Written by Calista Leistekow
Lutheran schools often struggle to balance the desire to serve all children who seek a Christian education with the ability to provide sufficient resources and support for students with special learning needs. To learn the extent to which this struggle occurs and what Lutheran schools are doing about it, I conducted some research.
I sent an electronic survey to all Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) principals and early childhood directors. I sent a second electronic survey to all WELS teachers. Of the 2,516 surveys sent out, 400 people responded: 86 principals, 32 early childhood directors, and 282 teachers. Despite the small number of responses, almost half of the synod’s schools were represented in the data. This is what I found out.
1. How many of our schools are offering special education services?
According to the principal/early childhood director survey, 90.6% of the 118 participants reported offering special education services in their schools. Of the teacher survey, 92.9% of the 282 participants offered special education services in their classrooms.
2. What methods are being used in our synod’s schools to aid students with special needs?
Methods used in WELS schools range from direct instruction and tutoring to paraprofessional services and/or services from the local public district. A majority of the participants reported using some form of tutoring, paid or volunteer to help their students with special needs. Fifty of the participants reported using two or more of these services. The participants that reported “Other” shared alternative methods that they use for their students. These alternative methods include using public school services, direct instruction or modified assignments, and specific programs offered in the community (Help Me Grow, YoungStar, etc.). In addition, some schools are able to provide a trained special education teacher.
3. What specialized training are teachers receiving for special education?
Teachers are encouraged to continue their education through courses, conferences, workshops, etc. However, they are not required to enroll in continuing education programs that are specifically focused on special education. As a result, only 42% of the teachers responded that they have taken a course or workshop in special education in the past five years. While there are opportunities, teachers are choosing to better themselves in other areas of education.
All education students are required to take a special education course. MLC also offers a special education major and a master’s degree in education with a special education emphasis. If teachers wish, they may also take online or satellite special education courses through the college. In the Milwaukee area, the group Christian Educators for Special Education (CESE) holds an annual conference on serving children with special needs.
4. Of the schools that do not have a special education program, what is keeping them from having one?
Some schools do not need to have a special education program because they do not have special needs students currently enrolled in their school. Of the schools that do have special need students, the top two reasons they do not currently have a special needs program are lack of manpower and funds.
5. What improvements can be made to better support our synod’s schools regarding special education?
Some of the biggest improvements to special education can be made through the efforts of the Christian Educators for Special Education (CESE) organization. This group has the potential to greatly impact the way the synod schools deal with students with special needs. Currently, the organization only hosts an annual special education conference. Most of their funding comes from this conference, but the majority of the funds are invested for the following year’s conference. The organization is working to compile a database of teachers with special education training throughout the WELS. This database would serve as a support web for general education teachers to speak with someone about a special needs student they are working with and for the correspondent in turn to offer resources that have worked for them in the past. Another objective that the CESE would like to accomplish is to collect special education resources such as links to materials and articles about various special needs topics. These different supports could prove invaluable to the growth of special education programs across the WELS (J. Mose, personal communication, March 15, 2018).
As of now, the organization is working through volunteers to accomplish their goals. While this is cost-effective, many of our teachers and students are suffering from the lack of aid available to teachers in the synod. It would be in the synod’s best interest to support the CESE financially in order to complete their work in a reasonable amount of time. Considering that the number of identified special needs students in synod schools is over 3,000, funding should be made a priority not only for the teachers’ sake but also for the sake of the spiritual needs of the children.
The need for teachers to have the knowledge and ability to teach students with special needs is greater than it ever has been. Teacher instruction has not risen to meet the needs of the growing field of special education. One study calculated that, on average, a student training to be a general education teacher takes 1.5 classes focused on special education. The average special education teacher takes about 11 courses to prepare to educate students with special needs (Cameron & Cook, 2007). According to the survey responses, not enough teachers are enrolling in special education classes, workshops, or seminars to meet the needs of their students. Administrators need to make an effort to have all or some of their teachers enroll in these continuing education opportunities.
CLICK HERE to read Calista’s entire thesis.
Calista Leistekow (’13, ’18) recently completed her MS in Education with a special education emphasis.
We want to hear from you:
- How have special education courses benefitted your work in the classroom?
- Do you believe every school should have a special education teacher?
- What do you in your classroom to aid special education students?
References
Cameron, D. L., & Cook, B. G. (2007). Attitudes of preservice teachers enrolled in an infusion preparation program regarding planning and accommodations for included students with mental retardation. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 353-363.
Thank you for writing about this. I served many children who had IEP needs when I worked in Milwaukee choice schools. We had a good amount of support staff and continuing education available to us as staff so we were able to serve many of these children pretty well. Their needs tended to be behavioral and academic with only a few related services needed. MPS worked amicably with us to provide related services (OT, PT, ST) and we were also able to use the children’s Medicaid and private insurance to fund some services that MPS did not provide, but were needed.
I am now the parent of an 11 year old in 5th grade who has cross-categorical IEP needs and requires total care for his personal needs.He is non-verbal and in a wheelchair. We are in a booming public school district that is well-funded and has leadership who truly care. It hasn’t been perfect or easy, but I am very pleased with his school experiences. My son could never be well served in the Lutheran school system. Throughout his school career I have learned so much about special education. I learned so much in my years at MLC, but I really didn’t understand the invisible structures within [a well done] public system that are in place to support children with extra or different needs. It is so extensive! I really wish that during my teaching years I had the understanding of the IEP law and special education that I do now. I feel that I would have been a much better support for my students and their families.
I help a lot of parents problem solve their children’s academic situations and sometimes attend IEP meetings with them. (Not in a professional capacity- although I am employed by Disability Rights Wisconsin, it is not in this role. I just do this bc I enjoy IEP law and want kids to have the best school experience possible.) Sometimes this has meant helping families understand what they are legally forfeiting by attending the Lutheran school and what they will gain. I advise them on the subtle difference in the relationship between the public school and the student with an IEP vs. the Lutheran school and the family of a child enrolled there. One is a relationship with a provider who is obligated to uphold the child’s rights. The other is a relationship of partners in discipling a child of God in every area of his/her life and growth. The difference in these roles completely changes the educational experience. One is not universally better than the other. They each have pros and cons, but I believe that a parent should go into the relationship- especially when they are the advocate for a child with complex needs- with eyes open. Again, this is something that I wish that I had understood this when I was teaching.
My encouragement to MLC and Lutheran educators is to partner with your 9 public school. They are not your competitors. You have things to teach them and they have things to teach you. Since I began walking this line between public and Lutheran schools 10 years ago, I have such a better understanding of the big picture of education- specifically of special education and how it can work for the individual child.
Again, THANK you for writing this. We need so many more conversations in our schools about special education.
Thanks for the work Calista Leistekow. A worthy cause to keep in the forefront of all teachers!