Though schools nationwide are struggling to fill slots for teachers of students with a learning disability, East Wilco districts are stepping up to meet the challenges in several ways, educators say.
Those approaches range from financial incentives and “grow-your-own” teacher programs to increased administrative and peer support for teachers and instructional aides.
“We are struggling with supply and demand to meet the needs of students,” said Cara Malone, chief of schools for the Hutto Independent School District.
In Texas, nearly 800,000 students are in additionalneeds education programs — often referred to as “special education,” a term that some today consider outdated — in the 2024-25 school year.
According to the Texas Education Agency, that number has increased 72% in the last decade. Part of that rise is due to a change in state law in 2023 that requires schools to provide services to students with dyslexia. In the five districts serving East Wilco, 6.6 and 7.7% of students are identified as requiring disability-support assistance.
And even in some districts with shrinking enrollment, the number of pupils with a learning disability continues to grow, creating more demand for teachers with special certifications.
Many school districts have difficulty finding teachers and adequate funding for programs and personnel. In the past year, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission slashed over $600 million from the budget that funds such services for many students.
“There has been a drastic increase in the number of special-ed students; it’s a growing trend when you consider the process used to establish qualification for special-ed programs,” said Superintendent Stephen Brosch of the Granger Independent School District. “Every legislative session, we see changes and shakeups in the process. “
The challenge to educate these pupils is twofold, added.
“Finding qualified teacher aides can be as tricky as attracting certified teachers,” Brosch said. “There are specific federal requirements for special-ed students, and those paraprofessionals provide vital support when delivering individualized education plans. That job has a lot of turnover since it’s not funded that well. The state is not funding us to support those people adequately, but we have been blessed with a dedicated, highly trained team.”
Hutto ISD
“In Texas, the attrition rate for teachers is about 25% higher than in most other states,” Malone said. “We also have teachers coming in through alternative- certification programs, and the retention rate from those programs is not as high.”
With over 10,000 students and 677 teachers, Hutto is currently 97% fully staffed with educators, but there are still six vacancies in the individualized education positions. The district has several initiatives to recruit and retain qualified staff.
This year, Malone said, Hutto was the first district in Central Texas to participate in a new U. S. Department of Labor apprenticeship program.
“It lets us employ people as instructional aides while they are getting degrees to become teachers. We train them and pay for their education. It has brought wonderful aides to our campus,” Malone said. “They’re not only aides; they’re future teachers in training. We now have Hutto’s lowest number of open positions for years. At this point, we have 67 wonderful teacher apprentices, and when they finish their degrees, we require them to continue teaching here for three years.”
Hutto also offers program-based stipends of $1,500 to $4,000 for some jobs, and Malone said the school board might soon consider other incentives, including signing bonuses for hard-to-fill positions.
“It takes multiple pathways to bring the best candidates,” she said. “We focus on changing the lives of our people so they can change the lives of children.”
Taylor ISD
Angie Ramirez, director of human resources for the Taylor Independent School District, said Taylor is also facing challenges recruiting fully certified teachers, particularly in learningsupport programs.
“We are making use of emergency permits where permitted, and we are actively supporting licenses that allow employees special certification to these candidates as they pursue alternative certification programs,” Ramirez said. “Additionally, we have launched a teacher apprentice program to assist our experienced instructional aides in earning their bachelor’s degrees and certifications. We currently have five teachers in the program. Two of them completed their bachelor’s degree in the fall and are working on their certification.”
Taylor also offers stipends for Life Skills and Behavior (courses the state mandates for many students requiring learning support).
“We also strive to provide as much in-classroom support as possible, particularly for new teachers,” she said. “We are committed to expanding our efforts to recruit certified teachers, including exploring ways to increase our pay scale and offering additional stipends for other special-education roles that require extra work outside the classroom.”
Thrall ISD
The Thrall Independent School District, with just 875 students, is in an enviable position. Two years ago, Thrall brought its individualized-education classes back home after years of participating in a co-op with other districts at Taylor ISD.
“We’re 100% staffed in special education, and we’re able to fill any postings quickly,” said Jolena Pokorny, the district’s Director of Programs and Human Resources. “Other districts call and ask, ‘How can you do it?’ I attribute that to the culture and the support we give our teachers.”
Pokorny added, “We knew an increase in numbers of students was coming now that special-ed testing includes dyslexia. About 12% of our students are identified as special ed.”
While salaries start lower than those in large districts, Pokorny said they even out by the third year. There’s an added stipend for Life Skills classes — students with significant cognitive issues and other disabilities spend most of their day with a credentialed teacher and multiple aides. At Thrall, there’s one Life Skills classroom on each campus.
Some students may have only an hour or less of added instruction a day, depending on their individual program plans.
All of the instructional aides go through (TEA) Region 13’s training. Many of started as substitutes, Pokorny said.
“We also have an assessment coordinator to help with the workload. We give our special-ed teachers a lot of support. We focus on a true partnership between teachers, administration, and parents,” she added. “Our class size is small, and the teacher-student ratio is greater. We mentor our teachers and support them, and the Thrall Community Education Foundation offers grants each year for staff that want to pursue more education.”
Nina Olivarez teaches Life Skills and Functional Academics to students in kindergarten to fourth grade at Thrall Elementary School. A 21-year teaching veteran, this is her 13th year working with students with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities.
She came to Thrall two years ago after 19 years in the Taylor ISD.
“When the co-op at Taylor dissolved, I started thinking about being in a smaller district, starting with a program from ground zero. This is a small community where families know each other; students have known each other all their lives. Taylor is great with inclusion and diversity, but a smaller district can be something different,” Olivarez said. “It’s scary moving districts. But I was working with some of these Thrall students in the co-op, and my assistants moved here with me. I had quite a large amount of support from two instructional assistants. “I love what I do. The growth I see in students with severe to moderate disabilities gives you a bigger purpose. It feeds my soul.”
Thrall Middle School teacher Katrina Burkett has a master’s in special education and 11 years of teaching experience. When the Taylor co-op closed, she went to the Rogers-Bell County co-op for a year, then came to Thrall.
At the Williamson County co-op, she had good support — a small class and two assistants. However, in this much smaller district, she said the support from principals, administrators and the department feels completely different.
“Families grew up together here. They live close. There’s more personalized interaction with students. I have a passion for this, and I feel so supported here,” she said.
Coupland ISD
The Coupland Independent School District is the smallest in East Wilco, with 285 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. (For grades nine through 12, Coupland students attend Taylor High School.)
The district has a shared program with McDade Independent School District, an equally small system in Bastrop County.
“We are fully staffed,” Principal Brian Booker said. “The staff gets tons of training, and our self-contained staff gets an additional stipend.” (A self-contained classroom is a separate classroom where students with high needs for assistance spend most of their school day.) “We don’t need a behavior program — that’s something larger districts face as they grow. We have a very low turnover rate for our teachers here.”
Granger ISD
The Granger Independent School District is growing fast — from 534 students at the end of last year to 591 this year.
“Georgetown is just busting at the seams with growth, and a lot of homes are being built — not specifically in the city of Granger, but in the outer area of our school district,” Brosch said. “Much of our enrollment growth has to do with the explosion of East Williamson County. It’s a constant struggle to find good teachers across the board.”
Challenges remain, he added.
“We are still understaffed, as the specialeducation population has grown this year, but we were blessed to add to our special education department and pick up an additional hire. We have a special education coordinator, three fully certified teachers, a dyslexic specialist and paraprofessionals (or qualified teachers’ aides).”
