New teachers get support

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Eloise Mudge, who traveled from San Luis Obispo County to attend the workshop, spent her break time researching.

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Nora Orizaga (left) and Alison Hall shared information they learned attending the New Special Education Teacher Institute.

When you are a first year special education teacher, lots of unexpected situations occur that may not have been explained in college text books while earning a credential. Each year the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) offers a two-day New Special Education Teachers Institute to help ease the fears and provide some solutions. Sept. 11 was day one and featured about a dozen Kern County teachers and one who traveled from San Miguel Joint Union School District in San Luis Obispo County to get some answers at the KCSOS office in Bakersfield.

Presenting the class were four veteran special education teachers — Vickie Shufton, Karlyn Jo Farber, Marilyn Hurst and Barbara Williams. As KCSOS program specialists, it is their job now to help train the new teachers. Relying on their classroom experiences and knowledge of California special education curriculum standards, they know how to navigate the first year educational hurdles.

“Sometimes we struggle with the right words needed to present what we want to say in a respectful, appropriate way,” Shufton advised the audience. “Just think about how you would want someone to refer to you, if you had a disability.”

Taking lots of notes was McFarland Unified School District teacher Alison Hall. She was kind of taking notes for two. Not only is it her first year of teaching severe to moderately handicapped children, it is also the first year McFarland is offering the class.

“You love the kids, but the laws and other unknowns can make the task overwhelming because you want to do it right,” Hall said. “As a youngster, I had a neighbor whose daughter had Down Syndrome, and I was the babysitter. I helped teach her how to walk, and it made me want to do it for others. That’s why I became a teacher.”

As anyone who gets into the special education teaching profession these days realizes, teaching is not just about teaching, anymore. The list of topics to cover in the workshop included such things as, “Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) — who, what, etc,” “how to address standards with students with moderate/severe disabilities,” “how to address a general education teacher’s reluctance to accommodate a special education student,” and more.

“Because of a critical shortage, we get many teachers working with emergency credentials, who are in the process of finishing their credentialing work,” Shufton said. “As such, some simply don’t have the basics to fully function as a special education teacher. They need help understanding the IEP process and other classroom concerns. We help fill their tool box.”

Nora Orizaga started out as a special education teacher four years ago. This year she finds herself as the special education coordinator for both the Pond and Maple school districts besides being a teacher. She describes her situation as, “My first year flying solo.”

“Why am I attending the workshop,” Orizaga asked. “Because I want to learn as much as I can so I can give my students and their families everything they need in a caring manner because I love my kids. You have to know how to deal with challenging parents and be sensitive to their needs while doing what the law says to do. What I have learned today has been excellent.”

While, understanding the ins-and-outs of teaching special education in the classroom is one of the most important aspects of the workshop, there is an intangible that goes with the training. Each of the four KCSOS special programs coordinators does not just finish the day by giving the teachers a pat on the back, a “good luck” and send them on their way. Shufton, Farber, Hurst and Williams offer themselves as a resource, giving their work numbers and email addresses to the new teachers and encouraging them to call when they need help.

“We go to the districts to offer support, working in the classrooms with the teachers, observing to see the areas where we can offer help,” Shufton said. “We encourage teachers to talk to their district special education directors because they won’t know what you don’t know until you ask. The bottom line is people who teach special needs children do so because it is part of their heart and soul. As such, they will stick it out through the tough times and get better.”


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