New certification program tackles shortage of special education teachers in Delaware
DOVER, Del.- “As of this summer, there were approximately 165 vacant special education teacher positions in the state of Delaware. As you can imagine, this project is very much needed,” Juergensen said.
Just over a $1 million grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education is headed to Delaware State University’s Special Education Department to address that issue, forming the new certification program Project DE-SPEC. “Students with disabilities have individualized education programs which give them a right to special education services. Those services have to be provided,” DSU Assistant Professor of Special Education Rachel Juergensen said.
Juergensen is spreading the initiative and said it gives existing teachers the opportunities and experiences needed to address the learning needs of students with disabilities. “A lot of teachers who go through teacher preparation programs only receive maybe one course in special education. That’s typically a very introductory course that doesn’t give them the knowledge and experiences they need,” she said.
The Seaford School District said they too have been grappling with that shortage and have had to get creative on finding ways to manage. “What we’ll do is instead of hiring a special education teacher, we’ll hire two paraprofessionals to support students where they need it. Then, that means more of a load for the special education teachers to have under case management,” SSD Directo of Human Resources Jason Cameron said.
Juergensen added that often times teachers are expected to continue their education at their own expense, but this program helps eliminate that barrier. “The tuition for the course is covered, textbooks for the course work are covered, the certification testing fee is covered, and there’s also a small stipend for teachers as well,” Juergensen said.
Juergensen told 47ABC that general education teachers can benefit from the program as well. She said about 67% of students with disabilities spend around 80% or more of their days in a traditional classroom setting.
The Seaford School District said their secondary schools have had to take an innovate approach with setting up their classrooms to maximize the time students have with those teachers.
This is a five-year grant, with year one focusing on the development of course work. We’re the program will be offered online.
Each cohort will consist of 16 teachers. By the end of the year five, the hope is to have 64 teachers go through the program and be certified in special education.
Juergensen said there’s also plans in the works to start building up relationships with school districts across the state. She added the university also hopes to build out their special education program to offer a master’s degree in the future.
The first cohort is expected to start the program fall of 2024.
