Massive teacher shortage in NC could be hurting most vulnerable of students

Many school districts in the Charlotte area are looking for teachers that can work with students who have special needs. Clyde Campbell Elementary School in Catawba County is working hard to keep the ones they have.
The school’s special education team works in a wing known as the adapted curriculum cluster classrooms. It’s built to make children with all abilities comfortable and to make learning easier.
“It does get difficult sometimes, there are days when I have to walk out, take deep breaths, and it does get challenging," said teacher Jessica Hammond, "but the kids truly make me stay just the fun moments of the day."
The students that need these kinds of classrooms and teachers are deemed Exceptional Children, or EC. Some children are non-verbal. Others may have physical challenges or some learning disabilities.
In North Carolina, the teachers who guide them must have a degree in Special Education or a related field. They also need the appropriate state license.
READ MORE: www.wcnc.com/article/news/edu...

[@forthefuture2792]

What are some ways we can help those teachers‽

[@kimberlymckellar6995]

Pay them more and provide more resources.

[@forthefuture2792]

@@kimberlymckellar6995 I understand they are under paid, but how can we as the community (not the school system) help them out. Are you gonna pay them more money out of your pocket? Maybe we can have a site wide donate button and it goes straight to the teachers and not just certain schools.

[@itsablessingbeinganamerica1401]

Parents should be respectful to teachers and teach their children to do the same.

[@texasabbott]

Teachers understand that parents of students with special needs particularly fight hard for their kids. However, some parents really go overboard and resort to raging and name-calling, especially during the pandemic (instead of support and cooperation), focused mostly on the teachers, who are worn out from the angry emails and being summoned repeatedly to the office. Many of them subsequently quit.

[@jjc6530]

Change the American cultures philosophy to value education and make it a priority. Hold parents and kids accountable.

[@mamabare49]

They will turn people down and then try to call them back when other candidates turn them down. The system goal is to have the most educated for the least amount. So if they can hire someone with a BA to teach preschool instead of associate That's the goal

[@johnnyboyvan]

Love the guilting.