Questions for high school special ed teachers in NYC DOE

amother

Amber

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 3:45 pm

I am a high school gen ed teacher in the NYC public school system. I am thinking of getting my special ed license and abandoning my tenure attempt for my gen ed degree. I have a few questions:

1) If I have a math license, do you think I'll be placed in non-math classrooms?
2) The main reason I'm thinking of switching is the huge amount of pressure in class prep and classroom management. Do you think that becoming a special ed teacher will reduce that pressure?
3) What are the pressures of being a high school special ed teacher in the DOE? What are the advantages?
4) I've been in two schools now, and so far, both of them have a "one teach, one assist" method of co-teaching. Is that the case in most schools?

amother

Pewter

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 4:02 pm

Most schools would have you coteach in math classes, but it's not guaranteed. I once had to place my dual licensed math and sped teacher in an ELA class out of necessity.

You may spend less time lesson planning, but you will spend more time writing IEPs, having meetings, etc.

Most teaching pairs fall into a teach and assist pattern, however as an admin I have always tried to push my teachers beyond that model. It has its time and place, but if it's always used, student have less opportunities for success.

Both teachers are 100% responsible for classroom management.

amother

Amber

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 4:13 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for your response.

I know that the IEPs and meetings take time, but I'm okay with that. I find the lesson planning very draining. Modifying a lesson plan is very different than writing one.

In theory, both teachers are 100% responsible for management. However, since most classrooms fall into a teach and assist pattern, I have found that the gen ed teacher takes the primary responsibility for management- at least, that's what I've seen from my special ed teachers. I spend more time disciplining the students and managing behavior. They sort of assist with that.

amother

Vermilion

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:26 pm

I can tell u from my experience in a number of public schools, u are correct that most of the planning and classroom management "falls" on the gen ed teacher. But, every school is different and there are schools trying to push for a better system such that the two teachers work together better and both plan....

Also, while I have seen schools where the special ed teacher gets to "coast" by not doing as much lesson planning /classroom management, I also see some schools that "pulled" the special ed teacher to be a day to day sub doing coverages bec the school claimed it was an emergency.

One of my special ed colleagues was used as a gen ed ela teacher in addition to special ed ict so if you have gen ed certification, the school may use that license if they are short a high school teacher for a gen ed class.

Yes, I would say special ed ict teachers have it so much easier in terms of lesson planning but sometimes they are used for self contained special ed classes which can be harder to manage behaviorwise"" and certainly involves lesson planning.

Some special ed teachers "luck out" such that if they are the iep teacher or the "district rep for iep" at that school then they have very few classes and spent most of the day writing ieps and meeting with parents.

Every school is different so the answers to ur questions will be different depending on the admin in your school Also, nothing is gauranteed as principals do what is best for themselves despite what they tell u in the interview, but some special ed teachers have it really ""good"".

amother

Amber

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:51 pm

amother wrote:

I have gen ed MATH certification. I am not certified to teach gen ed ELA. My license is 7-12 math. I was thinking of going for the special ed extension.

I have a specific school that I really want to get into. I student taught there and saw how the classrooms work, and what the special ed teachers' responsibilities are. I know they're always looking for special ed math teachers, so that's one of the reasons I'm thinking of doing it.

I thought that self-contained classes don't exist in high schools.

I know that some special ed teachers have it really good, that's what I'm hoping to get. I'm so sick of all the work falling on me as the gen ed teacher, because no special ed teachers know the math content...