How can schools provide stronger support for special education teachers? Schools we work with generally start their strategic staffing planning by creating small Multi-Classroom Leader™ teams—grade- or subject-based teaching teams led a teacher with a record of student learning growth, who takes formal accountability for the team’s student results, for more pay. But some schools have begun to see the need for creating similar teams specifically for special education (SPED) teachers. Here’s an early look at what schools in two districts are doing, in the hopes of strengthening teacher retention and recruitment and better serving students.
In New Mexico, Carlsbad Municipal School District leaders have created a SPED teaching team in one school this year; in North Carolina, a Wilson County principal realized the need for this MCL™ role early in the year, designing it in hopes of a midyear hire.
Although they’re separated by thousands of miles, the districts face similar challenges in recruiting and retaining SPED teachers, negatively affecting students when new teachers struggle to handle all the issues around each child’s IEP (individual education program).