Natasha Veale
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[00:00:00] Well, good morning to the We, not Me listeners. I am so excited today that we have Dr. Natasha Veale joining us. She has written a book called How to Retain Special Education Teachers. I have it right here. I ran into her on LinkedIn promoting her book, and that looked like an absolute gem, so I bought it and read it and had to have her on here because she has dedicated so much of her life to this topic and to special education.
Which is so important near and dear to my heart. So I am really excited to learn more about you and what led you to write this book. So, Dr. Veale, could you tell us a little bit about what you do and just a little bit about your background? Sure. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. First of all. I am a former special education teacher, so I was a special education teacher for about a decade.
I'm currently the dean of the school of Social Sciences and Education. At Greensboro College in Greensboro, North [00:01:00] Carolina, and I am the special education program coordinator. So I prepare current and future special education teachers to teach students with disabilities. And I'm also a professor of special education, so that is what I currently do.
What I did to get here, I focused on. Teachers, special education teachers, preparing and equipping them for their work. But I also wanted to focus on those that touch their lives every day in their school settings. Which other building-level administrators? Yeah. Okay. So you are absolutely the expert in this.
So I have to ask you, we're all talking about teacher retention all across the country. Particularly in special education. That's been, that's been a pain point for decades, not just the new teacher, CRI teacher shortage crisis. So from extensive research, what is one major [00:02:00] misconception that school leaders have about why special educators in particular leave the field?
The one that I would say is most prominent from my experience is the misconception that school administrators with. A limited background or experience in special education practices offer fully accurate special education teacher evaluations. That would be a misconception. I think in my research principals have made it to not fully knowing what they were looking at during observations, but were still expected to provide effective feedback to the teachers.
So when special education teachers share that they feel like they don't receive enough administrative support think a misunderstood factor is the disconnect that the special education teachers may feel when they realize that their administrators do not understand what they deal with every day, or may not really understand the difficulty and how to [00:03:00] be effective in their, in the teacher's role at their school.
And so to the special education teacher, although it may not be openly discussed, um, when they feel isolated and misunderstood, the issue can be exacerbated when the administrator speaks to them in a general way and without really showing that they understand special education or the teacher's role.
And I also think the misconception is also when teacher retention surveys can give out the perception of the general issues related to why special education teachers leave. But there's a lack of communication in the schools between the school administrator and the special ed teacher, what the specific needs are related to special education.
They may not be fully aware, they might be fully present and the administrator may continue to be unaware of the real reasons why the special ed teacher decides to leave. So that puts both [00:04:00] the special education teacher and the administrator in an uncomfortable position because the special education teacher needs more support.
The principal has an awareness that they're supposed to be providing that support, but they don't have the resources to provide that support. So yeah, a very frustrating cycle. So when you were doing all of that research that led you to develop a whole conceptual framework for identifying and providing that targeted support, could you talk a little bit about that framework and Kind of talk a little bit about why it's resonated so well with so many school leaders.
So in my research I found that there are connections between transformational leadership practices and its use in generalized settings that dated back all the way to the nineties, so over 30 years ago. And there is extensive research on how principals can and have used transformational leadership behaviors at schools as a help.
[00:05:00] Research is severely limited in how these concepts can be applied and for special education teachers. So I created a framework and it's called Transforming Special Education Leadership TSEL, transforming Special Education Leadership. So first I took BASS and Riggio's four transformational leadership behaviors and gave each of them an acronym and a mnemonic. As an educator, we love mnemonics and so the acronym is MISC, like miscellaneous. Sometimes teachers for like the special ed teachers for like, they're the extra for the miscellaneous people school. So miscellaneous. But where the M stands for inspirational motivation, which is, like I said, the transformational leadership behaviors.
So inspirational motivation where administrators put special education teachers on the map MAP by motivating them articulating a shared vision and promoting a positive school culture. So that's I. That's M [00:06:00] the I is idealized influence, where administrators bump special education teachers up on their priority list, a bump, BUMP, build relationships, understand special education beyond just compliance.
Model practices. Mm-hmm. And promote ethical behavior. Then the S stands intellectual stimulation where administrators see their special education teachers, SEE, by specifying their supervision and evaluation to recognize the teacher's needs, encourage autonomy and problem solving, and encourage and recognize innovative solutions that the teachers may have.
And last one is For individual consideration where administrators give special education teachers their roses ROSE, by recognizing their differences, offering personalized feedback, shared [00:07:00] using shared decision making, and empowering them. So this acronym MISC, and the corresponding mnemonics can be intentionally implemented in schools in a structured way that be, that can be tracked.
Should be easy to remember once a commitment is made to provide this type of support that is very thorough, which is that I, when I read it, I was like, she, she didn't miss anything. This is, this is amazing. So with that, with that being said, when you were doing your research and talking to administrators and talking to teachers, what do you think was the most critical support that was most often overlooked?
Absolutely the most critical support needed was emotional support. It's overwhelmingly obvious, but tragically overlooked in practice when it's all said and done. Some principles that I've worked with, I spoke to, admitted to not being fully [00:08:00] able to be empathetic or show compassion For their special ed teachers because of all the district or state demands that the administrators have to deal with.
Um, and it's not, It's not that they don't want to provide the emotional support that the special education teachers need, it's just some may feel like their backs are against the wall. I think more focus should be placed on offering school administrator support so that they can pay it forward and do the same for their special education teachers too often when emotional support is missing, that's where administrators often miss the signs that predict that special education teacher will soon lead the field or the classroom. I wrote my book to provide a resource to help build the bridge between transformational leadership, special education, leadership, so administrators can develop emotionally supportive environments for their special education teachers to raise [00:09:00] awareness in this area.
Several studies have found that special education teachers value emotional support over all other types, and emotional support is what partly drives transformational Leadership. So if administrators decide to focus on this, I think their level of support would increase.
You can't fill someone else's bucket if yours is empty, right?
Absolutely. Yeah.
And you know, that's often something that is not talked about in prep programs for administrators, like how to be an emotional support person. There's more conversation about the technical managerial type work than the adaptive leadership that you're talking about.
So focusing on that.
So throughout your book, you really talk about the role of building-level leadership and how that supports special education teacher retention. What do you think distinguishes leaders who successfully retain these teachers from those who struggle more with retention? What's, what's the one thing? I [00:10:00]
I think those who successfully retain their special ed teachers adopt transformational leadership practices as their way of being internally before they have to.
Right, I think, but intentional and consistently reflective about how they treat their special education teachers from day one. It's the like, and like you mentioned, research says that principal prep programs are likely to not have courses specifically designed to help aspiring administrators understand and appreciate special education beyond legal policies and procedures.
I think administrators will continue to struggle if that is the only aspect of special education that they focus on. One principal I interviewed shared how at the beginning of the school year, he sat down his five special education teachers and asked them about the students. He said they built a rapport with them early on and showed him he, that they, he genuinely con cared and was [00:11:00] concerned about making the best decisions.
For those students by listening directly to those teachers. And so I think that's a game changer. It's an example of idealized influence and bumping them up on the priority list.
So you, you've talked a lot about transformational leadership. Can you define that a little bit for our listeners? J
Just from the, because of, oh, I'm sorry.
So, in a nutshell, transformational leadership is. Is there actions that provoke positive change between the leader and the follower that focuses on ethical practices and treating the person like a human being?
That's really important and that leads directly into my next question. So a lot of times retention frameworks focus a lot on systemic and, and policy type solutions, but really what works is these personal emotional connections that people have.
So how do you, how do you connect? [00:12:00] Transformation from a systemic level to individual emotional support, what does that balance look like?
Yeah, so that's a great question. I realize that the education field is multifaceted and there are several systemic and policy-driven solutions. So that's why I start the first chapter of the book.
By breaking down the National Educational Leadership Standards, the PSEL standards, the Professional Leadership Standards for Educators, and the Council for Exceptional Children's Administrator of Special Education, professional Leadership Standards, and how they correlate with each other, and I cognize these, recognize that these broader systems provide ways for administrators to function in their schools, but they also have emotional components throughout them that needed to be fleshed out. So my work attempts to offer a balance between the two while linking how to implement them in a way that invokes transformational change. So as I think [00:13:00] everyone will find that I didn't reinvent the wheel, I just found a way to place emphasis on how to prevent the tread from wearing down so quickly.
Like an emotional tear causes a wheel deflate far sooner than tires that are properly maintained and balanced So I don't feel like I, I don't think this is new. It is just how I've formulated it as a way that could hopefully catch traction.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we've talked about a lot of things and I try to end with like what is one takeaway so that people can have one meaningful thing.
So if you had just one thing that you could tell educational leaders that they were like, we really need to focus on teacher retention and special education in particular, what would be one action item that you would share with them to start now on improving their teacher retention?
This is gonna sound really basic, but sometimes the most basic thing [00:14:00] is the easiest thing to do.
But one meaningful action that can happen immediately is to include special education teachers in the overall school functions. Even if it's not done at first, so say it's November or February or persons just hearing this podcast, or they find my book later on down the road, an administrator can take an immediate about face.
Everyone in the school to include the special education teachers in their conversations, especially regarding the students they share. You can't imagine how often that does not happen. Special education teachers historically feel isolated in their schools, and from my personal experience and countless teachers that I've worked with over the last 18 years or so, I know nothing feels better, In the work setting, the knowing that you're valued and important enough to be included in the place, you frequent every day. So I think that makes a difference, just including them in those conversations to say, I work here too. I'm here too, and I'm doing [00:15:00] the best I can for these students, and it's acknowledged.
Well, I think, you know, when the teachers are included in everything, it's easier to include the students in everything and really have that mindset that all students are gen ed students. First. Students with disabilities receive additional services in order for them to have a free and appropriate public education.
Okay? So sometimes basic is best, right?
So a lot of times as we grow throughout our profession, our perspectives and our ideas have changed. So do you have, do you have anything to share about like how your process changed over the years that you have been in this? 'cause you've been doing this research and supporting teachers and administrators for a while.
What has that evolution looked like for you?
So, like I said before, I started out as a special ed teacher. So I do believe my point of view has changed because I was a teacher in the trenches, experiencing both effective and ineffective inclusive leadership. I've been an [00:16:00] educator and a trainer. To those teachers who continue to carry on the good fight to be the best that they can for the kids.
But now, and for the past few years, I've been an administrator, and even though it's at the college level, my understanding of leadership has evolved to understand that leaders need help too. Not just the teachers. I know we focus a lot on the teachers. The administrators are sometimes left out, especially as long as I spoke with, so I wrote mywrote my book for leaders, for administrators.
I to speak directly to them because I know that it's just like the special ed teacher and the school culture, school administrators who struggle with special education, teacher retention, need to be included in the conversations too, so they can get the help that they need as well.
I think a lesson that I learned from reading your book is as, as a former school administrator, is that we really need to focus on supporting people and [00:17:00] feeling comfortable with vulnerability and saying, its ok to not know something, what's not okay is to know you don't know something and then not ask for help.
That's not okay. It's always okay to ask questions and to ask for help. Absolutely That is, that's good leadership. Absolutely. It's tough as the leader of the entire school to, to admit that. So I don't, I know that's not gonna be an easy fix, a easy change, but smart in these starting these small conversations. I think it will hopefully catch on
Lessons from your work, continue to inspire or challenge you today. What challenges my work right now is that I am just one person and sometimes I feel like I'm the only one talking about this issue, so I don't feel like my circles are wide enough. There may be others out there, but I don't know who's already made these connections between transformational leadership and special education leadership because I'm speaking at conferences and I'm talking to wonderful people like you.
But my main [00:18:00] goal is to raise the awareness about this to get the support for the administrators. For those who want to continue this conversation, I'm happy to talk with anyone working on the same type of work to work with Those who, like you said before, are a little vulnerable and don't quite talk about it.
I'm open to talking about it and I'm happy to connect with anyone who's interested on focusing on supporting school administrators to help grow their own special ed leadership. To help them better be able to support their special ed teachers to help improve teacher retention.
I love that. And another way to support getting the word out is to like and share this podcast as well.
So we appreciate everybody's support. Absolutely. Yeah.
Okay. Well, thank you. I really appreciate it, and I really wanted to tell people where they can get your book to get more information. It's called How to Retain Special Education Teachers, [00:19:00] A Transformational Leadership Guide for School Administrators.
Here's the picture. For those who are looking at it on YouTube, where, where can they buy it? Well, it's best to get it from the publisher, Myers Education Press, M-Y-E-R-S, education Press, and for those who are listening. You can use a discount code to get 25% off capital M, capital E, capital P 25. So that's directly from the publisher, but it, it can't also be purchased through Amazon.
It's on Kindle and it's also on Vital Source. So for institutions who want to use it in their principal prep programs, it is available for students. Through Vital Source where it's an ebook that can be rent rented or purchased. What a great resource. I'll be sure to put that link to your publisher in the show notes as well so people can click on it along with the discount code.
Yeah. So thank you very much. Really appreciate your [00:20:00] time today, Dr. Veale. It has been an absolute pleasure and I am excited to hear your work with the world, so thank you for You're welcome. I'm glad to have been here. Thank you so much.
