What Is Special Education?
Special education is a specialized education program designed to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities in order to maximize their achievement. Special education also involves balancing the requirements of special education legislation and utilizing teaching techniques designed to reach learners of all abilities and at all levels.
Under the law in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all students are provided services that support their needs. Every teacher in the public education system works with children with disabilities and needs a basic understanding of the system. Special education teachers work largely or exclusively with students who qualify for specialized services.
While there are many types of Special Education services, Teaching Fellows work primarily with students who have mild to moderate learning disabilities. "A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store and respond to information. The term learning disability is used to describe the seeming unexplained difficulty a person of at least average intelligence has in acquiring basic academic skills."(1) According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, there are approximately three million school aged children who are classified as having a specific learning disability.
- For more information on the history of special education and the movement to provide all children with a free and appropriate education (FAPE), visit the website for the Council for Exceptional Children.
- For additional resources for teachers, parents, and students, visit the website for the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
The Need for Special Education Teachers in PGCPS
Consider this fact:
- 30% of our nation's positions for college professors in special education go unfilled every year; 3,000 fewer special education teachers are trained as a result. Multiply by sixteen children per teacher, and our nation is looking at 48,000 children affected by a lack of classroom teachers in one year alone (2)
The Prince George's County Teaching Fellows is looking for a select group of outstanding professionals to positively impact the lives of PGCPS's students with special needs. While challenging, teaching special education is an especially rewarding and fulfilling endeavor. Individuals from all academic or professional backgrounds can apply to become Prince George's County Teaching Fellows in special education.
Currently, almost 2,000 PGCPS special education staff members work with general education staff to provide students with special learning needs appropriate services in the least restrictive environment. Approximately 13,000 students, 10 percent of the total PGCPS student body, currently receive special education services. Make these students' success your success. Apply now to be a special education Fellow.
For more information about teaching special education in Prince George's County Public Schools, visit the Department of Special Education website.
Prince George's County Public Schools offers a compensation incentive each year to Special Education teachers. Teaching Fellows will be eligible for this incentive after passing the required additional two Special Education Praxis exams.
What Do Special Education Fellows Teach?
We are excited to provide Fellows with a unique opportunity to become special education teachers for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Fellows who teach Special Education earn dual certification in both Special Education and in a content area. Through the Fellows program, individuals earn a certification in Mild to Moderate Special Education.
Fellows with a special education placement can teach at the elementary, middle, or high school level. Fellows at all levels teach in either co-teaching, self-contained or resource positions. Typically, Fellows at the elementary level teach in either co-teaching or resource positions. Ideally, in the co-teaching model, Fellows work with a general educator to lesson plan for an entire class. Both the special educator and the general educator split the instruction, with the special educator focusing closely on the students on his/her caseload to meet their IEP goals. As an elementary resource teacher, Fellows are assigned a caseload of students across grade levels and may pull out students during specific subject blocks in order to work on skills in Reading or Math.
Special Education Fellows who teach at the middle or high school level typically teach a combination of classes, some co-teaching classes and some intensives or self-contained classes. The co-teaching model at the middle or high school level looks similar to the elementary model, with both the Fellow and the general educator dividing instruction. In an intensive course, Fellows work with a smaller group of students – all of whom have IEPs and require special education services.
The Prince George's County Teaching Fellows offers additional training to those Fellows in special education placements. Many educators agree that while special educators require additional and pointed training, at the end of the day, special education techniques are actually just good teaching techniques. All our Fellows, special education or general education are consistent, creative, and committed to implementing effective strategies and tracking student progress.
Special Education Fellows will take Content Seminars in both Special Education and in their content area. During their first year, Fellows take the Special Education Content Seminar entitled Introduction to Special Education: Hands-On Ideas for Increasing Achievement for Students with Disabilities and focus on extending their learning from their summer training. Specifically, the Special Education Content Seminar will help Fellows to:
- Explore and evaluate current special education models of delivery
- Understand the components of and Individualized Education Program
- Learn behavior management techniques for the special education classroom
- Study the relevance of differentiating instruction in special education programs and identify specific strategies for differentiating instruction in content areas
- Examine cultural and linguistic considerations in the context of special education referrals, assessment and placements
- Evaluate the relationships between special education and anti-bias or diversity education
During their second year, Fellows will take a Content Seminar specific to their content certification area. During that seminar, Fellows will focus on deepening their knowledge of the specific instructional strategies that are most effective for teaching their particular content area and grade level. Please visit the certification page of our website to learn more about Content Seminars and Maryland state certification for special education Fellows.
Benefits of Teaching Special Education
Special education is designed around the concept of individualized curriculum. Classes are smaller, and the teacher has the opportunity to get to know students and their families at a much more personal level. The teacher's job is to meet educational goals that have been tailored to the needs of a particular student and write new goals each year, as (s)he meets with a team that assesses the child's progress and determines next steps in the student's education. Fellows teaching special education will likely have the opportunity to team teach or use other teachers as a resource, building relationships throughout the school building to support the classroom. Fellows in this setting may also design individualized schedules, so that students participate in academic classes with their grade-level peers for a portion of the day.
One of the most exciting aspects of teaching special education is the opportunity to be both advocate and teacher. While teachers are first and foremost responsible for academic goals, they also work to develop a positive school environment for students with special needs. Teachers encourage students to participate in all aspects of school life and become a liaison to ensure that students receive the same opportunities as their counterparts taking a general education course load. As a case manager, special education teachers monitor students' progress and report to families and other teachers, while at the same time relying on organizational skills to develop individualized tracking systems and manage case-related paperwork. In addition, special education Fellows will receive specialized training and support through their certification program.
While there are many challenges in teaching special education - students are often far behind their academic potential, many have internalized negative assumptions about their abilities, and special education teachers need to balance the demands of teaching and case management - there are enormous rewards. Teachers in a special education setting have the potential to see significant growth in students' abilities and join a civil rights movement to ensure that all children have access to an outstanding education.
Most special education teachers cite strong personal relationship with students and their families, as well as smaller class sizes, as top reasons for teaching in a special education setting.
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(1) Smith, D.D., Tyler, N.C., Pion, G., Sinedelar, P.T., & Rosenburg, M.S., "The Shortage of Special Education Faculty: Why It Is Happening, Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It," 2001
(2) Frieden, L, "Dearth of spec. ed. professors kindles K-12 shortage," 2003