BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Mrs. Jo Curley has spent her entire teaching career at Leisure Park Elementary School.
She has taught special education at the school for almost 30 years.
“Every day, there is a reward. It might be a baby step, but it’s a baby step you have been working on for months,” says Curley.
But Mrs. Curley says despite the rewards, there is a shortage of special education teachers across the area and state.
“I think they are afraid because they don’t know special education students,” she says. “They don’t have an experience personally. But I can tell you, they are students. They are children. And they are somebody’s children.”
She says the shortage and lack of teachers in those roles can impact the students. Especially the inconsistency.
So, she says for educators who may be feeling restless in their jobs, teaching in special education could be a positive change for the teacher.
But Mrs. Curley says there is a way for the community to help support special education teachers and students.
“There is always a need for help,” says Curley. “I love it when people come and read to my students. Getting involved in our classrooms just brightens and broadens our environment and makes our world bigger.”
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