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Recruitment and Retention of Special Educators in Urban Schools
 From the July 2002 Education newsletter."It's getting to crisis proportions," says David Riley, referring to the special education staffing needs in urban school districts across the country. Dr. Riley, the director of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative at the Education Development Center, says that last year, for example, public schools opened in Chicago with over 300 vacancies in special education. The Scope of the Problem Dr. Riley acknowledges that there are many factors behind the nationwide teacher shortage. One prominent factor is school district transfer policies that sometimes make it difficult for individual schools to assess their exact staffing needs and make timely job offers. Another is public perception, fueled by media reports, of problems in urban schools. While Dr. Riley emphasizes that publicity about low test scores doesn't always give an accurate representation of urban schools ("There is some fantastic special education teaching going on in urban schools that is not measured by current testing"), he does say that schools need to do more to support special educators. "Principals need to create communities where adults feel they are learning and growing. This takes money, and urban schools have less money available, so it is harder to develop supports." "We have an increasingly diverse population coming through our doors and we don't have the professionals to greet them," Dr. Riley says. Clark County's Success Story Because of its population growth, Clark County, NV, which includes the Las Vegas area, needs about 100 new special education teachers each year. Charlene Green, associate superintendent, admits that retaining teachers is a challenge. "We have one of the lowest teacher salary rates in the country, so it's the little things we do that keep teachers here." Before the school year even begins, all new teachers attend a day-long program designed to orient them to the communities where they will be teaching. They have the chance to learn about the community agencies in their school's area. Each new teacher is then assigned a mentor in his or her school. Special education teachers receive mentoring from the county office in addition to their schools. District-level mentors and mentees meet monthly to provide new teachers not only help with books and supplies, but also the chance to discuss any issues or problems that they are dealing with. The Clark County school district will also reimburse in-service teachers for courses taken toward their master's degree. They are in the process of establishing a partnership with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas to bring recent graduates of the school's education program together for roundtable discussions on what additional information they wished they had learned in school. Teachers can then take refresher courses at the university, with the school district sharing the cost. Like many districts, Clark County also has an alternative certification program that enables prospective teachers, upon earning nine credits toward their certificate, to teach in a classroom, with guidance from a mentor, while they earn the rest of the credits they need to be fully certified. The district also has a cohort program, through which paraeducators and other instructional assistants, who have at least two years of college, receive a salary and benefits from the district for 18 months while they earn the rest of the credits needed to become certified teachers. All of the effort put into retention are paying off; last year, the retention rate for special education teachers was 87%. "Clark County has put in a system of supports that many school districts can learn from," says Dr. Riley. His Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative is designed to give urban special education administrators the chance to learn from each other and share ideas and strategies at twice-yearly conferences and other leadership development activities. For information on the Collaborative and its programs, see its web site.
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