I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a career in the field of education; I have always had the desire to help others in some way. When it came time to decide on universities and majors, I knew undoubtedly that I wanted to major in education. I ultimately decided to attend the university I did because they offered a dual certification. The education program they offered with the dual certification would include a general certification (for example: Kindergarten through sixth grade) in addition to the special education certificate. This was a huge selling point for me.

I knew special education would be highly rewarding and an area I was interested in specializing in. As such, I also anticipated it may help me in becoming more knowledgeable and effective in the field. I ultimately did in fact attend the university previously mentioned, receiving both certifications as well as an additional certificate in the content area of language arts for grades five through eight. I am grateful that I decided to receive the students with disabilities certification and have been working with special needs ever since, which has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling to me.

How This Certification Has Helped in My Career

Throughout my career, I have held various teaching roles. For instance, I have taught preschool through eighth grade. Within those grade levels, I have taught in a myriad of different settings. Settings I have taught include accelerated classes, inclusion class, general education classes, behavioral classes, resource classes, multiply disabled (MD) classes and self-contained learning disabled (SCLD) classes.

Equipped to Best Support Students

In each of those roles, my special education certification has prepared me and equipped me to best support students in each setting. The training from receiving the certification gave me the understanding of different student needs as well as various strategies to enhance learning for each student. I feel that with having the certification, I was often viewed as someone “qualified” to work in various settings. As such, I am grateful to have experienced such a variety of grade levels and assignments. Throughout the years, in addition to striving to be as effective for students as possible, I also tried to share the understanding and knowledge I had gained with colleagues, including teachers and paraprofessionals.

Often, there were multiple paraprofessionals in the classrooms with me. I worked as closely with them as possible to be as effective as possible for students. The certification allowed me to share some of the knowledge and best practices I had received during training for the certification. Additionally, I feel it helped me communicate with families and parents. I felt knowledgeable and comfortable in sharing information with them as well as sharing strategies I could use with their support at home.

Currently, I am a principal at a private, nonprofit school for students with disabilities. Even in my current role, I can apply what I have learned to be most effective for our students and staff in this specialized setting. Further, I strive to make connections with families and the community, bringing awareness, understanding, and fostering partnerships with the goal of improving the lives of each student we serve.

Why I Would Recommend This Certification to Other Educators

I recommend this certification to other educators because it is infinitely valuable. This certification provides insight and knowledge in understanding various learners and their needs. It can only be helpful; not hurtful. Even if the educator is not interested in a special needs class, it will help learners in a general education setting who may struggle and or have a 504 plan. Additionally, tools and strategies gained from the program to receive the certificate can be applied to general education settings, all students can benefit.

Further, completing a program to receive the certification brings more understanding and awareness of various students’ needs and how to modify and accommodate for students to maximize learning most effectively. When you have a better understanding of different types of learners, you are more likely to be effective; you are likely to have more strategies (“tools”) in your toolbelt to try with the student(s) to be most effective. Oftentimes, general education teachers struggle with different types of learners (for example: a student with ADHD) because they do not have the students with disabilities certification. The more educators there are who receive this certification, the more effective we can be in the field of education.

The students with disabilities certification equips you with more in-depth training, understanding, strategies and best practices for all types of learners. The more educators with the certification, the more the knowledge will be shared with parents as well as colleagues, thus having a larger positive impact for our students. are more likely to be more effective and to share the knowledge.

Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs  to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.

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We must keep in mind that remote learning is new to everyone. Not only are our students who receive instruction in regular education struggling with this new platform, but also our students with IEPs are having a challenging time.

Learning from home, while their teacher is miles away, is something new for all of those involved in the education system. Even our most experienced teachers are having a difficult time “connecting” with their students as fluently as before COVID hit our nation. Suddenly, with very little notice, our educational world turned upside down for teachers, students, families, and administrators. As the virtual world has been pushed upon all of us, all of our communities are left with challenges when it comes to education.

The entire process begins with communication. Communicating in a way that we have never done before is so extremely valuable. Reaching out to families and students on a regular basis, if not daily, walking students through challenges that are not only educational-related but also technology-related, or socially and emotionally helping students stay connected, are daily routines of our teachers. Finding out what works for our families while still following our education schedules and routines is extremely valuable as we navigate the virtual world together. Educators are now entering our students’ homes and becoming part of their day as they work diligently from a virtual platform within a very different environment than a classroom.

Strategies for Teaching Students with Disabilities

It is imperative that our students are well aware of what the virtual school days expectations are and what the schedule may look like. Surprises with the change of a schedule should be avoided as our students with disabilities heavily rely on consistency. Sticking to our schedules that are in place as well as reviewing virtual responsibilities for all of our students will give our learners a clear idea as to what the expectations are and what is ahead of them. Truly, this isn’t much different than any other school rule, except now we are doing this from a different platform in hopes that our students are attentive and following along within their homes.

We must be sure, while in the virtual world, our students continue to receive all of the supports that they would receive if they were in an actual classroom. This includes any related services as well as any support from any other adults in the building. The school guidance counselor also plays a huge role for our students, as they may need sessions with the counselor based off of education looking so much different for everyone this year than in years past.

Transitioning to a virtual platform and being home as opposed to being in school can be a big enough change for our students that they truly need the school guidance counselor’s support. Putting this support in place could be a strategic idea to prevent any feelings of anxiety or behavior outburst from occurring. Knowing that there is someone that the students can check in with can alleviate any stressors that the student may be dealing with.

Even though we are in a virtual world, we must not overlook the importance of rigor. Along with academic rigor comes engagement. Keeping our students engaged with activities that they can share with the rest of the class, as well as continue to keep active participation among all students, will prevent boredom. The last thing any educator wants is for our students to not be focused on the material that is being delivered.

Engagement will require much more than direct instruction and lecturing. We are asking our students to learn from home, in front of their computer, without their teacher physically there. This is something that they have never had to do before, and as different as this is for them, educators must think out of the box on how our students, at any age, are tuned in and learning just as they would if they were in the brick and mortar school. This by far is not an easy task, but is something that all teachers and students in the United States have encountered over the last year.

Creating activities that students can work on together in breakout sessions is a way to continue communication and peer interaction among students. Our students miss their peers, and the daily face-to-face interaction with them. Putting ourselves in our students’ places for a moment and thinking about the friends that they no longer are playing with, whether it outside at recess or on a team sport, they are missing this daily interaction with peers their own age.

This is a tremendous loss for our students, and as teachers we must get creative to still keep these friendships very much in place for our students. Assigning a writing assignment virtually that students can send to one another, very similar to having a pen pal, can be a virtual activity that a teacher assigns throughout the duration of learning in this platform. Reassigning whom they will write to will make their “circle” even bigger as to what peers they are having interactions with. Teachers can create this writing activity and monitor the “conversations” between the students. This will encourage friendships to still last as well as reinforce the students writing skills.

Every encounter with our students virtually is unique and new challenges come up daily. Parents, teachers, and students could never have predicted that this is where we would all be a year later. Handling each situation in an individualized way, as well as being patient, understanding and extremely flexible, are key components that will aide every educator throughout this challenging platform. Who knows, the more we fine tune this experience and the longer that we are forced to teach through our computers, educators may find that this too is a very valuable learning experience and one that we all certainly will grow from.

Teaching is all about growing and changing with the times. This last year has truly been a challenge, but throughout the process teachers are doing their very best to assist our students in this platform. After all, our students are worth it!

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