What is going on with the Office of Special Education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was there an announcement for the new Acting Associate Superintendent? This is the second Acting Associate Superintendent in two years and Ty get new Acting Superintendent was the Resolution and Compliance Director hired by MCPS last October. So who is now the Director for Resolution and Compliance?

And what about all the vacancies for Special Education Teachers and Para Educators at the school level? Did MCPS just give up on finding employees for those positions as well?

I don't believe MCPS has given up on finding special education teachers or paras. The problem is that people just don't want the jobs. Special Ed jobs are hard-besides the mounds of paperwork and meetings to attend, add to that being verbally and physically assaulted in some cases, would you want that job? I know special educators in the county that literally had to go on disability because of physical incidents in their classrooms. On top of all of that, they aren't paid enough at all.

As for paras, similar issue, except the money is REALLY bad and they are treated as less than professionals in a lot of schools. Take a look at the job listings on the MCPS website-the majority of para jobs open are the ones with no benefits. I think most of the para jobs start at $18-19 an hour. There are lot easier jobs out there for that kind of money and no benefits.

Just a little food for thought...

And meanwhile no one will talk about the elephant in the room …what he hell is going on that our children need so much special education anyway? Something is really really wrong . And it’s not just “better diagnosing “. There is an epidemic afoot not to mention the sometimes ridiculous expectations of parents that will bankrupt the country at some point. It’s just not sustainable to do education this way

Agree. Maybe we aren't teaching them properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

Right there. You can't count. Hence the need for better teaching. There is no school that has 61 sped teachers to 92 regular teachers unless a special education program is also housed there. Name your school or correct your post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

More and more children are diagnosed with these issues daily. At some point in the not too distant future I expect everyone will have a 504/IEP given our current trajectory.

This is what I don’t understand. Half the kids at my school seem to have an IEP or 504 or a flash pass or something.
Don’t get me started on the flash passes. They are completely misused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was there an announcement for the new Acting Associate Superintendent? This is the second Acting Associate Superintendent in two years and Ty get new Acting Superintendent was the Resolution and Compliance Director hired by MCPS last October. So who is now the Director for Resolution and Compliance?

And what about all the vacancies for Special Education Teachers and Para Educators at the school level? Did MCPS just give up on finding employees for those positions as well?

I don't believe MCPS has given up on finding special education teachers or paras. The problem is that people just don't want the jobs. Special Ed jobs are hard-besides the mounds of paperwork and meetings to attend, add to that being verbally and physically assaulted in some cases, would you want that job? I know special educators in the county that literally had to go on disability because of physical incidents in their classrooms. On top of all of that, they aren't paid enough at all.

As for paras, similar issue, except the money is REALLY bad and they are treated as less than professionals in a lot of schools. Take a look at the job listings on the MCPS website-the majority of para jobs open are the ones with no benefits. I think most of the para jobs start at $18-19 an hour. There are lot easier jobs out there for that kind of money and no benefits.

Just a little food for thought...

And meanwhile no one will talk about the elephant in the room …what he hell is going on that our children need so much special education anyway? Something is really really wrong . And it’s not just “better diagnosing “. There is an epidemic afoot not to mention the sometimes ridiculous expectations of parents that will bankrupt the country at some point. It’s just not sustainable to do education this way

Agree. Maybe we aren't teaching them properly.

That would be nice if it were that simple. But there is something extremely dysfunctional and unhealthy about our bodies, minds, culture and society. Getting that to be accepted is the very first large obstacle to making any improvements .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

More and more children are diagnosed with these issues daily. At some point in the not too distant future I expect everyone will have a 504/IEP given our current trajectory.

This is what I don’t understand. Half the kids at my school seem to have an IEP or 504 or a flash pass or something.
Don’t get me started on the flash passes. They are completely misused.

There might be a program at your school that pushes kids into gen ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

Right there. You can't count. Hence the need for better teaching. There is no school that has 61 sped teachers to 92 regular teachers unless a special education program is also housed there. Name your school or correct your post.

PP said special Ed staff. PP did not say teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

Right there. You can't count. Hence the need for better teaching. There is no school that has 61 sped teachers to 92 regular teachers unless a special education program is also housed there. Name your school or correct your post.

PP said special Ed staff. PP did not say teachers.

PP said teaching staff.

[Anonymous]

Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the staff directory at my MCPS high school it looks like we have 61 SPED staff and 93 regular teachers. I'm not sure how much more can/should be done! More than half the teaching staff is SPED.

Right there. You can't count. Hence the need for better teaching. There is no school that has 61 sped teachers to 92 regular teachers unless a special education program is also housed there. Name your school or correct your post.

PP said special Ed staff. PP did not say teachers.

PP said teaching staff.

It is literally right above. “SPED staff”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

+1000
And effective reading instruction helps everyone and is essential for kids with dyslexia (most common learning disability).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

+1000
And effective reading instruction helps everyone and is essential for kids with dyslexia (most common learning disability).

An effective reading program is a great example of how students with a specific learning disability is served while students without a specific disability are served.

School districts in Maryland spend too much time with meetings and paperwork then fails to implement the plan. This includes MCPS.

Other school districts pour resources to classrooms and provide effective teaching strategies for all students. If a child is struggling, interventions are available and provided. Services are more important to students than a label.

Specifically in MCPS, there has been a huge shift in the last twenty years to wait until a child is below grade level, then have meetings for a whole school year only then perhaps have a plan to help the child. This swing in mentality only increased during the pandemic closures. Access to the specialized services are so restrictive that many children cannot access the services they need without a specific label. Children with disabilities regressed far more than the general education students during the pandemic so their needs were highlighted more the past few years due to the lack of access to the accommodations and services they needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

Absolutely. Good teachers = everything. We saw what happened when, in a rarity, our child's teacher was in fact a sadistic bully. No amount of any goodwill, support, ego boosting, professional intervention, anything, could overcome that

[Anonymous]

Unless the general education classes become half the size MCPS currently allows, good teaching requires all special education vacancies to be filled. A general education teacher cannot meet the individual needs of 32 high school students. There’s been very little movement in hiring for the vacancies in our cluster since the start of the school year, most of which are Special Education Teachers and Para Educator positions.

Is there a plan for attracting staff to these Special Education positions this school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

The thing that is hard to comprehend if you’re not dealing with it is the shear number of these accommodations that you just want teachers to implement. For example, you give the notes accommodation as one that is easy to implement. I have 3 different preps that I need to provide notes for. Fine. It takes time but I upload each of the 3 slides show daily. But last week I received an email from a parent that the slides aren’t enough. Her child needs the notes that go along with the slides or they’re not helpful. I’m not sure what she wants- a full recording of the class? Annotated slides? Whatever it is, it will be x3. And that’s one of 20 different accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Special education is often just good teaching practices. Many children with disabilities can have their IEPs implemented with universal design, a method in which all students in the class benefits from what is legally required on another child’s IEP. For example, one child may need class notes from the teacher as an accommodation. The teacher then provides the entire class copies of notes because all students can benefit from the notes.

Teaching is not a zero sum game - this child gets more so this child gets less.

The thing that is hard to comprehend if you’re not dealing with it is the shear number of these accommodations that you just want teachers to implement. For example, you give the notes accommodation as one that is easy to implement. I have 3 different preps that I need to provide notes for. Fine. It takes time but I upload each of the 3 slides show daily. But last week I received an email from a parent that the slides aren’t enough. Her child needs the notes that go along with the slides or they’re not helpful. I’m not sure what she wants- a full recording of the class? Annotated slides? Whatever it is, it will be x3. And that’s one of 20 different accommodations.

If you have the notes, give them to that kid. If you don't have additional notes, you don't have additional notes to give that kid. Sorry, mom.

My kid was allowed to record classes in HS when there weren't prepared notes.