NewsRelease

RESTART Program at UNCG Seeking Non-Traditional Students for Special Education

GREENSBORO — In some circles, it's been termed a crisis.

The number of special education teachers needed each year far outweighs the actual number of teachers entering or staying in the classroom, said Dr. Carolyn Boyles, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Specialized Education Services of the School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The reason? More and more students are being diagnosed at a younger age and too few people are entering the profession.

In the next ten years, projections from the US Department of Labor show the need for special education teachers will double. In the last ten years alone, the number of special education students increased by a third. But Boyles, along with Dr. Stephanie Kurtts, visiting assistant professor in specialized education services, is trying to turn the tide.

With a four-year $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, they are visiting community colleges and local school systems to recruit non-traditional students. Those students may be teacher assistants who have worked with special education classes but do not have teaching certification or they may be community college students who have completed work in early childhood education and are interested in special needs students.

Whatever the case, Boyles and Kurtts will make sure these students receive financial and mentoring help so that they can earn a full degree from the special education-learning disabilities and behavioral and emotional disabilities program at UNCG.

Called RESTART, the program will focus on university and school partnerships by including area teachers as mentors and offering professional development in team building and collaboration among regular and special education teachers. The program also will offer training on children with disabilities, innovative instructional strategies, classroom management and behavioral interventions, methods of assessment for children with disabilities, and effective collaboration and communication skills for working with professionals and families. For information on the program, call Boyles at (336) 334-5843.

Those who graduate from the program will serve children with high-incidence disabilities - usually those with learning disabilities, a mild mental disability, or behavioral disorders, Boyles said. Students will also have an opportunity to receive training in working with children who are English speakers of other languages (ESOL).

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