Sept 9, 2018, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minneapolis Public Schools scramble to fill special-ed staff vacancies http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-public-schools-scramble-to-fill-special-ed-staff-vacancies/492818791/ With one of the largest special education programs in the state, Minneapolis Public Schools has recently announced that it’s grappling to fill vacancies for special-ed teachers and assistants. In the past several years, the number of Minnesota students needing special-ed services has soared, while the shortage of teachers and aides to instruct them has become more pronounced, according to a 2017 report released by the state Department of Education. Almost all states across the nation are struggling with shortages in special education staff. The shortfall in Minneapolis, Superintendent Ed Graff said, stems from the strong labor market and a high number of special-ed assistants leaving the job just before schools opened this year. Minneapolis began the new school year with fewer than 10 special-ed teacher vacancies, a significant improvement from previous years, district officials said. But Graff said he is concerned about vacancies among assistants, especially in high schools that serve students with severe learning disabilities. ... The supply and demand for instructors are not matching up. There are about 545 full-time special-ed teacher positions and 570 full-time assistant positions. The district has 6,385 special education students, which is 18 percent of the district’s overall student population…. Londel French has been working for two years at Harrison Education Center in Minneapolis, where most students have severe behavioral and emotional needs. His duties range from academic support and de-escalating student aggression to assisting staff. Recently, French made the difficult decision to not return to his job, which pays between $17.15 and $21.36 an hour. “I don’t want to go back there because I don’t feel safe,” said French, who said he was assaulted by a student and later suspended. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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