My child was sick in San Bernardino County MUSD, bedridden 9th and 10th grade honors student. Doctors order for a home teacher. Sick students get re-allocated to special Ed. No teacher was ever provided, we moved all the way up to Sacramento, got the teaching instructor needed, and graduated high school a year early. Finished all 4 high school grades in less than a year… but San Bernardino MuSD (Morongo Unified School District) would never remove the 2 years of F’s given when no teacher was provided. Legal action for the F’s given requires the child to have an independent attorney to look after the child’s interests. No attorney in the area would take it pro-bono, all costed a 5k retainer plus the $350-$500 per hour fees. We couldn’t get the NAACP to return our inquiry, apparently common in that area. no justice served for the teen suicidal stress the F’s caused. We made $60 annually more than the LegalAid for the poor (A common problem for USVeterans, as I am a disabled veteran single parent, most all community services appear to commonly provide assistance to those making less than a veteran). This is unfair to the child and unfair to the single parents that can’t afford a court case, just as much as the unfairness over the national bail process currently being revised.
I am late to the party but I’m so glad that I came across this story. My story is very similar. I worked in Special Education for years as a Para then finally went for my credentials. Those test were road blocks and they had nothing to do with my job as a Mod/Sev teacher. My students were excelling and I loved them to no end. By the time I finally finished all those test and paid out all that money, I decided to open a childcare center for children with special needs. I made more money working in my socks than as a public school teacher. I was also able to hire paras, music teachers from the local JC, and made wonderful partnerships with my local farmers who were homeschooling their children. The kiddos in my center received the best education; from academics to farming! Parents were so happy to have a child care that their children could go to and be safe. My point is sometimes you have to make your own career and skip the bureaucracy of standardized testing.
This is an interesting story. I completed my special education teacher credential program in 2020 and cleared it in 2022. By that time I had been a teacher of record for nearly 5 years. I feel that although the process of obtaining a teaching credential is difficult, and even more for Mod/Severe disabilities it is worth the effort and work. I feel that pushing unprepared and underprepared teachers into the classroom is a problem. Part of that leads to resignations in the first year, which is very common. What should be done is to properly compensate teachers for the work they put in to become credentialed. Start salaries comparable to that of a first year MD. You will get more candidates, more competitive hiring, and draw interest in the profession across race, gender and social lines. Furthermore, more specialized training does need to be provided for those entering the special education programs, namely behavioral modification, data collection, goal writing, and a physical fitness test. Yes, I do believe a physical fitness test should be considered. Plus additional salary for the explicit and unique specialization required.
I agree that the pay should be higher for special education. I will also say that the barrier to entry is indeed high but it is a difficult job with reading, writing, math, and time management demands that far exceed what is asked of general education teachers. This news story portrays the job as a special education teacher just having to be able to understand how to teach life skills but for any special education teacher to be effective, they have to be able to read and interpret psychological and speech language reports that will have concepts and language that take a strong reading skill to understand. I think the tests don't reflect that but I think having a test that reflects that would actually be harder to past than the cbest
That's ASININE to think that the starting salary should be the same as a medical doctor. Special education teacher is not even remotely similar to a medical doctor. Or did we all miss something here? Could you explain your reasoning?
Education should be affordable for us teachers! It should be affordable for all! Speak to retired teachers, past generations didn't go through these tests and did not have to pay these fees! It's ridiculous and I'm sorry but CTC needs to really look into this then shake off the questions asked. It's just not good enough...
Lies. Teachers had to take tests to become certified and stay certified. I don't know what would make you say that but I do know that you lost all credibility as soon as you made that claim.
As a retired special ed teacher, I know how challenging it can be. A SPED teacher needs the right temperament and lots of patience, and the ability to relate with each student and understand their unique ways in which they learn. They must become familiar with an array of teaching materials and be able to create their own. It's so different from classroom teaching where you have a standard curriculum to follow and the materials to go with it. There is nothing standard about a SPED kid!
I understand her issues with testing due to her dyslexia. However, with that being said a typical college graduate or a perspective teacher with a graduate degree should have no problem passing the CBEST, CSET, and RICA. Standardized tests are not the real issue here. The real issue is that sped teachers are not compensated fairly at all, and face increasing work loads every year as special education continues to become more litigious. This results in the most qualified candidates choosing other more lucrative career paths even if they have a passion for teaching. Supporting yourself and your family has to be priority.
In Florida, it’s $250 per test with a minimum of 3 tests.
They don’t pay them enough to endure the numerous cons of the job
My child was sick in San Bernardino County MUSD, bedridden 9th and 10th grade honors student. Doctors order for a home teacher. Sick students get re-allocated to special Ed. No teacher was ever provided, we moved all the way up to Sacramento, got the teaching instructor needed, and graduated high school a year early. Finished all 4 high school grades in less than a year… but San Bernardino MuSD
(Morongo Unified School District) would never remove the 2 years of F’s given when no teacher was provided. Legal action for the F’s given requires the child to have an independent attorney to look after the child’s interests. No attorney in the area would take it pro-bono, all costed a 5k retainer plus the $350-$500 per hour fees. We couldn’t get the NAACP to return our inquiry, apparently common in that area.
no justice served for the teen suicidal stress the F’s caused. We made $60 annually more than the LegalAid for the poor (A common problem for USVeterans, as I am a disabled veteran single parent, most all community services appear to commonly provide assistance to those making less than a veteran).
This is unfair to the child and unfair to the single parents that can’t afford a court case, just as much as the unfairness over the national bail process currently being revised.
I am late to the party but I’m so glad that I came across this story. My story is very similar. I worked in Special Education for years as a Para then finally went for my credentials. Those test were road blocks and they had nothing to do with my job as a Mod/Sev teacher. My students were excelling and I loved them to no end. By the time I finally finished all those test and paid out all that money, I decided to open a childcare center for children with special needs. I made more money working in my socks than as a public school teacher. I was also able to hire paras, music teachers from the local JC, and made wonderful partnerships with my local farmers who were homeschooling their children. The kiddos in my center received the best education; from academics to farming! Parents were so happy to have a child care that their children could go to and be safe. My point is sometimes you have to make your own career and skip the bureaucracy of standardized testing.
This is an interesting story. I completed my special education teacher credential program in 2020 and cleared it in 2022. By that time I had been a teacher of record for nearly 5 years. I feel that although the process of obtaining a teaching credential is difficult, and even more for Mod/Severe disabilities it is worth the effort and work. I feel that pushing unprepared and underprepared teachers into the classroom is a problem. Part of that leads to resignations in the first year, which is very common. What should be done is to properly compensate teachers for the work they put in to become credentialed. Start salaries comparable to that of a first year MD. You will get more candidates, more competitive hiring, and draw interest in the profession across race, gender and social lines. Furthermore, more specialized training does need to be provided for those entering the special education programs, namely behavioral modification, data collection, goal writing, and a physical fitness test. Yes, I do believe a physical fitness test should be considered. Plus additional salary for the explicit and unique specialization required.
I agree that the pay should be higher for special education. I will also say that the barrier to entry is indeed high but it is a difficult job with reading, writing, math, and time management demands that far exceed what is asked of general education teachers. This news story portrays the job as a special education teacher just having to be able to understand how to teach life skills but for any special education teacher to be effective, they have to be able to read and interpret psychological and speech language reports that will have concepts and language that take a strong reading skill to understand. I think the tests don't reflect that but I think having a test that reflects that would actually be harder to past than the cbest
That's ASININE to think that the starting salary should be the same as a medical doctor. Special education teacher is not even remotely similar to a medical doctor. Or did we all miss something here? Could you explain your reasoning?
I was getting sick due to anxiety and pressure as a SPED Teacher. I just wanted to just finish the school year and have my summer vacation.
Teacher shortages have been a thing for decades. It isn't worth it.
Education should be affordable for us teachers! It should be affordable for all! Speak to retired teachers, past generations didn't go through these tests and did not have to pay these fees! It's ridiculous and I'm sorry but CTC needs to really look into this then shake off the questions asked. It's just not good enough...
Lies. Teachers had to take tests to become certified and stay certified. I don't know what would make you say that but I do know that you lost all credibility as soon as you made that claim.
As a retired special ed teacher, I know how challenging it can be. A SPED teacher needs the right temperament and lots of patience, and the ability to relate with each student and understand their unique ways in which they learn. They must become familiar with an array of teaching materials and be able to create their own. It's so different from classroom teaching where you have a standard curriculum to follow and the materials to go with it. There is nothing standard about a SPED kid!
I understand her issues with testing due to her dyslexia. However, with that being said a typical college graduate or a perspective teacher with a graduate degree should have no problem passing the CBEST, CSET, and RICA. Standardized tests are not the real issue here.
The real issue is that sped teachers are not compensated fairly at all, and face increasing work loads every year as special education continues to become more litigious.
This results in the most qualified candidates choosing other more lucrative career paths even if they have a passion for teaching. Supporting yourself and your family has to be priority.
If only people knew how hard people fought to get rights for people with disabilities
Who wants to teach in this environment? And now with the WOkE agenda??
I passed all my tests with dyslexia for special education certification. It's not impossible.