New special education cohort celebrates first graduates

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Some of the members of the first cohort of non-traditional students to graduate with certification to teach special education are (top, from left): Dinnia Mitchell, Britany Costello, Caitline Ward, (bottom, from left) Tavia Garrison, Darcy Carson and Kerri Moffitt.

Oklahoma State University College of Education is stepping up as a teacher shortage, particularly in special education, challenges for Oklahoma schools.

The state legislature opened the door for certification changes for special education teachers, and the first cohort of special education non-traditional students graduated in the spring of 2015.

The cohort is made up of career changers. The program increased the number of OSU special education graduates to about 15, easily double the typical number of special education graduates, says Kimberly Davis, assistant professor and special education program coordinator.

“We are very excited for this group,” says Davis. “They have really persevered. They had an interest but didn’t think they could do it. The new legislation opened the door where they thought before it wasn’t an option."

House Bill 1233, signed into law in May 2013, provides potential special education teachers a non-traditional route for teacher certification.

“Legislation made it possible for people without an education degree to become provisionally certified as special education teachers,” Davis says.

This first cohort began in the spring of 2014. OSU starts cohorts in the spring to give students more time and coursework before they go into the classroom, Davis says.

Through OSU-Tulsa, students enroll in three classes per semester with two held back-to-back on Wednesdays from 4-10 p.m. The third course is held on Saturdays, meeting three times a month. The rest is online.

“This new opportunity has given career changers who may have been in human resources or accounting and now want to teach special education the opportunity to do that,” Davis says.

“I have had a great experience with the program. I was able to go through the first three courses with ease and that helped me pass the OGET [Oklahoma General Education Test] and the mild/moderate subject tests,” says Kerri Moffitt, a special education teacher in her second year at Stillwater Junior High.