Any special education teachers here?

[dc2london]

I was the general ed inclusion teacher too and I loved it. Had I pursued a masters, I would have most likely done so in special ed. I say go for it! You'll get a pay increase along the way, right?

[jessila]

I'm a music teacher with my masters in SpEd. I did 3 years of just general elementary music, got my degree, and have been teaching adaptive music half time and general half time since getting my degree. I love the populations of students I have taught (Autism, mild to moderate multiple disabilities, and mostly severe to profound multiple disabilities.)

If you feel a calling to go there, then do it!

I got my degree from Grand Canyon University online. It's an intense program with continual 8 week classes. I finished it in 18 months. When I was pursuing that degree I was commuting 15+ hrs per week and working full time. It was prekids but I did most of my work during planning. If you like writing papers more than taking tests I highly recommend the program.

[heybulldog]

I've been in a co-teaching classroom environment for six years now as the general educator. I do not have a sped certification but I don't ever want to switch out from teaching in an inclusive setting. I say go for it if you feel called to sped!

[mananana]

I did my master's while teaching full time and pregnant with my second (hello, glutton for punishment). Oh, I changed schools in the middle too.

My program was blended, online and face-to-face, through a local university. With schools I was at, it would have been frowned upon for me to use my prep for my grad work, but it's only thirty minutes so it wouldn't have been enough anyway. I usually dug in for a few hours several nights a week after the kids were in bed and worked a lot on the weekends.

I take a lot of school work home in general as well. It was a lot of work to juggle everything, but the two years flew by and we all lived to tell the tale.

My advice would be just to be as sure as you can that the school/program you choose is a good fit before you start. Good luck!

[cosmic]

I'm not a special education teacher exactly, but I am an SLP working in the elementary schools--I work very closely with special education teachers on the regular, and we have many students in common.

Get ready for more paperwork than you can imagine, but the kids are worth it. It is so amazing to see the progress that they make through the year. It is easy to get burned out though, because the job is often thankless and administrators don't always get it.

If you feel called toward special education, definitely go for it!! Good luck!

[imapenguin]

budders

[ironegg]

I am a special education teacher, but my BS and MED are both in elementary ed.

I taught gen ed for several years as the inclusion teacher and I loved it. My district has a program designed just for students with autism, and that is what I do now. I am a self contained special ed teacher, but all of my students are on general ed standards. I teach the same standards and testing as the gen ed teachers, I just have a lot of flexibility and freedom to teach how they learn.

I am here if you have any questions! There is a lot of work some days, but I have loved my job. I just finished year 7, 3 of those being autism education.

[ironegg]

I did my masters while teaching full time, but this was pre kids. I spent about an hour a night, and then 3-4 hours on the weekend.

A lot of my program required you to be in the classroom, so if you are not teaching you would be in an internship setting.

It was stressful but manageable. I started in May of 2012 and finished December 2013.

[budders]

I have my master's in special education, but I needed it in order to maintain my certification and continue teaching in my state (NY). I got my Master's before I got married/had V and while working full time. It was exhausting, and took over my life for two years, but I wanted to teach, so it was the right decision for me.

I am not sure if it will equate to a pay bump for you; for schools in my area, and my district in particular, the master's scale is only a few thousand ahead of the Bachelor's scale, and when you factor in what I spent to get the degree, it'll even out by the end of my career. Since the MS is required for my state but not necessarily your state, that part could work more in your favor. The other thing to keep in mind in your situation is that you will need to student teach at some point, which will likely mean leaving your job/taking time off.

The upside of special education is that there is usually more of a need, and therefore the job market is more secure. There are also more "options" than as a gen ed teacher: resource, direct consult, co-teaching, self-contained. I have taught all, but have been in a self-contained classroom for students with severe disabilities for 7 years because that is my preference, though I could request a move if I desired to.

Special ed is fatiguing though. The paperwork, between data collection/progress notes/report cards/IEPs/daily family communication (in my case) is pretty significant. My job often feels like 85% paperwork/oversight of aides, schedules, service providers, accommodations, etc. and 15% teaching (this is more true of a self-contained setting, though applicable to inclusion roles). I also do a lot of crisis intervention/behavior modification in my program, which is my favorite part, but it burns you out fast.

All in all, though, I chose special ed for the same reasons as you. I definitely prefer it to my two years teaching gen ed before I completed my master's. If your family is committed to helping you make it work, I say go for it!

[budders]

Jun 4, 2017 12:53:47 GMT -6 @dietpepsi said:

budders

Did you have to student teach even after student teaching for your bachelors? In our state since I already student taught, I just need the degree and then the praxis test.

Yes, because my undergrad degree and student teaching were in gen ed. I had to do two 6-8 week special ed student teaching placements when I did my masters. 

[budders]

Jun 4, 2017 13:31:51 GMT -6 @dietpepsi said:

Jun 4, 2017 13:04:07 GMT -6 budders said:

Yes, because my undergrad degree and student teaching were in gen ed. I had to do two 6-8 week special ed student teaching placements when I did my masters. 

Wow!

I will double check my state but I'm almost positive I don't have to do that for my endorsement. I can if needed because not this school year but next I will be subbing instead of teaching so I could but this is good to know. Thanks!

You may not need to, NY has some of the most intense teacher requirements, I have no idea what other states require. Just something to think about!

[letsgetphysio]

I'm not a teacher, but my H is - he has dual certification (history and special education) and has worked special education for the past 8 years. He initially was a teacher in NY, so as budders mentioned, he did have to have student teaching in a special education setting for his certification. We now live out west, and the requirements for certification are much less stringent (he was only certified for secondary in NY, but here he's K - 12 here with no additional education upon moving), so it really depends on where you end up.

A few years ago, he did a rapid fire masters program in curriculum and leadership while teaching full time. Not gonna lie, it sucked. He went to school all day every Saturday for two years and full time through the summers. He was stressed and had minimal free time, but honestly it's the best decision he ever made doing the program that way. It worked out to be a significant pay increase for him (one that will pay off the tuition he put in within 5 years of graduating) and in retrospect the time flew by. If this is something you're passionate about, you'll find a way to make it work. Sounds like you've done some great research already and have a good plan in place. Good luck!

[ironegg]

Jun 4, 2017 13:36:08 GMT -6 budders said:

Jun 4, 2017 13:31:51 GMT -6 @dietpepsi said:

Wow!

I will double check my state but I'm almost positive I don't have to do that for my endorsement. I can if needed because not this school year but next I will be subbing instead of teaching so I could but this is good to know. Thanks!

You may not need to, NY has some of the most intense teacher requirements, I have no idea what other states require. Just something to think about!

I did not have to student teach again. I also get paid for my masters (not well) even though it is not in special ed.

I am in FL for reference.

[mananana]

@dietpepsi I didn't mean anything by my remark about it being frowned upon to do grad work. It's nice that you're currently somewhere that is supportive of you growing your skills. My husband gets paid or is given time during his contracted hours to train and gain new skills in his profession. It's interesting how in our profession that's often not the case.

It would be very stressful to try to pick a program when you don't know where you'll end up. Do you have a list of likely locations that you could give to an advisor in the program you're thinking of choosing? Perhaps they could help you determine how things will transfer.

[food]

I stay at home now but I taught special education in both public school and at a private special ed school. I have my BCaBA certification and will probably go back for my BCBA certification in the future. I love working with students with autism and miss it. One thing that made the grass at least appear greener on the general ed side, besides mountains of data and paperwork, is that I never really got a summer break. In public school my students had extended school year per their IEPs and in private school we ran intensive ABA summer camps. I still love special Ed, just a small thing to consider. Also fwiw I know of general ed teachers who worked through the summer in various rolls so I'm aware this isn't just a special ed thing. Good luck in whatever you decide!

[dc2london]

I found MD to be very accepting of outside certifications. I came in with a Michigan teaching certificate from college and they accepted it no questions asked. When I moved to Virginia I had to take a few standardized tests to switch my certification.

[shortskirtlongjacket]

When I got my masters (in sped) I was pregnant in the middle of it and had a rough pregnancy. Mine took a lot longer because I couldn't complete required courses because of complications, but it would have been totally possible to do in 18 months. I found it to be relatively easy. I worked ahead a lot. During planning I would try to do the discussion board posts & any book work. I saved the paper writing for home.

I recently finished National
Boards and that was a million times more difficult that getting my masters.




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[jessila]

@dietpepsi, I'm in MD and didn't have to do student teaching to add SpEd to my certificate.
In MD you can just take the Praxis II and voilà, new area of certification!
I did receive a raise for the additional degree as well. My district also reimbursed almost half of my costs.

[budders]

Jun 4, 2017 16:42:42 GMT -6 jessila said:

I did receive a raise for the additional degree as well. My district also reimbursed almost half of my costs.

So jealous of this. H and I will be paying off our student loans for at least another 7 years. Our monthly payment is more than our mortgage, and why we can't really afford another kid.

NYS is the worst. They not only make us get a masters within 5 years and pay to recertify every five years, but our own governor said several years ago that our masters programs/requirements are a joke and don't prepare us enough. Then why do you make us do it??!!

[mananana]

Jun 4, 2017 16:29:49 GMT -6 shortskirtlongjacket said:

When I got my masters (in sped) I was pregnant in the middle of it and had a rough pregnancy. Mine took a lot longer because I couldn't complete required courses because of complications, but it would have been totally possible to do in 18 months. I found it to be relatively easy. I worked ahead a lot. During planning I would try to do the discussion board posts & any book work. I saved the paper writing for home.

I recently finished National
Boards and that was a million times more difficult that getting my masters.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not to highjack, but I'm getting ready to start my National Boards in the fall. I may have to pick your brain on that.

[Yogurt]

I am a ed. Specialist which is what special education teachers are called here for whatever reason. I began with a k-12 single subject credential and then I moved to a new state. I had to only take the classes related to special education, all of my general teaching classes carried over. I didn't have to take the cbest, because my Praxis 1 scores satisfied that. I did need to take all three cset tests, but having a gen ed credential, I'm sure you have that plus the rica. I then had to complete one semester of student teaching, as opposed to one year. I got my masters in teaching after finishing the sped credential.

I did not get a pay raise because my district only pays for units above bachelors and I already was maxed out on that from my single subject credential.

The job can come with a ton of paperwork, depending on what part of sped you enter. I'm in resource, so I have a large caseload and all the iep stuff can be very time consuming. I sometimes feel like I barely have time to teach my kids. My aids do a lot of the running of small groups (following my plans) while I'm putting out behavior fires around campus, writing reports and ieps, etc.

[shortskirtlongjacket]

Jun 4, 2017 16:54:20 GMT -6 mananana said:

Jun 4, 2017 16:29:49 GMT -6 shortskirtlongjacket said:

When I got my masters (in sped) I was pregnant in the middle of it and had a rough pregnancy. Mine took a lot longer because I couldn't complete required courses because of complications, but it would have been totally possible to do in 18 months. I found it to be relatively easy. I worked ahead a lot. During planning I would try to do the discussion board posts & any book work. I saved the paper writing for home.

I recently finished National
Boards and that was a million times more difficult that getting my masters.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not to highjack, but I'm getting ready to start my National Boards in the fall. I may have to pick your brain on that.

I'll be happy to help! What cert?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shellbell]

Jun 4, 2017 16:53:42 GMT -6 budders said:

Jun 4, 2017 16:42:42 GMT -6 jessila said:

I did receive a raise for the additional degree as well. My district also reimbursed almost half of my costs.

So jealous of this. H and I will be paying off our student loans for at least another 7 years. Our monthly payment is more than our mortgage, and why we can't really afford another kid.

NYS is the worst. They not only make us get a masters within 5 years and pay to recertify every five years, but our own governor said several years ago that our masters programs/requirements are a joke and don't prepare us enough. Then why do you make us do it??!!

NYS is the worst. And if you're coming in with certification from another state, prepare yourself.