Special Education

What Schools Can Do about the Special Ed Teacher Shortage

Elizabeth Bettini and Zachary Rossetti talk about the barriers teachers face

Students with disabilities need kind, empathic teachers to guide them throughout their educational career, but many school districts are struggling to recruit and retrain special education teachers. Inaccessible buildings, a lack of resources, isolation from other teachers, an unmanageable workload, and other inequities are all barriers that face special ed teachers who may be enthusiastic but are burdened by burnout and attrition.

In this Conversations with the Dean webinar, Dean David Chard joins associate professors Elizabeth Bettini and Zachary Rossetti of the Special Education program to discuss ways to mitigate the special ed teacher shortage, create more inclusive classrooms, and emphasize how rewarding a career in special education can be.

Highlights from the Conversation

Challenges of teaching special education

What makes it challenging is . . .  that the school isn’t designed around the needs of those students. And so then, as a special ed teacher, you’re constantly having to fight against the structure of the workplace that you’re in.

Elizabeth Bettini

The rewards of being a special ed teacher

I got into this because I found that my favorite students were the ones a lot of other teachers complained about and didn’t want in their class. One third-grade girl that stands out didn’t speak up in class, acted out in class. I found out that she liked frogs. I had a little toy frog. I started out letting her play with the frog, and she counted [the frog’s toes]. And we started skip counting. As she skip-counted, she was clapping and moving her body. During the course of the year, growing from that entry point, we got her back in class. It may seem unconventional, [but it’s] based on trust and relationship-building.

Zachary Rossetti

Classroom inclusion helps teachers, too

This day and age, any teacher is going to have students with disabilities in their classroom. When I talk about more inclusive ed, it’s usually about about students with extensive support needs, who are students with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, autism. The more that we can prepare all teachers to teach all students, to know what to do, to support behaviors, they’ll feel more likely to stay. They’ll have a more successful time with students.

Zachary Rossetti

Conversations with the Dean are a series of webinars hosted by Dean Chard that explore some of the most pressing topics in education. Learn more about Conversations with the Dean.