Teacher, Special Education
Comprehensive Sites
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Teachers—Special EducationAn overview of special education school teachers is presented at this page, provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as information on career preparation, job pay, and sources of further information on related careers. Work environment, education, and training required are outlined, with links available to projected employment, according to teacher type and additional to links to the latest local earnings data.
ISeek: Special Education TeachersProvided by the State of Minnesota, this site provides a variety of resources for persons interested in learning more about special education as a career. Check out the video or got to information on work activities, wages, jobs, and licensing and certification links.
National Center for Education StatisticsThis site offers a wealth of information for teachers or students wanting to become a teacher. From here, you can connect to comprehensive information on the public elementary and secondary school data system, which contains snapshots of information relating to all education. Search for various school districts, find a college navigator, search for private schools, or access the K-12 practitioners’ circle.
Princeton Review: TeacherThis all-in-one resource offers information on a day in the life of a teacher, such as the challenges, rewards, and professional responsibilities. Education, associated careers, facts and figures regarding salary and employment, and links to information on colleges, internships, and graduate school are available.
U.S. Department of EducationResources for becoming a teacher are provided here, including teaching opportunities, feature articles, information about teaching the first year, and training and degree programs.
Occupational Titles
Special Education Teacher
Special Education Resource Teacher
Teacher, Special Education
Accredited Academic Programs
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher EducationThis organization collects information on standards for public institutions and also has program reviews and state-by-state information on accredited institutions. There are many ways to become a teacher, and this site will inform you, not just about the traditional certification processes, but also the non-traditional routes. State protocols, job vacancies, and plenty of teacher education links are available.
Princeton Review: Teacher, Special Education MajorA list of nearly 500 schools offering the special education major is provided at this site, compiled by the Princeton Review. Click on your selection to be brought to these schools’ individual websites for more program information directly from this site.
Salary Levels
Indeed.com: Special Education Teacher SalariesThe average salary of a special education teacher or assistant across the nation is displayed at the graph at this site, with additional graphs on the average salary of jobs with related titles.
PayScale: Special Education TeacherThis site offers a salary report for all special education teachers, K-12, across the U.S., as well as further information on salary according to years of teaching experience or employer type. You can also access links to information on salary by gender, certification, or the state you might be employed in.
Professional Organizations
American Federation of TeachersThis is a professional teachers’ union and offers economic, social, and professional advantages to teacher members. Hot topics in the field are discussed, and a legislative action center includes an online activists’ network. You can find useful tools, such as a salary survey, and special links for public employees and early childhood education teachers.
Council for American Private EducationReasons for teaching in a private school are introduced at this organization’s site, where you can compare the main goals of public schools with the educational focus of a private school. Detail on job satisfaction, the professional environment, and a focus of values are emphasized. This site includes a list of private school job banks, including religious schools, Montessori schools, and Waldorf academy links.
Council for Exceptional ChildrenThis organization is the voice of special education in the U.S. and contains a host of resources to advance training in the profession. A link to accreditation and licensure, instructional strategies, support for teachers, and a teachers’ blog are available. You will also find an online job board, news, and publications.
National Association of Independent SchoolsThis organization represents a voice for independent education in America and offers details on membership, subscriptions, public information on the differences between public and private schools, a career center, and plenty of important distinctions between public and private education.
National Center for Special Education Personnel and Related Service ProvidersWith a goal of improving the number and quality of special education teachers, this organization provides plenty of information on special education as a career choice, preparation, and certification and licensure.
National Education AssociationThe National Education Association includes sub-sites for both teachers and students aspiring to become teachers. Go to the link for college students and find information on relevant news in the field, book discounts, and articles on teacher salary, studying to become a teacher, and toolkit discounts for student members. A map at the site offers instant beginning salary information for each state.
Licensing & Certification
Certification Requirements for 50 StatesThis site provides direct links to teacher certification requirements for all 50 states. Choose your state and be taken directly to the home page of licensing and credentialing requirements. These sites will also offer details on the steps to certification, types of certificates, alternative routes, and provisional teaching, where applicable.
Council for Exceptional Children: Certification and LicensureDescriptions of the ways that that lead to special education certification are provided at this site, including bachelor degree university program listings and alternative routes to certification.
National Center for Special Education Personnel: Certification and LicensureA state-by-state listing of certification links and offices is found at this site, provided by an organization which represents the interests of special education teachers. Some states have separate websites to describe alternative licensing paths.
Teacher Certification PublicationsYou can find teacher certification information for all 50 states at this comprehensive site, including requirements-at-a-glance for free as a reference guide to common facts about each state’s application requirements. Late-breaking changes are also offered.
U.S. Department of Education: Teacher Certification Resources by StateThis governmental website directs you to links, arranged by category and date, on the various state teacher certification programs that exist.
Job Opportunity Sources
National Association of Independent Educators: NAIS Career CenterThe career center here is from resources collected from the foremost organization on private school education. If you are looking for an opportunity as a private school teacher, you can search for jobs, find articles about working at a private school, and find a listing of teacher search firms, all for free.
National Center for Special Education Personnel: EmploymentProviding plenty of opportunities for training, internships, and work, this listing includes state employment job banks, directories of teaching jobs, and several national resources from educational organizations and publications
U.S. Department of Education: Teaching OpportunitiesState-by-state information on charter schools, a school locator, a transition program for recent college grads, and the Troops-to-Teacher Program are all described at this site’s links. You can also access a greater list of assorted opportunities by category and title.
Publications
Council for Exceptional Children: PublicationsThis organization offers so many publications, it would be impossible to list them all here. If you go to this site you will find resources to help you learn about curriculum for special education, supervision of special education children, attention deficit disorder, managing behavior, and plenty of other topics and publications related specifically to the teacher who is interested particularly in special education. A host of professionals’ journals and titles dealing with life skills and career development are also found.
Education WeekEducation Week contains an enormous amount of information for the would-be educator, including national news, online videos, topics in health, special education, and curriculum, blogs, chats, and transcripts, and plenty of free web learning conferences.
Teacher MagazineTeacher Magazine contains plenty of opinions on what it’s like to be a teacher, including information for you on the best practices of successful teachers and articles from all kinds of teachers.
U.S. Department of Education: EdPubsThis collection of publications helps you identify and order free or low cost publications in the field of education. More than 6,000 titles are available, including brochures, CD-ROMs, newsletters, and research reports. You can locate publications by audience type, education level, language, or subject, or view the list of the top 10 publications. This is a great resource for new teachers or students about to enter the field.
Online Forums & Blogs
Council for Exceptional Children BlogDedicated to discussions surrounding special education, this blog allows you to access archived blogs back to September with categories of discussion that include curriculum, inclusive practices, and networking.
Education Week: BlogsBlogs at this site are combined from Teacher Magazine and Edweek.org and include the impact of politics on K-12 education, exploration of learning innovations, starting out as a teacher, and tapping into the special child. If you go to BlogBoard, you’ll find “new and noteworthy” blogs that are really up-to-date.
Career Videos
National Association of Independent Schools: How to Apply for a JobThis video shows you how to login to your account at the National Association for Independent Schools and guides you through the career center available there.
TeacherTubeLesson plans, student video lessons, and teacher videos are available at TeacherTube, a large online collection of videos just for teaching. The most popular videos can be accessed, as well as most discussed and top-rated. Teacher Tube blogs, groups, and channels on different aspects of teaching are available. On the video search, type in the keywords for the type of career information you are interested in.
