A one-year-old nonprofit is serving as a matchmaker between an abundant supply of soon to be laid-off teachers and a critical shortage of special ed instructors. As a result, at least several thousand vacant special ed positions likely will be filled this fall by teachers who would otherwise be looking at unemployment or substitute teaching.
The California Teacher Corps announced this week that it is expediting efforts at retraining teachers who are interested in becoming certified to teach special education. The Corps represents alternative certification programs, which are particularly suited for individuals seeking second careers as teachers and, in this case, for teachers interested in changing their specialty.
In March, the Corps announced:
A campaign to train within the next year 25,000 veteran special education teachers for the rigors of dealing with autistic students was announced last week. The California Teacher Corps, a leader in providing alternative certification programs, announced the effort that will be taken up in partnership with local school districts and county offices of education. The initiative comes in the wake of new autism authorizations approved last year by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing aimed at expanding the number of teachers available to deal with the crisis surrounding autistic students.
