has also enlisted retired and active special educators and special ed supervisors to mentor new special education teachers to provide guidance and sources of feedback, Murphy says. In most cases, the district can match a special education employee with a mentor in the same specific field. Mentors help beginning special education teachers in areas such as time management and organization, getting through tough parent conversations and how to work best with general education teachers. In addition to practical advice, a mentor can also provide an emotional outlet for teachers struggling with the complex, demanding responsibilities of special education, Murphy says. e mentorship makes special education teachers feel less isolated. “ ey need someone that they can talk to, that they can bounce things off of and that they can vent to,” she says. “So the more support they have—the more they don’t feel alone, and they feel like they can turn to someone for help—[the more they] tend to stay.” 26 December 2008 Mentoring programs, combined with strong induction processes, are effective in boosting retention of special education teachers, according to a 2007 report by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, which noted that “some mentoring programs achieved a five-year teacher retention rate as high as 80 percent.” years—with no applicants. To help overcome that, a state grant provides scholarship money to select districts so that employed speech-language teachers on restricted licenses can study for their master’s degree in a distance learning arrangement with Nova Southeastern University in Florida. e program has helped four Newberg teachers study for master’s “Itʼs probably as great or more of an issue than people leaving the profession.” —Mark Schalock, associate professor, Western Oregon University, Teaching Research Institute Grow Your Own Districts recruiting special education teachers look to university programs by going to job fairs or conducting outreach. But why not look closer to home? Newberg (Ore.) Public Schools, a district located about 20 miles southwest of Portland, used two types of state grants to give scholarships to provide district employees with the opportunity to pursue a career as a special education teacher. e first type of state grant provided scholarships for general education teachers and classified staff, such as educational assistants, to begin or complete a special education program at a university, says Anne Wylie, director of special programs for the approximately 5,000-student district. A second Oregon state grant is meant to address the severe shortage of speechand-language pathologists statewide. Students who obtain undergraduate degrees in speech and language disorders receive restricted state licenses to teach, but they must eventually complete a master’s program to obtain a full license in speech-language pathology to be able to continue teaching. e problem in Oregon is there are so few spots in master’s programs that it is difficult for aspiring speech-language pathologists to take that next educational step in their career, Wylie says. e shortage is so bad that Newberg has had speechlanguage pathologist job openings for four degrees. “We now have very, very excited young speech-and-language pathologists involved in the program and doing a very nice job for our districts,” Wylie says. Such “grow your own” programs— recruiting and assisting internal candidates in getting the proper education—are very useful, especially in rural areas, which have more trouble in attracting and retaining special education teachers, according to Mark Schalock, an associate professor at Western Oregon University’s Teaching Research Institute. A big advantage of such programs “is that you can really target people who have strong ties to the community and are likely to stay there,” Schalock says. “ ere is a huge turnover of special educators moving from district to district. It’s probably as great or more of an issue than people leaving the profession.” Honesty and Confidence “If administrators value their employees and their profession, are honest, and confident, the teachers, the speech-andlanguage pathologists, nurses, school psychologists, related service providers, and para-educators will feel supported,” Purcell adds, “and will maintain the type of loyalty that makes for a stable workforce.” DA Kevin Butler is a contributing writer for D A. Christy Chambers, who is past president of CASE, contributed to this report. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - December 2008

District Administration - December 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
News Update
College Preparatory
Security
Technology
District Profile
Administrator Profile
DA Web Seminars
Desperately Seeking Special Ed Teachers
Special Education’s Challenges
Building the Best Auditorium
Leading the Way
Righting the Writing Process
Sharpening a District’s Leadership Model
TCEA
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Research Center
Calendar of Events
Online Edge

District Administration - December 2008

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