News Release

A partnership between the Department of Special Education at The Johns Hopkins University and Prince George's County Public Schools is recruiting teachers to address the shortage of special educators in the county.

The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. An information session for interested persons will be held on Wednesday, March 5, at 4:30 p.m. at the university's Columbia Center, 6740 Alexander Bell Drive in Columbia.

"Prince George's County is facing a critical shortage of special educators for students with mild to moderate disabilities," said Margaret King-Sears, professor of education in the university's School of Professional Studies in Business and Education. Last August, the Maryland State Department of Education declared a serious shortage of special education teachers across the state.

The goal of the partnership is to prepare 40 new special education teachers over a four-year period to serve children in grades 1-12 who have mild to moderate disabilities, according to King-Sears, director of the project. Participants in the program receive 80 percent tuition assistance to complete their master of science degree in special education and are employed as special educators following completion of their two-year certification and master's degree program. Teacher candidates are then obligated to fulfill a two-year teaching requirement in Prince George's County Public Schools.

"The demand for special educators is very high and this partnership with Johns Hopkins will help us to recruit, prepare, and retain the really exceptional educators that are needed to work with our students," said Patricia J. Jamison, director of special education for PGCPS.

"We are looking for candidates who have a strong desire to work in special education and will be committed to the Prince George's County Public Schools," King Sears said. This includes those seeking a career change and who have an undergraduate degree in an area other than special education. Provisionally certified teachers are also be eligible for the program.

For more information or to download an application, interested persons can go to http://cte.jhu.edu/JHUPartnershipPGCPS. For additional information, please call:

Margaret King-Sears
Project Director
(301) 297-7040
king-sear@jhu.edu

Jill Hildenbrand
Project Liaison
Prince George's County Public Schools
(301) 408-5505
jhilden@pgcps.org