Ciarrai300

How much does it pay per lesson? It isn't listed on their website. Also do you plan your own lessons or just execute theirs?

I would recommend you address it to the principal/head of school and the faculty. For Example: Dear Mr./Mrs. Leader, faculty, and staff, yada, yada, yada Then send it initially to the principal who will then be able to disseminate it. As a teacher, I can attest that these letters are extremely meaningful not only to the individual teachers, but to the staff as a whole. All of those who work in schools work incredibly hard and care deeply about their students, often with little thanks and low pay. Letters like this remind them why they do what they do and cause them to swell with pride. Also, I'm sure you've done this, but make sure that the teachers/staff who helped you most are still at the school. If some have left you should write them individual notes and see if the school could help you get in contact with them.

I'm also already certified and have been teaching Special Education for 3 years. I'm going back for my Master's and possibly a doctorate. I applied to UT Austin and Vanderbilt and got in to both. I'll probably be going to UT because Vanderbilt is insanely expensive. AmandaLemon: Do you plan on staying in the U.S. after your degree or returning to Russia? I spent two years working with schools in Kazakhstan and I found the way math education is done to be really interesting. The kids seemed to have way more exposure to different topics. I was told it was based on what they do in Russia, but that may or may not be the case.

He's on the Autism spectrum scale and has had a few outbursts lately and we need to change his 1:1 aide because the aide is starting to trigger him. We didn't want to change without discussing with the parents as we want them to feel involved and part of the team.

I spent 3 months trying to get a kid's parents to come in to school for a meeting to discuss their child's progress and some issues we'd been having. They always responded that they didn't have time. In response to my email in early November dad said "it is impossible for me to meet before the new year." Then 2 weeks ago mom shows up on campus cussing like crazy, screaming in the office (of an elementary school mind you) about how she wants a f'ing meeting now and she can't even talk to us because she so pissed and she doesn't want to go to jail (apparently, she felt she couldn't control her actions) so we have to wait for her husband to arrive and we have to meet as soon as he gets there. Never mind that I had been trying to schedule a meeting about this issue for months. Never mind that both I and my administrator are currently in 2 separate meetings. Never mind that it is after 4 and time for me to leave. We finally all sit down to talk once the husband arrives and 10 minutes in mom storms out and dad says "we'll have to meet another time." Screw you guys, I've been trying to have this meeting forever and you haven't been willing to. I'm a teacher not your servant, I am not at your beck and call. They then complained to our superintendent and spoke to a lawyer in an attempt to file due process. Luckily, both the superintendent and lawyer were able to point out that they had 0 grounds for any type of action. Crazy parents seriously make me question staying in the field of education.

Congrats SpreadPeace! Did you get any information on funding or financial aid with your acceptance? I just got the general letter from the GIAC and still haven't heard from my department.

I only applied to the master's program as I didn't feel I was a particularly strong PhD applicant given that I have 0 research experience.

I would say your profile looks excellent aside from it being past the priority deadline. The average GRE score for incoming PhDs is 159v/152q so you're well above that with an excellent undergrad record. I would also think your experience would be interesting to them. My background is somewhat similar with 3 years teaching in public schools and 2 years developing inclusive education in Kazakhstan. If I were you I'd contact the department and explain that you're aware that the priority deadline has passed but you're still interested in applying for the PhD program and see what they say. They'll have a good idea of how many spots are left and will be able to let you know if it is worth it to apply. This will also solve your no contact with the department problem. As for what is required here's the link with that info: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/departments/sped/prospective/requirements/ It is all pretty standard.

Does your school have a maximum for letters? Is the recommender sending the letter via mail independently? I'd check with your department to see if four letters is ok. If not, ask if they can just disregard one of your letters. I can't imagine that they would notify the letter writer.

Do you have the same professor for multiple classes? Are you strong academically? Going to office hours can be helpful but you're better off being noticed in class for your thoughtful input and your strong academics. Granted if your prof. has no idea who you are that's a problem. Going to office hours just to chat isn't going to make a great impression so be sure when you go you've brought something you want to discuss. If the professor is in your field maybe go see them saying you'd like their advice about grad school. Ask them whether they feel you're a strong candidate and what you should be doing to be a stronger one. Then take action on their advice. If they see you're serious about your field and willing to work hard I'm sure they'd be happy to write you a recommendation.

I haven't filed FAFSA yet (my taxes are going to be wildly different this year than last so I'm waiting for my W-2s and 1099s to come in) so if SpreadPeace had that could definitely be why hers changed and mine didn't

Definitely ask about it. For all you know it could have been an error on their end.

A lot of the benefit of high ranked schools is simply name recognition and networking. Since you're coming from the UK I would say that outside a very few select schools (cambridge, oxford) people in the US aren't familiar with UK universities. (To get an idea see how many Americans on this site can identify which of your Universities is the higher ranked one.) This means the value you get for going to a higher ranked school is diminished if you're ultimate plan is to live and work in the US.

I use TurboTax and find it super easy and convenient. I think it just depends on your situation. If you have a pretty typical, straight forward, situation (for example: worked full time and just have 1 or 2 W-2s) it works really well. I'm guessing if you are in more complicated situations it becomes a bit hairier.

My concentration is Mild/Moderate Disabilities and Diversity. What about you?

I was accepted and all that changed was that the admission tab said congratulations with instructions to send my official transcripts. The financial aid tab still says the same thing it did when I first submitted my application: See CASH for your financial aid information. I don't think the financial aid tab has anything to do with your acceptance so I wouldn't read into it.

I applied and was accepted to the special education master's program. I got my acceptance 1/21.

Hey Birdy! I just saw you posted this. As I said I also applied to Vanderbilt. I turned in my application the last day for priority so we'll see if I hear back soon. How about you, have you heard anything? When did you turn in your app?

I think it depends how much you prepared the first time you took it. I took a practice test cold and only got like a 150 on the verbal section. I teach 4th/5th grade special education so most of what I was reading on a day to day basis was student writing or children's books. Not exactly beefing up my analytical skills. I took a course and got back into doing more academic reading and ended up with a 169. On the other hand, I was pretty strong in math because, shockingly, a lot of the math on the GRE aligns with elementary school standards so it was fresh in my mind. I only increased my score by like 5 points through taking a course and studying. To sum up, if you did some prep in the first place you probably won't bump your score too much. However, if you did no prep the first time studying hard and working on specific skills can make a huge impact.

15 life skills students is tough but 11 classified staff is even tougher. Hopefully, no matter what you decide that class size is reduced. I don't think it would be burning bridges at the University if you applied and didn't accept. Do you know many of the faculty in the program you're applying to? If so if you apply and choose to decline you'll be able to explain your extremely valid reasons for holding off. I don't think anyone could fault you for worrying about the financial security of your family. Then again, no one could fault you for running screaming from your class if you have another year with such a huge caseload.

I say if you can get the funding go for it! In my experience it isn't too difficult to find a sped teaching position so if you enter the PhD program and decide that it isn't the route for you it shouldn't be too difficult to get back into teaching. On the other hand, if you pass up on your acceptance this time around you'll have to start from scratch again if you decide you want to go for your PhD later.

Where did you do your master's? Have they said if there will be funding this year? Oregon was on my shortlist of ideal schools.

I'm in the same boat. Writing your own rec can be really difficult especially if, like me, you hate writing about yourself. That being said it says a lot that your professor trusts you and thinks highly enough of you that he'll let you write your own. Keep in mind that he is still going to revise it so it isn't unethical at all to waive your rights. In fact it is almost more important. In your draft you may write that you were the greatest ever in a particular area but if the prof feels differently they can edit that part out and submit his honest opinion. He may also think you're strong in an area you didn't mention and add that. Writing your own just gives them an easy starting point. They don't have to sit there and think back about all the awesome things you did because you remind them in your draft. I tend to be super modest when writing about myself. On a first draft that asked about communication skills I actually wrote "she is able to communicate." Someone promptly pointed out that could describe a 3 year old. The thing that helped me feel less gross about essentially bragging was to think about what I would say about other people in the program then see if I measure up. I was in the Peace Corps so I'd think about a site mate. For instance, one of my site mates did this amazing project where he got volunteers from around the country to come to a summer English camp for his students. I thought about how I would describe his work and his skills and had no problem gushing. Then I looked at one of my own projects that was similar (organizing a camp for special needs and typically developing kids to foster interaction) and was able to say, hey I have those skills too and I did a good job and then felt better gushing about myself. As my recommender reminded me "don't forget that you rock!"

It is so nice to see another sped person on here! I'm applying to UT Austin and Vanderbilt for my Master's. I definitely agree with wanting applications to be done.

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