Why there’s a special education and STEM teacher shortage and what can be done

Jahsha Tabron, the 2022 Delaware teacher of the year, taught special education for more than two decades and cherished what she called the “winning moments” of growth in her students.

“[Where] you have a nonverbal student who is now able to speak in simple sentences … that’s why you stay,” she recently told ABC News.

But Tabron, now Brandywine High School’s dean of students in Wilmington, Delaware, said her field can be a tough sell for future candidates.

“When we’re talking about why we don’t have a lot of people joining the profession, we’re looking at the immense workload that comes along with being a special education teacher,” she said.

Tabron’s concern about a staffing shortage is widely shared. A nationwide survey conducted by ABC News this school year found that much of the country doesn’t have enough educators – and that in many cases, districts suffer from a lack of subject matter experts, too.

Read the full article here.

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