Carol Riley National Association of Elementary School Principals

1. Welcome We will begin at 4:00 EST Bambi Thompson Principal T.C. Walker Elementary, VA Phoebe Gillespie National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities (NASDSE) Susan T. Karr School Services in Speech-Language Pathology American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Carol Riley National Association of Elementary School Principals Principal Practices Supporting and Retaining Special Education Staff and Related Services Providers

2. Principal Practices Supporting and Retaining Special Education Staff and Related Services Providers Questions ? 800.386.2377

3. Susan T. Karr, M.S., CCC-SLP, Associate Director School Services in Speech-Language Pathology American 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 Disabilities National Association of State Directors of Special Education Alexandria, VA Bambi Thompson, Ed.D., Principal T.C. Walker Elementary, Gloucester, VA Carol Riley, M.S., Director Professional Development and National Principal Mentor Certification Program/National Association of Elementary School Principals Alexandria, VA

4. 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

5. Susan T. Karr, M.S., CCC-SLP Associate Director School Services in Speech-Language Pathology American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Rockville, MD

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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 ofAmerica (SSWAA) • Teach for America • The IRIS Center • University of Maryland (UMD) • Virginia Parent Center on Disability – Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC)

9. 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.

10. 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

11. What Do We Do? • Sharing information across professions • Monitoring, tracking & collecting data • Disseminating strategies to improve policies and practices

12. www.specialedshortages.org

13. We advocate • for support at the local, state, and federal level to remedy the shortage of • special education and • related services personnel

14. We provide • information, strategies, advocacy & support through… Dialogue guide Webinars Technical assistance Personnel data across the professions Website

15. 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).

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

17. 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.

18. 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%

19. What is the Impact?, cont’d • 17% of schools with more than 750 students have no registered nurse on duty.

20. 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.

21. Phoebe Gillespie, Ph.D., Director National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) Alexandria, VA

22. What are significant principals’ actions that support and retain special educators and related services providers?

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

24. 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.

25. Principals Have identified “help and information about implementing successful special education and related services” (or specialized instructional support services - SISS) as their greatest need.

26. Administrators Are better prepared to provide appropriate support when they clearly understand: • the needs of students with disabilities, • IDEA, and • the instructional challenges that educators who work with students with disabilities face.

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

28. 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.

29. Supportive Principals Nurture… the development of others and build support networks.

30. 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

31. Thoughtful Principals Foster… collaboration and classroom communication.

32. 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.

33. Skillful Principals Promote… research-based instructional models that incorporate effective teaching and management skills

34. 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.

35. 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

36. Bambi Thompson, Ed.D., Principal T.C. Walker Elementary Gloucester County School District Gloucester, VA

37. 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.

38. 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

39. Non-negotiable principles • High expectations for all students

40. Non-negotiable principles • On-going and high-quality professional development led by members of the Walker Faculty

41. Non-negotiable principles • Continuous learning by all staff members

42. Non-negotiable principles • Professional Learning Communities built on collaboration and trust

43. Non-negotiable principles • Principal is an instructional leader

44. Non-negotiable principles • Continuous progress monitoring of programs and student progress

45. SEVEN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES • Scheduling for students • Planning time • Team meetings • Shared responsibilities • Continuous growth for adults • Staff strengths and student needs • Parents

46. 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!!!!

47. 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

48. 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!

49. 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.

50. 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.