Topeka’s superintendent is advocating for teacher recruitment and special education in DC

Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka Public Schools, was one of five teachers who spoke before a federal committee in Washington, D.C., on Friday afternoon

Anderson spoke before the U.S. Committee on Civil Rights on ways to address the teacher shortage and special education needs.

“It is indeed an honor and a pleasure to be here,” Anderson said.

Kansas has seen no exception in the nationwide struggle to find teachers, especially special education teachers. Topeka called for more earlier this year financing special education.

“My comments that I’m highlighting for you today are really going to be about the impact of the teacher shortage, not just on Topeka Public Schools, but certainly across the country, and what’s being felt across the country on the quality of education for students with disabilities,” Anderson said. . “It is important to recognize that this shortage has profound consequences for all students, all educators and the broader community.”

What is the United States Commission on Civil Rights?

The committee was established through the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Its mission is to inform civil rights policy through research and bipartisan efforts. The committee addresses issues related to ensuring equality despite race, color, religion, sex, age, disability and national origin.

Friday’s public briefing was intended to look for ideas for a federal response to the teacher shortage and its impact on students with disabilities.

“Education is fundamental to every child and it is our duty to ensure that students with disabilities are not only included, but empowered within our education system,” Commissioner Stephen Gilchrist said in a written statement. “We must ensure that the resources, support and understanding they deserve are provided to ensure the most beneficial outcomes for them and their parents.”

In addition to Anderson, there were Jessica Tang, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Terita Gusby, CEO and founder of Education Prescriptions, which specializes in education for people with autism; Sepi Seyedin-Elahian, a Los Angeles public school teacher; and Beth Ackerman, senior vice president of Rivermont Schools in Virginia.

The committee will accept written material from the public for consideration in preparing its report. For those interested in providing materials, send them to [email protected] by December 16.

A struggle to provide sufficient special education throughout the country

Anderson said there are special education shortages in all 50 states, which in turn leads to declines in other areas.

“When you think about this gap and its impact on not only special education, but general education, it becomes not just a gap in the school system, but an economic wealth gap,” Anderson said.

Tang said she often faced overcrowded classrooms because of the shortage.

“Although I tried desperately to give them (students) everything they needed, there just wasn’t enough time in the day to reach them all,” Tang said.

A study conducted in March at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University said there were an estimated 55,000 full-time employees vacancies for teachers in the United States. The same survey found there were 136 job openings in Kansas.

Anderson said new and unique recruitment efforts must be made to address these teacher shortages. One way Topeka Public Schools has addressed the teacher shortage is by encouraging it foreign teachers immigrate.

Commissioner Glenn Magpantay asked participants for loan forgiveness as an incentive for teachers.

Gusby said loan forgiveness as an incentive to teach is not new, but it is effective and should be continued. She said that when she was younger, some universities told students they would forgive their loans if they taught at a low economics school for three years.

“We jumped in because it was awesome,” Gusby said. “First of all, we knew we wanted to teach and we were from the city and we knew we were going back to the city to teach. So it was a perfect ball that they offered us. So it was ‘It was not a magic spell. It was not a new concept.”

Ackerman said that while loan forgiveness is effective, they are still seeing a decline and need to find ways to provide an incentive up front.

Anderson said the solutions to the teacher shortage are interconnected.

Topeka offers programs such as the Program from paraprofessional to teacherthe Teacher for tomorrow program and the Transition to Teach program, she said. All three programs are used to bring teachers to Topeka Public Schools through benefits such as education affordability or early field experience.

“In Topeka Public Schools, I don’t have to wait four years before you get out of college to say you want to come back to Topeka,” Anderson said. “If I know that you want to go into education or if I know that you are a student connected to special education, you will receive your contract in the first year of high school. Every student has come back. So that is another way to look at that.”

This article originally appeared in Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka’s superintendent is advocating for special education in DC