Carol RileyNational Association ofElementary School Principals

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Bambi ThompsonPrincipalT.C. Walker Elementary, VA

Phoebe GillespieNational Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities(NASDSE)

Susan T. KarrSchool Services in Speech-Language PathologyAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association

WelcomeWe will begin at 4:00 EST

Principal PracticesSupporting and Retaining Special Education Staff

and Related Services Providers

Principal Practices

Supporting and Retaining Special Education Staff

and Related Services Providers

2Questions ? 800.386.2377

Susan T. Karr, M.S., CCC-SLP, Associate DirectorSchool Services in Speech-Language PathologyAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)Rockville, MD

Phoebe Gillespie, Ph.D., Director National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of

Qualified Personnel for Children with DisabilitiesNational Association of State Directors of Special Education Alexandria, VA

Bambi Thompson, Ed.D., PrincipalT.C. Walker Elementary, Gloucester, VA

Carol Riley, M.S., DirectorProfessional Development and National Principal Mentor

CertificationProgram/National Association of Elementary School PrincipalsAlexandria, VA 3

GOALS

Identify the critical issues Explore the current data about

personnel shortages Identify strategies to improve the

retention rates of special education and related services staff

Share best practices from a principal in the field

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Susan T. Karr, M.S., CCC-SLPAssociate Director

School Services in Speech-Language PathologyAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)Rockville, MD 5

National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services

Over 30 national, state & local organizations advocating for remedies to current & anticipated personnel shortages.

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Who are the Coalition Members?

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) American Counseling Association (ACA) American Federation of Teachers (AFT) American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) American Psychological Association (APA) American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) American School Counselor Association (ASCA) American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) The George Washington University Graduate School of Education (GWU) Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE) Montgomery College School of Education (MCSE) Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education (MCPS BD of ED)7

Coalition Members, cont’d

National Association of School Nurses (NASN) National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel

for Children with Disabilities (Personnel Improvement Center @ NASDSE)) National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (NCCTQ) National Education Association (NEA) National School Boards Association (NSBA) National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health/

Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (Georgetown University)

Prince Georges County Public Schools (PGCPS) Progressus Therapy, LLC School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) Teach for America The IRIS Center University of Maryland (UMD) Virginia Parent Center on Disability – Parent Educational Advocacy Training

Center (PEATC) 8

Who Do We Work With?

Other organizations such as: National Association of

Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)

National School Boards Association (NSBA)

Infants, children, youth and their families who are in need of specialized instruction and pupil services in order to meet their educational potential.

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Who do we represent?

professionals who work with infants, children and youth with disabilities

parents pre-service preparation programs administrators school board members members of state & local departments

of education

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What Do We Do?

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Sharing information across professions

• Monitoring, tracking & collecting data

Disseminating strategies to improve policies and practices

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www.specialedshorta

ges.org

We advocate

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for support at the local, state, and federal level to remedy the shortage ofspecial education and related services personnel

We provide

information, strategies, advocacy & support through…

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1. Dialogue guide2. Webinars3. Technical assistance4. Personnel data across

the professions5. Website

What are the Issues?

SHORTAGES… The ratio of elementary students to school

counselors (831:1) is more than three times the recommended number (250:1).

Shortages of special education teachers are reported in 98% of our nation’s schools, with the greatest demand in the poorest schools.

The ratio of students to audiologists (71,555:1) is more than 7 times the recommended number (10,000:1).

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STUDENT NEEDS…

Fewer than 1 in 5 of the 17.5 million children in need of mental health services actually receive the needed services.

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STAFFING NEEDS…

There will be a shortage of almost 9,000 school psychologists in the US by 2010, with a cumulative shortage of almost 15,000 by 2020.

From 2005-2006 there was a significant increase in the need for occupational therapists and audiologists in schools.

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What is the Impact on Services?

According to the ASHA Schools Survey, percentage of SLPs that reported shortages in their schools has increased as follows:

2008: 72% 2006: 68% 2004: 62% 2000: 51% 18

What is the Impact?, cont’d

17% of schools with more than 750 students have no registered nurse on duty.

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Teacher Attrition Issues

Special education teachers are leaving at a higher rate than other teachers.

The highest attrition rates are during the first 5 years of teaching or at retirement.

The average cost to recruit, hire, prepare, and then lose a teacher is

$50,000. 20

Phoebe Gillespie, Ph.D., Director

National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with DisabilitiesNational Association of State Directors of Special Education(NASDSE) Alexandria, VA

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What are significant principals’ actions that support and retain special educators and related

services providers?22

Reference

DiPaola and Walther-Thomas, 2003 Principals and Special Education: The Critical Role of School LeadersCOPSSE Document No. IB-7 www.copsse.org 23

Principals

Produce enhanced outcomes for students with disabilities and others at risk for school failure when they: focus on instructional issues demonstrate administrative support for

specialized instructional support services provide high-quality professional

development.24

Principals

Have identified “help and information

about implementing successful special

education and related services”(or specialized instructional support services - SISS) as their greatest

need.

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Administrators

Are better prepared to provide appropriate

support when they clearly understand: the needs of students with disabilities, IDEA, and the instructional challenges that

educatorswho work with students with disabilities face.

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Effective Principals

Invest…in the time necessary to devise policies and procedures for classroom support that enables teams to perform their jobs successfully.

For Example

They… ensure manageable workload responsibilities, provide high quality professional development

opportunities, develop mentoring and induction programs, hone progress monitoring skills, and are committed to sustained implementation of

effective innovations.

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Supportive Principals

Nurture…

the development of others and build support networks.

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For Example

They…

facilitate appropriate student placements and personnel assignments

ensure teachers and specialists have regularly scheduled common planning time

promote staff members’ talents and skills encourage shared leadership

Thoughtful Principals

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Foster…

collaboration and classroom communication.

For example

They…

ensure sufficient resources for all students with disabilities

provide relevant information to staff and parents

create role flexibility and shared decision-making power.

Skillful Principals

Promote…research-based instructional models

thatincorporate effective teaching and management skills

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For Example

They…

develop a working knowledge of disabilities

understand and facilitate the use of effective research-based practices

recognize the instructional demands that classroom teachers and building specialists face

provide more appropriate support to these professionals.

Building-level support

…from principals and general educators has a strong effect on virtually all critical aspects of (special education) teachers’ working conditions.

Gersten et.al., 2001

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Bambi Thompson, Ed.D., Principal

T.C. Walker ElementaryGloucester County School DistrictGloucester, VA

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WHAT ARE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ISSUES FOR PERSONNEL SHORTAGES IN YOUR DISTRICT?

  Recruitment programs Retention practices Quality of applicants Principal/administrative support Support services, including

working conditions/materials/resources, etc. 37

Non-negotiable principles

High expectations for all students On-going and high-quality professional

development led by Walker’s faculty Continuous learning by staff members Professional Learning Communities built

on collaboration and trust Principal is an instructional leader Continuous progress monitoring of

programs and student progress

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Non-negotiable principles

High expectations for all students

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Non-negotiable principles

On-going and high-quality professional development led by members of the Walker Faculty

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Non-negotiable principles

Continuous learning by all staff members

Non-negotiable principles

Professional Learning Communities built on collaboration and trust

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Non-negotiable principles

Principal is an instructional leader

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Non-negotiable principles

Continuous progress monitoring of programs and student progress

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SEVEN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES

1. Scheduling for students2. Planning time3. Team meetings4. Shared responsibilities5. Continuous growth for adults6. Staff strengths and student needs7. Parents

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Strategy One

1. Teachers of students with disabilities, related services personnel, general education teachers and the principal work together to develop the master schedule. Students with disabilities and our most difficult to teach students are considered in the schedule FIRST!!!! 46

Best Practices

If possible all services provided to students with disabilities are provided in the classroom.

Teachers’ and related services personnel’s experiences and skills are used in creative ways.

INTERVIEW Mrs. Jackie James-Gray 47

Strategy Two and Three

2. Teachers have common-planning time so that they can adequately plan lessons and monitor programs and student progress.

3. The principal meets with all grade level teams and ancillary staff every other week during their planning times. These team meetings are designed to discuss student progress ONLY! 48

Strategy Four

4. General educators view special educators and related services personnel as peers and rely on their expertise to make critical decisions about their common students. They include them in all decision making, data analysis, progress monitoring and development of goals and objectives for shared responsibilities. 49

Strategy Five and Six

5. All staff members are encouraged to continue learning and to obtain additional degrees and certificates.

6. As the instructional leader, the principal is aware of the qualifications of her staff and the upcoming needs of her students for successful placements.

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Strategy Seven

7. Time is provided for staff members to collaborate with parents to teach them how to work with their children at home. Personnel have video- taped many of their lessons so that parents can view a specific skill being taught.

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Students

Staff

School Community

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Webinar Goals

Identified the critical issues Explored the current data about

personnel shortages Identified strategies to improve the

retention rates of special education and related services staff

Shared best practices from a principal

in the field53

Contact Us

For further information, contact:

Susan Karr skarr@asha.org Phoebe Gillespie

phoebe.gillespie@nasdse.org Carol Riley criley@naesp.org Bambi Thompson bthompso@qc.k12.va.us

THANK YOU

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Go to www.personelcenter.orgClick on Workforce DevelopmentClick on Critical Issues and Emerging TrendsSelect Challenges and Solutions to Recruiting and Retaining Personnel

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Professional Online Discussion

March 1-5, 2010

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National Principals Resource Center http://web.naesp.org/nprc/

Bateman, D., & Bateman, C. F. (2006). A Principal’s guide to special education (2nd edition) Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Cooley, M. (2007). Teaching kids with mental health & learning disorders in the regular classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.

National Association of Elementary School Principals (2008).Leading learning communities: Standards for what principals should know and be able to do (2nd edition). Alexandria, VA: NAESP.

Winebrenner, S. (2006). Teaching kids with learning difficulties in the regular classroom. (2006). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.

NAESP ConventionApril 8-11, 2010 Houston, TXhttp://www.naesp.org/2010

NAESP Summer Institute: BrainSMART Leading for Learning in Culturally Diverse Environments: Putting Cognitive Research into PracticeJuly 6-9, 2010, San Diego, CA 57