Teacher Leader Stories by Swanson Judy;Elliott Kimberly;Harmon Jeanne M.; & Kimberly Elliott & Jeanne Harmon

Author:Swanson, Judy;Elliott, Kimberly;Harmon, Jeanne M.; & Kimberly Elliott & Jeanne Harmon
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1051617
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2011-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Case 9

Crossroads

by Jean Henderson

As a veteran resource room teacher, I wanted to make changes in my district to strengthen special education and support my colleagues. Instead, I hit a major dead end in my work, and I burned out. There seemed to be no alternative except to leave the field that I loved.

Three years ago, I sat at my desk, took another sip of coffee, and gazed at my endless to-do list. After seven years of working in isolation in special education, I could sense that I was starting to wear out. In my role as a resource room teacher for a small, rural school, I juggled countless responsibilities. I needed to know all of the regular curriculum for Grades K–5, keep current on special education laws and procedures, and help families in crisis. While continuing to attend multidisciplinary team meetings, individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and care team meetings, I also participated in building meetings. All of these duties were on top of responding to the everyday needs of my students as well as supervising and creating lesson plans for five educational assistants.

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Sue, a new resource room teacher in my district, and her voice sounded panicky, “Jean? I’m not sure what to do. I’m having a problem with this parent, and I don’t feel like there’s anyone else who can help me. Do you have a few minutes?” The minutes turned into an hour that I didn’t have to spare, but I had to help Sue. I knew exactly what she was feeling.

Sometimes, it seemed like special educators, like Sue and me, were at the bottom of the district’s pecking order when it came to trainings, materials, and status. While the regular education teachers in my district had some collaborative opportunities available to them, the resource room teachers did not. Unsurprisingly, the district’s turnover rate among special educators was higher than that of any other segment of the specialist population. Many of my colleagues moved to regular education because of the isolation, tremendous workload, and lack of professional development support.

I was committed to informally mentoring my colleagues. Teachers like Sue often called me with questions about the law, protocol, or simply how to survive in the isolated state of special education teaching. Even as a seasoned teacher, I shared the need to connect with my peers. I yearned to keep growing, and I was also eager to take on leadership roles in my district. It seemed like I was off the administration’s radar, though. In seven years, the special education director came to my classroom just once—and then she was looking for someone else. Overlooked and overloaded, I knew that I needed to make a change.

When the opportunity to take on the challenge of National Board Certification came along, I quickly applied. I thought that certification might be the solution to my problems. In some ways, it was. As a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), I gained access to professional development opportunities outside of my school district.

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