A school bus at St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont on August 4. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
St. Vrain Valley School District recently received approval from the Colorado State Board of Education to offer an alternative special education teacher licensure program.
This program gives aspiring special education teachers a direct path to licensure in their district, allowing them to earn their license while teaching through district-provided classes and coaching. The first group will begin in June.
“What's really unique is that we're able to really support our employees,” said Natalie Tuhari Katz, St. Vrain's assistant director of special education. “Access is an issue when it comes to obtaining a state license. Time, location, and cost can be barriers. We can offer those interested a way to develop within what is essentially our own program.”
Tuhari-Katz said she knows special education positions are difficult to fill and anticipates the district will need to hire more teachers as enrollment increases. Although the district's special education teacher retention rate is high at about 85% and there are limited openings for the fall, Tuhari-Katz said she expects more positions will need to be filled in the future. ing.
“Special education can be a high-needs area,” she says.
To participate, aspiring teachers must have a bachelor's degree and be offered a special education position at St. Vrain. Teachers would then receive an alternative license from the state and complete district courses through a two-year program.
“We tried to make it accessible to as many people as possible,” Tshari-Katz said. “It’s really exciting.”
In addition to completing their coursework, teachers will participate in St. Vrain's two-year new teacher induction program. The program includes instructional coaching, where an instructional coach works with and guides new teachers in the classroom.
“Right in the moment, real-time support,” Tshari-Katz said. “You will be able to immediately apply what you learn in your coursework in the classroom.”
Erin Quekenbush, who created the curriculum in collaboration with Tshari Katz and Assistant Special Education Superintendent Laura Hess, will teach the alternative licensing class and provide classroom support.
For those completely new to teaching, Quackenbush said the class will cover the ins and outs of special education. In the second year, we will conduct classes that delve into more specific content such as curriculum and behavioral support.
“We want to develop our own teachers and teach them the skills they need where they will be working,” she said.
Quackenbush said one of the biggest needs is support in developing individualized education program plans and conducting ongoing evaluations of those plans.
“Being able to tackle difficult tasks like IEPs and evaluations helps teachers feel supported,” Quackenbush said. “We can help them with things big and small. They just know they have someone in their corner.”
The district said para-educators, substitute teachers and bus drivers have expressed interest in the program. The first special education positions hired through the new program are high school lead custodians.
“This is a project that I'm very proud of,” Quackenbush said. “We have great people in this district who want to become teachers, and we teach them in-house what they need to know to be successful.”
