In the 2012 ICSD Continuous Improvement Plan for Special Education, one of two major goals outlined by the district was “students identified as Students with Disabilities will perform at comparable levels to non-identified students by Fall 2015.” More than a decade after this document was written, Special Education programs are nowhere near this target. Additionally, Special Education staffing has been a persistent issue in the district, as the recent budget changes have cut positions and forced staff to take on larger caseloads. To combat these trends, the administration must better support and respond to the needs of Special Education staff and students.
For years, Special Education staff have been tasked with challenging caseloads in a high-stress environment, causing accelerated burnout and increased turnover. Kathryn Cernera, President of the Ithaca Teacher’s Association, remarked that because Special Education certification programs are seeing a nationwide decrease in enrollment, it has become increasingly difficult to hire certified Special Education teachers. Uncertified teachers are filling these positions, but are unable to complete all aspects of the job. Jacob Chapin, a certified Special Education teacher at Boynton Middle School, reflected that this has led to extra work for him and his colleagues. Additionally, the new budget has made notable cuts to the Special Education staff, including three part-time positions at the elementary level and one Educator of Inclusion position at the secondary level.
Cernera expressed that because of the staffing cuts and the shortage of certified Special Education staff, “[Special Education staff] are doing a little bit more with a little bit less.” It is clear that the drought of Special Education staff has inflated the remaining staff’s workload. To combat this, ICSD should build more planning time into Special Education staff’s workday and decrease their lunch supervision hours. By bettering the work environment for Special Education staff, ICSD will show dedication to the department and help mitigate staff exhaustion.
Additionally, as of the time of writing, Education Support Professionals (Special Education staff who are not certified teachers) are still working on an expired contract. While they are currently in negotiations with ICSD on a new contract, the current contract provides little to these important staff members. “If you look at the starting wage of an Educational Support Professional and the starting wage of a Target cashier, [the wages] are very similar and the work is very different,” Cernera stated, highlighting the need for a modified contract. These workers deserve a just contract, and the Tattler Editorial Board urges the administration to continue creating a new contract that reflects the needs of the Special Education department.
In addition to qualified Special Education staff, General Education teachers need better access to professional development around supporting students with disabilities. Currently, most students with disabilities are taught by General Education teachers. For these teachers, opportunities to learn about neurodiversity are essential to creating inclusive classrooms that support their students. Educators are given access to the Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE), which helps them support neurodivergent students. However, the training has largely been promoted to elementary teachers. Also, teachers must complete this program outside of school hours, which may be a barrier for some. Administrators should give all teachers paid time to complete the program during working hours and professional development days. This would encourage a larger proportion of staff to acquire this knowledge, empowering them to be leaders in creating accessible classrooms.
If teachers are prepared to recognize and address diverse learning needs, they will be better able to support students with disabilities in preparation for standardized tests—an area in which they need more support. In 2023, less than twenty percent of IHS students with disabilities performed at or above grade level in the New York State ELA and Math Exams. According to the 2023 ICSD Equity Report Card, students with disabilities performed poorly compared to General Education students. Disproportionate levels of test anxiety and the restricted accessibility of standardized test design can impact performance for students with disabilities. Although standardized tests are known to be inaccurate measures of content comprehension, their influence in educational environments makes it valuable to be proficient at taking them. To help these students perform well on standardized tests, test-taking strategies and test preparation should be more heavily integrated into the classroom during exam review. Through mock exams and content review, students can better understand the format of exams and adopt key test-taking skills. If students with disabilities are not already taking practice tests, implementing test-taking strategies and practice tests may be helpful in familiarizing them with the format.
To set our students and staff up for success, the conditions for Special Education staff and students must be improved. Administrators, and our district as a whole, must recommit to their goals for improving the Special Education department; with dedication and meaningful action, our Special Education programs will be able to better support our students, our staff, and our community at large.
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