HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 05-05 Metro school districts try 'grow their own' approach to hiring special education teachers STAR TRIBUNE A-StarTribune
Metro school districts try
'grow their own' approach to
hiring special education
teachers
Article by: Kim McGuire
Star Tribune
May 5,2014-2:48 PM
Over the past four years, Samantha Ovadal has
been bitten, hit, kicked and scratched while Samantha Ovadal,a Maplewood education
working as an education assistant at a assistant with a bachelor's degree.listened to
9 a student talk about a superhero he created.
Maplewood school that serves students with DAVID JOLES•djoles @startribune.com,
severe emotional and behavioral disorders.
Yet Ovadal loves her job, and dreams of
becoming a special education teacher.The only
things standing in her way are the time and c
money it would take to pursue her master's
degree. Most likely, she would have to quit her
job, creating another difficult-to-fill classroom
vacancy.
But a first-of-its-kind University of Minnesota
master's degree program promises to groom Samantha Ovadal,an education assistant at
John Glenn Alternative Program in
education assistants such as Ovadal into special Maplewood,is one of the people hoping to
education teachers by training them on the ob in take advantage of the new program at the
y g 1 University of Minnesota,which she will attend
the classrooms where they already work. in the fall to become a special education
teacher.
The newly approved program is designed in part DAVID JOLES•djoles @startribune.corr.
to help metro area school districts"grow their
own"special education teachers who are licensed to work with students who have emotional
and behavioral disorders(EBD).
In Minnesota, those teachers are in great demand, but also in short supply. The problem is so
dire that it often prompts school districts to share those teachers, recruit out of state and, in
some instances, place unqualified staff members in the classroom. School districts also have
trouble retaining special education teachers.
"The candidates that have been accepted into this program are excellent,and they know
exactly what they're getting into,"said Jennifer McComas,a professor in the U's Department
of Educational Psychology. "They have the experience,the passion,to become excellent
teachers."
So far,Ovadal and about 20 others have applied up for the two-year program,which will
begin next fall. Each of the aspiring teachers is an education assistant,or paraprofessional,
with a bachelor's degree and experience working in an EBD classroom.
"For me,this program provides the perfect bridge from where I am to where I want to go,"
Ovadal said.
Model that makes sense
The shortage of special education teachers in Minnesota is both severe and persistent.A
yearlong project undertaken by the Star Tribune found there had been a 10 percent decrease
in special education teachers between 2008 and 2013,while there had been a 10 percent
increase in the student population for the same time period.
Similarly,special education teachers were quitting at a rate faster than new ones were
entering the profession.
John Klaber,executive director of the Minnesota Administrators for Special Education,said
the departures are often fueled by the amount of paperwork special education teachers are
required to complete under both federal and state law.And sometimes aspiring teachers
simply aren't ready to take on the demands associated with some students—kids who might
throw a desk across a room or refuse to participate in class.
"Bless the heart of the teachers who deal with the most challenging behavior,the most
challenging kids,he said.it's not surprising that they're going to have their pick of jobs.But
schools can't simply wait around for them to show up at their door and say,'I want to work for
you."
Staff members of Northeast Metro Intermediate 916,which serves students with disabilities
from 11 school districts,are all too familiar with the EBD teacher shortage.
That's why they approached the University of Minnesota over a year ago with the idea of
establishing a program that could help some of their most valued education assistants
become licensed special education teachers.
Those employees,said 916's staffing coordinator Megan McAllister,are passionate about
working with students with special needs and understand the demands placed on special
education teachers.
By fostering on-the-job training that leads to becoming a licensed teacher,the school district
can meet its staffing needs without losing valuable employees to graduate school.Students
benefit because familiar faces am kept in the classroom.ifs a model that makes sense on so
many levels,"McAllister said.
A different path to teaching
The program,which was approved by the state Board of Teaching on April 11,will require
participants to complete 36 credit hours,attend weekly seminars and work with a university
instructor embedded in the school classrooms where they already work,offering instruction
and coaching.
Upon completion,not only will the newly minted teachers have their master's degree in
special education,they will be licensed to work with students who have emotional and
behavioral disorders.Districts with employees planning on participating in the program include
916,Intermediate District 917,Minneapolis,Mounds View and North St.Paul-Maplewood-
Oakdale.
McComas described the program as intensive,but concedes it is likely to offer a quicker path
toward becoming an EBD teacher than a more traditional licensure pathway.
"This,like other licensure programs,doesn't offer a 100 percent guarantee of a teaching job,
but obviously their chances are quite good.°
Tough job,joyful moment
Ovadal,who has an undergraduate degree in sociology,hopes to stay with the John Glenn
Middle School Alternative Learning Program once she completes the University of Minnesota
program.
She says it would be tough to leave the students who made her fall in love with teaching in
the first place.
She recalls the precise moment when that occurred.It was four years ago,early in her career
at John Glenn.She was working with a student who had bounced around from school to
school in the metro area.He was in fifth grade and couldn't read.
Eventually,Ovadal,says she helped him read a kindergarten-level book"with tiny words."
"He felt like he was a tough guy,but as soon as he began reading that book,he started to
smile,"she said. He was proud of himself.I was proud of him.That was the moment when I
knew I wanted to be a special education teacher."
Kim McGuire•612-673-4469