CalSTAT California services for technical assistance and training

California Strategic Plan and Leadership Team

A Leadership Team with representatives from statewide organizations meets quarterly to address special education teacher shortages throughout the state, and implement the California Strategic Action Plan for the Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of Special Education Personnel. This plan was originally developed in June 2003, and recently revised in January  2007 to combine recruitment, preparation, and retention efforts by leveraging existing resources and promoting sustainability. The Strategic Plan describes collaborative statewide strategic activities, partners/participants, California landscape or context, and products that address the critical shortage of special education personnel.

Announcements and Current Issues

A statewide Special Education stakeholders meeting was held in Sacramento on January 29–30, 2007.  Organization, agency, and family representatives participated in the State Performance and Personnel Development Plan Stakeholder Group (SPPDP) meeting, named Improving Special Education Services (ISES).  Participants had an opportunity to learn about the State Performance Plan (SPP) and future directions for implementing the IDEA and NCLB requirements in regards to teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention.

At the ISES meeting on June 4, 2007, a Power Point document on the development and implementation of the California Strategic Plan was presented to all stakeholders. The Power Point document may be viewed below:

California Strategic Plan Powerpoint - ISES Meeting (June 4, 2007) Power Point (15.8mb) HTML

California Strategic Action Plan Document and Publication (Revised January 2007)

California Strategic Action Plan for the Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of Special Education Personnel, revised January 2007
adobe acrobate icon (260kb) |HTML
This revised and updated CA Plan includes national and state website links to referenced research, resources, and materials regarding special education personnel recruitment, preparation, and retention.

Strategic Action Plan List of Acronyms adobe acrobate icon (52kb) HTML
This document contains a list of the acronyms and what they stand for, as used in the California Strategic Plan for the Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of Special Education Personnel.

Recruitment


This document presents a utilization analysis of the TEACH California website, a key area of activity for recruitment of special education personnel under the CA Strategic Plan.

Preparation

Special Education Teacher Preparation Continuum: A Model Including Community Colleges acrobat Icon (36kb) HTML
This document provides a model for building a continuum for special education teacher preparation programs; beginning in lower division (including community colleges) through preliminary and professional credentials. This model was developed as a product related to the California Strategic Plan Activities Recruitment #4 (reduce emergency permits and increase para-educators who meet NCLB requirements) and Preparation #1 (development of undergraduate special education preparation programs).

Retention

CSU, Study on California Teacher Retention by Dr. Ken Futernick

On April 26, 2007, electronic copies of this report will be available at www.calstate.edu/teacherquality/retention. This website allows readers to enter comments and questions about the report and to view responses from the author.

A Possible Dream:  Retaining California Teachers So that ALL Students Learn. The findings from this comprehensive data-driven study emphasize school climate, administrative training, and working conditions as related factors that impact the retention of California’s special education teachers. This study concludes that recruitment efforts without attention to retention efforts will not yield desired results to reduce the critical personnel shortage in California.  A recommendation for legislative action regarding teachers’ working conditions is also included in the findings.

An Induction Program for Special Education Teachers adobe acrobat HTML
Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA), Special Education Program at California State University, Northridge. This program was developed to address the unique needs of special education personnel. Five major program components are discussed and recommendations for an effective induction model are provided.

Other Related Documents

IHE Comprehensive Final Report: June 30, 2002 adobe acrobate icon (148kb) HTML
This document provides an historical overview and comprehensive summary report of the foundational research and activities that were implemented in 2001–2002, facilitated by the Special Education Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Task Force, supported by the first State Improvement Grant (SIG), and guided by the recommendations of the Partnership Committee on Special Education (PCSE).   The development process and production of the research-based draft of the California Strategic Plan for the Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of Special Education Personnel are outlined in this document.

U.S. Department of Education Archived Document on No Child Left Behind: Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Public Schools
This document contains information that was included in a PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Mary Jane Pearson on No Child Left Behind, presented to the IHE Connections Statewide Meeting on October 3–4, 2002.

Website Resources

http://www.teachcalifornia.org
TEACH California provides a variety of quality recruitment materials and resources to attract new teachers into California, which are free to schools and organizations. View interactive games, planning guides, financial incentives and professional preparation programs online. Service learning and paraprofessional brochures, as well as California recruitment brochures and CDs are available to view and order online. California math and science teacher recruitment is also highlighted.

http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/1899/
Press Release on Governor’s Commission on Science and Math Teachers May 2005.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the University of California, California State University and business leaders today in announcing the creation of a bold new effort to enhance the supply and preparation of science and mathematics teachers for California's public schools

www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/se/index.asp
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell’s CDE White Paper
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell addresses the critical shortage of special educators in California and the need to support and train special education teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals:

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/SB1209/default.html.
Legislation Scott Bill – SB1209 Signed Into Law, 2006
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) correspondence (PDF) regarding the Scott Bill may be viewed at this website link.  This is a major teacher educational reform bill that directly impacts and unites together teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention to address California’s teacher workforce and its students’ academic performance.  As a direct result of this legislation, the California Education Specialist credential structure and content are currently under review.

www.cftl.org/featuredproduct.php
Center for the Future of Teaching Reports 2006 California’s Teaching Force 2006:  Key Issues and Trends This report highlights the need for recruiting special education, science, and math teachers.  The 2006 report encapsulates tenants for recruiting and retaining special education personnel and calls for incentives for innovative programming in the areas of special education, science, and math. The report underscores that recruitment and retention efforts must be promoted together in order to deal with the looming shortage of special education, math, and science personnel. The report suggests that special education, math, and science need a consistent strategy to influence policy and legislation to reduce the state’s teacher personnel shortage.

www.cftl.org/publications_latest.php
Center for the Future of Teaching Reports 2005
The Status of the Teaching Profession 2005 This report highlights the critical need for recruiting special education, science, and math teachers in California.

www.projectpipeline.org/publications.html
Project Pipeline’s Seeking Out Special Educators (SOS) Study, August 2003

Teach California Website

The Teach California website (www.teachcalifornia.org), a project of the CDE, delivers tools to help potential teachers make the decision to teach, become credentialed, and find job placement.

Activities Reports