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CREC Helps Teachers Earn Special Education Endorsements
(Hartford, CT) Over the next few months, 28 local teachers will earn their special education endorsements—a welcoming statistic for many Connecticut school districts. There is a great need for special education teachers in Connecticut, and CREC's Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program aims to both supply schools with the staff they need and support teachers as they explore new career opportunities.
The Connecticut State Department of Education is required by state statute to announce teacher shortage areas every year, and kindergarten through grade 12 comprehensive special education has made the list for more than 10 years. Each year, school districts, such as Norwalk, have a difficult time finding a sufficient number of special education teachers to cover their vacancies.
“It is common knowledge across the state that special education teachers are at a premium,” said Michael Cicchetti, interim operations director for Norwalk Public Schools. “Traditional recruitment efforts are no longer effective in yielding a pool of qualified candidates.”CREC's Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program helps districts like Norwalk, Bridgeport, and the Connecticut Junior Republic by partnering with them to help their teachers develop the skills they need to become certified in special education. School districts pay the Advanced Alternative Route to Certification's tuition. In return, teachers who go through the Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program agree to remain employed by their districts as special education teachers for a certain period of time.
Eligible candidates for the Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program can also apply without the support of a school district. If accepted, these individuals spend 12 to 14 months engrossed in a rigorous, portfolio-based program that aligns with state and national special education standards.
“The Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program helped me to expand my work responsibilities in my teaching position at the time and reach my goal to become a special education teacher," said Jill Horan, a preschool special education teacher at Region 12 Public Schools. "I feel that graduates of the program are self-motivated individuals who are interested in expanding their knowledge about special education. The final portfolio is proof that the graduate is a hard worker who is determined and motivated to succeed.”
Like individual teachers, school districts, such as Ellington, are also pleased with the Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program and its benefits.
“I have been fortunate to hire and retain four graduates from the Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program," said Kristy LePorte, director of special services in Ellington. "All four candidates came to our district with a high-level skill set in the area of developing quality IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) based on the individual needs of each student. The teachers are skillful in reading and math instruction with knowledge in multiple progress monitoring tools to ensure student growth is consistently reviewed. Moreover, our Advanced Alternate Route to Certification teachers have been asked to present to other teachers on the development of goals and objectives based on present levels of academic achievement and functional performance."
In June, while it celebrates the success of its current teachers, the Advanced Alternate Route to Certification program will accept new candidates for next school year’s cohort. For more information, visit www.crec.org/aarc, or contact Sonya Kunkel at skunkel@crec.org.
