AcceliBEAT Weekly Round Up 3/21-3/25: As low teacher pay impacts students with disabilities, feds seek to improve outcomes by focusing on behavior

March 25, 2016

Special education teacher vacancies across the country are leaving some students with disabilities without services. Could low teacher pay, especially in the nation’s most expensive cities be to blame? In other news, the US DOE plans to set aside funding specifically for students with disabilities with behavior challenges.

Catch up on all this news and more in this week’s AcceliBEAT!

Teachers Can’t Afford To Live Where They Teach

Kelly Henderson loves her job, teaching at Newton South High School in a suburb west of Boston. But she’s frustrated she can’t afford to live in the community where she teaches: It’s part of the 10th most expensive housing market in the nation.

Students at East Oakland School Left Without Special Education for Months

More than halfway through the school year, Oakland Unified School District still has teacher vacancies, and that’s had an impact on special education students. As of February, the district had 14 teacher vacancies, six of which were for special education teachers. There were also 16 vacancies for special education aides.

Webinar Recap: Making Your IEP System Work for You

Is your IEP system just an IEP system? If the answer is yes, you may want to check out our recent webinar, “Making Your IEP Work for You: 5 Questions to Ask of Your IEP System” This is one of the 5 questions Accelify CEO, Alex Brecher, asked during Tuesday’s hour long presentation in which he explored the idea that in today’s technological environment, IEP systems can and should be much more than a repository and planning tool for student IEPs.

Feds Aim To Improve Academics Among Students With Behavior Issues

Federal education officials are taking new steps to address the academic needs of students with disabilities who have significant behavior challenges. The U.S. Department of Education says that many kids with behavior or learning issues are intellectually capable, but are underperforming academically simply because they are not being provided appropriate interventions and supports.

Technology in the classroom: Ohio shows one way school leaders and teachers can develop a game plan
A foundation in Columbus, Ohio, renovated the empty industrial building last year and named it the PAST Innovation Lab. And last week dozens of educators from around the state gathered there to hatch their plans for schools that harness the power of technology and tried-and-true teaching methods. Teams included administrators, teachers, curriculum specialists and school technology professionals.

ADHD and Immaturity: What Parents and Educators Need to Know

Does a fidgety, distractible, and disruptive youngster have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Or is the behavior just an example of the emotional ups and downs of young childhood?

Is Common Core’s Effect on Achievement Fading?

The Common Core’s impact on student achievement may have peaked early and already tapered off, according to a new analysis of national test scores by the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on Education Policy.

Fully Funding IDEA: A Democratic Dream or Just an Empty Promise?

When lawmakers enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) three decades ago, it established a shared commitment to providing “free and appropriate public education” for all students regardless of their disability status. Research at the time suggested that it typically cost about twice as much to provide education for special needs students, and IDEA included provisions to give states funding to help cover these excess costs.
 

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