The Albuquerque Public Schools district needs more than 100 special education teachers to fill vacancies in its 176 individual schools.
According to the district’s job listings on Thursday afternoon, 120 of 139 open teaching positions were in special education.
The district is not unique in that regard. Monica Armenta, executive director for communications at APS, said that the teacher shortage in general is a national issue.
“The shortage of special education teachers is a challenge that’s existed for decades without remedy anywhere in America,” Armenta said.
But an HR director for the district also acknowledged that it is hampered in its recruiting efforts by a lack of incentives and negative press coverage.
“It truly has a high impact on our recruiting and discourages applicants from coming and applying with us,” said Dorothy Chavez, the district’s senior director of employee process and HR systems, in response to emailed questions from City Desk ABQ.
Special education serves academically gifted children and those with disabilities, according to APS budget information.
Authors David Peyton and Kelly Acosta, in their 2022 report for the National Association of State Boards of Education, found that “while supply and demand for fully qualified special education teachers has ebbed and flowed for nearly 30 years, demand has consistently outpaced supply nationally.”
A blog by the School of Education at American University in Washington, D.C. listed low pay, stressful working conditions and insufficient support for special education teachers as factors contributing to the shortage.
APS looking all over the country
APS is trying to be proactive in addressing its shortage. Chavez said APS is attending recruiting events at colleges and universities across the state, adding University of Colorado in Colorado Springs to its itinerary last year.
Chavez said APS representatives this March and April will visit even more schools, including Dillard University in New Orleans, a historically Black institution. Recruiters are also scheduled to visit historically Black universities in Missouri and Texas. Chavez said APS plans to build new connections with historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S.
Chavez said many universities and colleges are working to address the need in their own ways, including “grow your own” special education teacher programs that provide discounted tuition for those interested in careers. The University of New Mexico, she said, has six students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in special education.
While recruiting new teachers adds to a district’s roster, retention of those already in the field eliminates the need to fill their positions.
Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, said administrators need to pay attention to the workloads of current special education teachers and provide support that will ease the pressure on them.
She said the union and APS are working together to create an atmosphere that will help fill those positions.
Armenta said APS is also in the process of creating a school psychologist internship program that would provide prospective school psychologists with “the opportunity to develop and integrate knowledge acquired through coursework and practica into relevant professional competencies.”
A practicum is a course designed to allow students to apply their classroom learning under supervision in a real-world setting.
Money alone won’t help
The APS Board of Education discussed the special education teacher shortage at its Wednesday meeting, with member Josefina Dominguez expressing concern about teacher workloads in the face of rising needs. Her comment came during a budget presentation in which district officials said spending on special education would increase.
Bonnie Anderson, director of budget, data and synergy within special education, said the shortage isn’t merely a budget issue.
“It’s not so much a lack of money as it is a lack of available licensed teachers,” she said. “And we’re working on recruiting all the time.”
A list of current openings for special education teachers at Albuquerque Public Schools is available here.
Editor’s note: this post has been updated to correct the percentage of special education teacher vacancies in the headline.
