Special education has always been a crucial part of the school world. Especially when it comes to the environment and staff.
Knox County Schools has always made special education an essential part of the school setting, and now, more than ever because they have recently created a new special ed plan that involves improving the environment, budget, and staff.
In fact, many people during a KCS Board of Education meeting, asked the superintendent to create a plan that includes a timeline (with deadlines) to carry out the recommendations and present that to the school board in November. They also happened to do their own report that found parents want a ‘students first’ approach at school.
This is set to be put in place sometime officially during 2024, though no one is really sure when. As they create a new idea like this, they hope to gain a better, more advanced school environment for not only the staff, but the kids too.
In addition to this, recommendations from the task force included creating a new code of conduct, a uniform set of expectations, and making sure special ed teachers have more resources, such as aides and assistant teachers.
Mrs. Brooks, a special ed teacher here at Central High School, also agrees with this plan, and hopes to improve the school setting for her class and environment.
“I think lots can be done to improve it,” she says. “I think we need more staff, and the kids need a chance to participate more in extracurricular activities.”
When asked about what she hopes will happen in the future, she responded with, “I hope the teacher shortage can end soon and students have the support and programming they need to be successful learners.”
When asked about the reason she hopes for this, she said that she wants to “prevent burnout, increase training, and pay for educational assistants to maintain job retention, and increase opportunities for professional development among special education teachers,”
Special education has always been a crucial part of the school world, and many hope to increase and extend this plan in the future for better learning.
Read more from The Bobcat Times:
What and Who is Central Listening to?
Bobcat Golf coach Luke Ladd on the 2023 district tournament outlook
The Bobcat Times 