Leeward schools see upsurge in special-education students

The number of special-education students in the Nanakuli-Waianae Complex Area rose sharply this academic year, and schools can’t keep up with the demand for qualified teachers.

Nearly 18 percent of students were identified as needing special education, up from 15 percent the previous year. That is the highest rate in the state, which averaged nearly 11 percent.

As far as staffing, only one of the 19 new teachers recruited to work in special education this year in the area is licensed in the field, while 14 are still in teacher education programs. That’s out of 153 special-education teachers in the complex.

The figures Opens in a new tab were presented Feb. 1 to the Board of Education’s Student Achievement Committee, the latest in a series of presentations on special education in different parts of the state.

“I was shocked when I saw those numbers,” Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee said afterward. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a reporting of how many new special-education hires were actually licensed.

“I’m a 21-year veteran in teaching, and I am not qualified to teach in a special-education capacity,” he added. “It is a very difficult job that requires special skills. To throw people into that environment with just a few weeks of training is a disservice to our students.”

In the 2016-17 year, just two of the 23 teachers hired in the Nanakuli-Waianae complex had special-education licenses, the data showed.

Rosenlee acknowledged the difficulty in recruiting, given the nationwide shortfall in special-education teachers.

“We have a teacher shortage on the Leeward Coast as it is, and we have a teacher shortage in special education,” Rosenlee said. “You combine those two things and this is the ground zero of the problem.”

Ann Mahi, superintendent for the Nanakuli-Waianae complex, said it wasn’t clear what prompted the increase of 200 students identified as needing special education this year, to a total of 1,388. The previous year the numbers had grown by just 22.

The spike could be related to groups of people moving into and out of different areas, including homeless families. Her team is looking into the causes, since the numbers are so new.

The largest category of students are those with “specific learning disabilities,” which covers processing disorders in academic or skill areas.

“We have seen them enter kindergarten delayed one or two years and be unable to catch up by grade three,” Mahi said. “Once they become 8 years old, if they are still two years delayed, they are identified as specific learning disability.”

Mahi said administrators are working with private partners, including Kamehameha Schools, to expand early education in the region to improve the readiness of incoming kindergartners.

The Special Education Advisory Council has been advocating for more intensive mentoring and coaching of new teachers by experienced special-education teachers, said Susan Rocco, council staff member.

“Students with disabilities generally have the most complex needs, and therefore they need qualified and effective teachers helping them to catch up and make progress and be academically successful and have successful lives after school,” Rocco said.

Mahi said the four special-education resource teachers in the Nanakuli-Waianae complex are trained and available to help new recruits in the classroom. There are also three “induction and mentoring” coaches who work with all new teachers.

“That modeling and coaching is so important,” Mahi said, adding that new teachers have up to their third year to get their special-­education license. “We’re trying to track that and provide the supports that they need.”