Школа штата Мэн наняла виртуальных учителей из-за нехватки специалистов по инклюзивному образованию

Maine district turns to virtual teachers amid special education staffing shortage JAY (WGME) Spruce Mountain schools in Jay are turning to virtual special education teachers after being unable to fill three special education teaching positions over the summer, highlighting a broader shortage of special education teachers in school districts across the state. “We had no certified teaching applicants for the three special ed teacher positions. So, I have contracted with a virtual company,” said Cherie Parker, Spruce Mountain’s special services director. Parker told the Spruce Mountain school board that two virtual special education teachers will lead instruction at the middle school, including a functional life skills class, for some of the district’s 73 students with individualized education programs. Another virtual teacher will lead a high school class. “At the high school, the contracted company will provide specially designed instruction and case management, while the students are facilitated in person by an education technician,” Parker told school board members. Raychel Ward, the parent of a child with autism and ADHD, questioned how virtual teachers could effectively teach students in special education. “How’s that going to work in a classroom with basically a teacher on a stick?” Ward said. Ward said virtual learning left many special needs students behind during COVID and she fears the same could happen this year. VocoVision, a nationwide company that provides virtual education in Maine and across the country, said districts are increasingly seeking remote support because of staffing shortages. “We talk to schools every day who are in the exact same boat,” said Jessica Marlow, VocoVision’s senior vice president. Marlow said virtual learning works best when schools provide staff in classrooms to help keep students on task and assist with hands-on learning. In a clip from one of the company’s instructional videos, a narrator says, “Our goal is to fully engage students through our technology with a variety of interactive activities.” “In the beginning, it was hard for schools to even visualize how this could be possible,” Marlow said. “It works really well when we get the conditions right.” Spruce Mountain administrators said they have used virtual services before for speech language and social work programs, and those were successful. With the district still facing a shortage of special education teachers, officials said they had no choice but to try virtual teaching. “At the end of the day, what should be the most important is meeting the kids’ needs, no matter how we do that,” Ward said.