The state of Tennessee is seeking special people for a special purpose and it is willing to pay for it.

A program created by the state, BASE-TN, helps people come back to school and receive their master’s in special education, while also addressing the problem of teacher shortages in special education.

BASE-TN, Becoming A Special Educator in Tennessee, is a program created by the state of Tennessee to “recruit professional personnel to the field of special education who are interested in teaching in the Tennessee public schools and serving students with disabilities,” says the Web site.

Dr. Lori Marks is the director of the BASE-TN program at ETSU and has been overseeing the program since its inception six years ago, and was actually on the committee that designed the BASE-TN program. She acknowledges the lack of special educators and says the program is helping address the problem. “There is a big need for special educators in bigger cities,” Marks said, “but it is also hard for rural school systems to get and keep special education teachers.”

A study done in 2001 by the Southern Regional Education Board reported “special education is an area of particular concern in Tennessee because of the lack of adequate numbers of properly trained teachers and professional educators.”            

Jeannie Livingston, a former secretary in the College of Education at ETSU, has a son who has cerebral palsy and she has had to deal with special educators firsthand for many years. Her son, Travis, is now 43 and a graduate of Unicoi High School. “It takes a special person to be a special educator,” she said. “It is a hard job.  A special educator must be a psychologist, great communicator, must temper their compassion with reason and be able to do many other things,”

Many people get into special education because they think it will be an easy job, Livingston says, and the shortage has likely occurred because people get into and realize how hard the job actually is.  Livingston was unaware that such a program existed. “I think it is a good idea by the state,” she said, “ I am surprised by it and it is a new angle which the state is taking towards special education. Usually during a budget crisis like we are facing now, special education programs are the first things cut by the state. I just hope that it is going to be a continuing program. Great special education teachers are immensely needed.”

ETSU is one of 12 colleges in Tennessee that meets the criteria set forth by the state, which allows students to receive the funding by the state as long as they meet the standards, which have been set by the state. In return, the graduating student must teach special education in a state school for two years for every year they receive funding. The program, Marks said, is usually a two-year program so most students end up giving the state four years of service, while still receiving pay. “The program is a good way for people to come back and get their master’s,” she said, “especially these days, a lot of people don’t have the money to go back to school.”

Students wishing to apply can find an application at www.state.tn.us/education/base-tn. Any persons with further questions may contact Dr. Lori Marks at marks@etsu.edu or 439-7685.