Dec 20, 2018, Monterey (CA) Herald: Office of Education awarded grant for special ed teachers https://www.montereyherald.com/2018/12/18/office-of-education-awarded-grant-for-special-ed-teachers/ The Monterey County Office of Education along with a consortium of nine school districts in the county announced Tuesday it will receive a Local Solutions Grant to assist special education teachers.
A grant for $729,900 will help recruit new special education teachers and support the 236 special education teachers who serve 4,117 students with disabilities across Monterey County….
Kieffer said Monterey Peninsula Unified will receive $1.4 million over the next five years, which will award $20K per special education teacher. She said special education teachers are hard to recruit and retain just like many other schools in the state.
“There’s a severe shortage right now,” Kieffer said….
“We were thrilled to hear the news. Special education teachers are in high demand and this grant will help us attract and retain more of them,” said Dorianne Owens-Ramirez, interim special education director for Alisal Union. “We’re thankful to the Monterey County Office of Education for putting this consortium together that allowed us to maximize our chances to get the grant. Our special education students will be the direct beneficiaries of this award.”
According to the Office of Education, educators face a myriad of barriers to meeting the growing need for qualified special education teachers. The high costs of living, changing demographics, the regional economy and budget shortages all affect the ability to recruit and retain highly-qualified teachers, especially special education teachers. …
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