Why there's a special education and STEM teacher shortage and what can be done
According to an ABC News survey, over three-quarters of U.S. states are experiencing teacher shortages. Parts of the nation's subject matter pool is severely strained. Jahsha Tabron, the 2022 Delaware teacher of the year, taught special education for more than two decades and cherished what she called the "winning moments" of growth in her students. "[Where] you have a nonverbal student who is now able to speak in simple sentences … that's why you stay," she recently told ABC News. But Tabron, now Brandywine High School's dean of students in Wilmington, Delaware, said her field can be a tough sell for future candidates. "When we're talking about why we don't have a lot of people joining the profession, we're looking at the immense workload that comes along with being a special education teacher," she said. MORE: Most of the US is dealing with a teaching shortage, but the data isn't so simple Tabron's concern about a ...