University of Memphis students hoping to start a career helpingchildren with special education needs will get a chance Thursday tolearn about The University's Special Education Institute.
The Special Education Institute at The U of M will hold anorientation session Thursday, March 18, at 4 p.m. in the Michael D.Rose Theatre. The free orientation session will begin at 4 p.m. andis open for anyone interested in admittance to the SpecialEducation Institute.
The session will cover the application process, eligibilityrequirements, information about the institution and the TEPprogram, said Carol Hunter, office associate in the SpecialEducation Institute.
The Special Education Institute is a tuition assistance programfor special education educators who teach in Tennessee on a waiveror permit. It is funded by the State of Tennessee Department ofEducation and operates at The U of M through the College ofEducation.
Being an educator on a waiver or a permit in special educationis the only requirement for entrance into the institute, Huntersaid.
An educator on a waiver is a licensed instructor who wants toteach special education, while an educator with a permit ispermitted to teach but is not yet licensed to teach. Most of thestudents who go through the Special Education Institute are noteducation majors.
"They have to have a degree in something, but many of ourparticipants have different kinds of degrees, like business," saidSandra Cooley-Nichols, program director for the Special EducationInstitute and assistant professor of Instruction and CurriculumLeadership.
Timithay Robinson, a student in the Special Education Institute,earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Robinson joinedthe Special Education Institute in 2002 and receives tuition andacademic assistance through the program.
"The institute and the Department of Education has helped metremendously," Robinson said. "They have helped me accomplish a lotof things, like understanding the needs of special educationchildren and to be thankful for what I have."
The State of Tennessee requires educators in the SpecialEducation Institute to complete their program in three years,although a teacher on a waiver can complete the program in a yearand a teacher on a permit can complete their program in 18months.
"We have about 225 students in the Institute every school year,"Cooley-Nichols said.
The orientation session will also give current educationstudents a chance to learn a few new things.
"We will discuss the requirements to be admitted to the TeacherEducation Program and about other state funding for those who don'tmeet the requirements for the Institute," Cooley-Nichols said.
The funding students in the Special Education Institute receivevaries each year.
"In the spring, that is when we begin to run out of funds, butduring the summer and fall, our funding is fine," Cooley-Nicholssaid.
Education major Natasha Britton said she plans to attend theorientation session to get more information about the TeacherEducation Program.
"I want to hear information that may be useful to me," Brittonsaid. "Who knows, maybe I will change my mind and decide to work inspecial education and now I'll have the information."
