Beginning fall 2015 semester, Ivy Tech Community College will offer a new concentration in the Education program: Special Education.

The addition of the Special Education concentration will allow students to be better prepared to meet the needs of today’s diverse learners. Like most states, Indiana has seen a significant increase in the number of children with special needs. The state also follows the national trend of including students with disabilities in the general classroom as much as possible.

Indiana is currently experiencing a significant shortage of teachers, especially in special education. The better trained teachers are in individualized instruction such as special education, the more likely those teachers are to find success in the schools.

“Our Education program began in 2006, and we have had frequent requests from students and area K-12 schools for a special ed degree,” says Laurie Johnson, the College’s statewide chair for the Education program and Ivy Tech Northeast’s Education program chair. “In K-12 education as a whole, special education is in the most demand in all 50 states, followed by mathematics and science.”

Earning an associate degree in Special Education will provide the training and field experience necessary to work with the K-12 special needs population. It is a 60-credit, four-semester degree that will transfer to many four-year universities in the state, including Western Governors University.

Learn more about the College’s Education program at IvyTech.edu/education.