Leake County Superintendent Joe Nelson knew he needed to put teachers in front of the students with the greatest needs in his Mississippi school district despite persistent educator shortages.
The Magnolia State was one of 39 states that reported a shortage of special education teachers for the 2023-24 school year. This shortage leaves districts open to litigation if they do not meet Individualized Education Program requirements, referring to plans tailored to meet the individual needs of students with disabilities.
Last year, two certified teachers from Proximity Learning taught classes for 15 special education students in Leake County. These two teachers taught students virtually while a teacher’s assistant facilitated instruction inside the classroom. Nelson said that because of a late start implementing the program, the teachers had only seven class meetings with students. Still, the program produced positive results.
“We know that each one of those scored a passing or above (on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program),” Nelson told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 4, referring to the assessment that gives a scale score and a performance level between 1-Minimal and 5-Advanced). “That’s not where they started. They started with scores of one and two. Then they scored three and above. That’s excellent.”
Leake County School District earned a B rating on the Mississippi School Accountability System for the 2023-24 school year, marking the first time it has done so since the state adopted the A-F rating scale during the 2013 legislative session. The district educates more than 2,400 students in six schools.
“We’re growing academically, and our students are getting better academically, and the accountability model is highlighting that,” Nelson said.
Proximity Learning Inc., an Austin, Texas-based company established in 2009, provides certified teachers to classrooms through web conferencing, with instructors trained in virtual learning in a one-teacher-to-one classroom ratio. School district teachers plan the lessons and Proximity instructors adapt those for the virtual classroom.
“All of our special education teachers are trained to teach special education in a virtual setting,” Proximity Learning Manager of Special Services Dr. Evette Riley-Allison told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct 29. “Our teachers understand various co-teaching models, and because of that, our teachers are able to accommodate and modify according to each student’s individualized IEP to ensure that each student is receiving the education that they deserve.”
Leake County School District leaders met with Proximity Learning for a month to design the process for their students.
“This was tailored based on our situation,” Nelson said. “That means it can be designed for any student in any situation and is based on the needs of the school. Those needs should be designed around the data of the student.”
Riley-Allison observed the Leake County program firsthand. She said the model works because it depends on communication and partnership, with Proximity instructors staying in constant communication with the district’s teachers to ensure the instruction is fully implemented.
“What I have seen from that model was a phenomenal facilitator who was able to help emulate the co-teaching model of ‘one teach, one observe’,” Riley-Allison said, referring to a co-teaching model where one teacher teaches the whole class while another observes and collects data on how students are responding and engaging in classroom work. “Our teacher was livestreamed in the classroom and the facilitator was helping to ensure things ran smoothly, … doing anything that our teacher cannot do in person. But our teacher is providing the core content.”
Leake County will begin using teachers from Proximity Learning again this spring, Nelson said. The district plans to use the teachers to ensure that students whose teachers must be out for extended periods for medical reasons will continue instruction with a certified teacher.
“It’s very important to create equity and access to all students and Proximity is able to bridge the gap,” Riley-Allison said. “Proximity learning exists to ensure that every student has access to both quality teachers and quality curriculum, and getting teachers in front of our students where they may not have had a teacher is extremely important to ensuring that we are closing the gap in education.”
