Amid the backdrop of widespread demand for educators, high turnover and flagging interest in the profession, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. have reported multi-year shortages for special education teachers, leaving countless children without the services they’re entitled to legally. To help correct this downward trend, TC faculty Amanda Levin Mazin, Senior Lecturer of Intellectual Disability/Autism, and Laudan Jahromi, Director of the Intellectual Disability/Autism program and Professor of Psychology and Education, worked together to create an asynchronous, online special education program at Teachers College.

Amanda Levin Mazin and Laudan Jahromi

Amanda Levin Mazin and Laudan Jahromi (Photos: TC Archives)

Learn more about the exciting new program and start your application.

TC faculty acutely understand what these shortages mean for working teachers and students with disabilities. Mazin provided testimony on the rippling impacts of shortages to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last November. “When we have teacher shortages, it means that special education teachers, specifically, need to wear many hats,” explains Mazin, a board certified behavior analyst and special education teacher with more than 20 years of experience. “And that's what our program aims to do. We prepare special education teachers to work with students with disabilities in all settings.”

In addition to giving teachers the confidence and skills they need to succeed, a focus on comprehensive teacher preparation increases retention and, importantly, students with disabilities who  are often taught by under- or newly-certified teachers. Research shows that better teacher preparation leads to improved outcomes for those students.

The wide reaching benefits of more accessible teacher preparation drove the creation of the new online masters program at TC. “The flexibility of having a fully online program while still being able to get all the benefits of being a TC student aligns very well with our philosophy of access for all learners,” says Mazin. “The coolest part of the online program is that we are, for the first time, going to offer fully remote student teaching supervision.” Meaning, online students will get the same evidence-based highly attentive education and mentorship opportunities that in-person students receive, while staying in their home state.

Advice for future Special Education teachers...

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Find your people within your school, find your people in a professional learning group. Find people who understand what the day in the life of a teacher really is, that it doesn't end at 3 o'clock and that you bring it all home with you.

Amanda Levin Mazin, Senior Lecturer of Intellectual Disability/Autism

It's important to know that [teaching] is not always easy. You may think that education sounds fun and cool, but you really have to love it to do it [well]... I also think if you can go into a school and brighten one child's day you find that they also brighten your day, that’s another great part of it.

Abby Beldner, current student in Intellectual Disability/Autism Program

The first year of teaching is the most challenging, but also the year of tremendous growth. Every experience helps you be more responsive to students’ needs, plan more productively in the future, and realize that your students are human beings with their own needs, challenges, and strengths.

Lia Sacks (M.A. ’18)

It’s important to become familiar and knowledgeable about your student’s IEP and disability, but always remember that the student is NOT defined by their disability. It is essential to get to know students as individuals and for who they are.

Hayley Flyer (M.A. ’19)

By attending a special education master's program, like those at Teachers College, you will receive in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience before you take on your first teaching job. This will allow you to approach teaching with the intentionality that it takes to make a difference.

Joseph Harrington, current student in the Intellectual Disability/Autism program

Education follows this up and down path, everything repeats itself at some point. We know that education follows the economy, when the economy goes down more people want to be teachers because it is a job where you have nice benefits and a schedule that often works for families. So what I often tell teachers is, follow the path, stay with it.

Amanda Levin Mazin

Tags: At the College Special Education Teacher Preparation

Programs: Intellectual Disability/ Autism

Departments: Health Studies & Applied Educational Psychology

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