All About Special Education Preschool Teachers

Career Description Teach preschool school subjects to educationally and physically handicapped students. Includes teachers who specialize and work with audibly and visually handicapped students and those who teach basic academic and life processes skills to the mentally impaired.

Life as a Special Education Preschool Teacher: What Do They Do?

• Administer tests to help determine children’s developmental levels, needs, or potential.
• Attend to children’s basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
• Organize and display students’ work in a manner appropriate for their perceptual skills.
• Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students’ educational, physical, or social development.
• Arrange indoor or outdoor space to facilitate creative play, motor-skill activities, or safety.
• Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.

What Every Special Education Preschool Teacher Should Know

Below is a list of the skills most Special Education Preschool Teachers say are important on the job.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Types of Special Education Preschool Teachers

• VE Teacher (Varying Exceptionalities Teacher)
• Behavior Interventionist
• Mentally Retarded Teacher
• Early Childhood Special Education Certified Teacher
• Autistic Teacher

Job Outlook for Special Education Preschool Teachers

There were about 29,200 jobs for Special Education Teachers, Preschool in 2016 (in the United States).

New jobs are being produced at a rate of 11.2% which is lower than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 3,300 new jobs for Special Education Preschool Teachers by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 2,500 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Special Education Teachers, Preschool are New York, Florida, and Texas.

Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, Vermont, or South Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Special Education Preschool Teacher Average Salary

The average yearly salary of a Special Education Preschool Teacher ranges between $34,300 and $100,160. The median salary for this occupation is $55,840.

How much do Special Education Teachers, Preschool make in each U.S. state?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
New York	$83,010
Oregon	$75,600
Rhode Island	$70,590
Connecticut	$68,130
New Jersey	$66,890
Virginia	$66,470
Alaska	$65,500
Ohio	$64,790
Massachusetts	$64,370
Michigan	$64,300
Wyoming	$64,120
Washington	$63,400
Minnesota	$62,810
Vermont	$62,520
Maryland	$61,210
Illinois	$57,280
Colorado	$56,830
North Dakota	$56,640
Nebraska	$55,900
Kansas	$55,700
Pennsylvania	$54,160
Kentucky	$53,420
Georgia	$52,360
Texas	$51,010
North Carolina	$50,490
Indiana	$50,140
Florida	$50,120
Louisiana	$49,480
Iowa	$49,330
New Mexico	$48,710
Utah	$48,260
South Carolina	$48,110
Tennessee	$48,000
California	$47,870
Arkansas	$46,870
Mississippi	$46,590
Alabama	$46,580
Wisconsin	$45,780
Arizona	$42,830
Oklahoma	$41,390
South Dakota	$39,910
Missouri	$37,510
Maine	$36,070

Tools & Technologies Used by Special Education Preschool Teachers

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Special Education Preschool Teachers may use on a daily basis:

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint

How to Become a Special Education Preschool Teacher

What kind of Special Education Preschool Teacher requirements are there?

What work experience do I need to become a Special Education Preschool Teacher?

Where Special Education Preschool Teachers Work

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons