Special ed instructors experience isolation

The highest percentage of “leavers” in public schools work with students who need the most help. Special education instructors, for example, are influenced by the same factors as other teachers, but have additional pressures causing them to either opt out of the teaching profession altogether or switch to general education classes.

Brad Barnes at Chipman Junior High in Bakersfield helps Andrew Sosa-Gonzalez through a problem.

Many “leavers” surveyed by Futernick blame inadequate support for special education students and say programs lack adequate materials, space and attention from administrators. They also complain about overly complex and time-consuming Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and paperwork, difficulty in dealing with parents of special education students, and feelings of isolation from colleagues.

Special education has the biggest shortage of teachers. It’s more difficult to become “highly qualified” under NCLB because those who teach self-contained classrooms must be highly qualified in all the subjects they teach.

In 2004-05, 14 percent of all special education teachers failed to earn certification, as did 22 percent of special education teachers working in high-poverty schools and 49 percent of first-year special education teachers.

Special education teachers have so many meetings scheduled that it is impossible for them to do their job within the confines of the day, says Brad Barnes, a special education teach­­­er at Chipman High School in Bakersfield. Barnes, second vice president of the Bakers­­­­field Elementary Teachers Association, says some have been told they must attend three or more grade-level meetings for teaching core curriculum.

“Some special educators have reported that they have only 20 minutes a day dedicated to scheduling IEP meetings, administering individual assessments, collaborating with general ed staff and writing IEP documents,” says Barnes, who has addressed the school board on these issues. “How do they have time to do this?”

He says special educators in his district get “left-over” materials, equipment and buildings. One teacher works in a half-size trailer with collapsing bookshelves.

Barnes works with the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program. “Even with the support I provide, I see a lot of people come and go. They find it too stressful with too much paperwork, testing and challenges. But the biggest problem I find is that many of them — especially interns — are not prepared to deal with the challenges of special education students. They are just dropped into a classroom, and it’s sink or swim. No wonder they leave.”

“You’re on your own, teaching in isolation, having to scrounge around for supplies and materials,” says Ellen Gervase, a special education teacher in Pomona for 37 years.

Making things worse is the trend toward eliminating resource teacher positions and turning them into special day class teachers, because there is no class size limit on special day classes.

“By reconfiguring the model, there’s no longer a cap,” says Gervase, an Associated Pomona Teachers member. “But in order to implement IEPs, you really need to have a class size that permits individualized instruction to meet the needs of students.”

Of course, there is a reason why many special ed teachers are “stayers,” says Gervase, and that is the rewards of the job.

“Students wear their heart on their sleeves and are so genuine. Teachers develop personal relationships with students and their families that last through the years, and have an opportunity to look at the whole child — not just one test score or one grade. As overwhelming as the job sometimes seems, it can be very, very gratifying to work with this challenging population.”