How do we create a replicable model to successfully transition youth with disabilities from juvenile justice facilities to the community?
Youth with disabilities are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. Research shows that as many as 60 percent of incarcerated youth have disabilities and require special education services, compared to only 10 to 12 percent of youth in public schools.
Interventions on behalf of students with learning disabilities are frequently applied and practiced apart from a student's classroom environment. A specialist in reading disabilities and challenges may see the student during a “pullout” period in their day, away from the student's classroom and primary teacher, to teach strategies for coping with the disability. A lack of coordination between the specialist and the classroom teacher in encouraging the student to apply the strategies within the classroom can result in less-than-optimal benefits for any interventions.
For more than two decades, Arizona has reported statewide teacher shortages in early childhood, early childhood special education and in English language learning. In 2013, President Obama called on states to create high-quality preschool programs and make them available to all children. At that time, only three out of 10 eligible four-year-olds had access to such programs. A key factor in meeting this charge is creating a highly qualified workforce of teachers who are prepared to provide educational services to all young learners and their families.
How can Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College increase the number of highly qualified middle and high school teachers in math and science to meet a growing need in the state of Arizona?
There is a need to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers. To become highly qualified under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, a valid Arizona teaching license and pass the National Evaluation Series tests administered by Pearson for the curriculum they plan to teach.
Studies show that in K–12 schools throughout the U.S., students of color and students with disabilities face disciplinary suspension at disproportionate rates, primarily due to inequitable and punitive zero-tolerance policies and practices. Discipline data for the Phoenix Union High School District in Phoenix, Arizona, like most districts throughout the state, indicate disproportionality that mirrors national trends. The PUHSD governing board sought to address the issue by exploring and implementing concepts of restorative justice in their discipline policies.