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Elementary and Preschool Special Ed Teachers Job Overview

Elementary and preschool special ed teachers work with children who suffer from different kinds of disabilities, like autism and learning disorders. They teach children basic life skills and the ability to meet individual requirements.

Elementary and Preschool Special Ed Teachers Schools and Degrees

Elementary and preschool special ed teachers need to at least have a bachelor’s degree. They also need to complete an approved training program in special education teaching. Many universities and colleges have programs in special education at the graduate, master’s and PhD levels. Most bachelors’ courses include specialized curriculum in special education.

Job Requirements

Elementary and preschool special ed teachers need a special license to practice, which is administered by the licensure advisory committee or the state board of education. Requirements to earn licensure differ from one state to another. Some states also require a master’s degree in special education. Passing a professional assessment test is also required.

Those who do not have formal training in special education can also enter this profession. Such aspirants need to have a bachelor’s degree. They then have to successfully finish a certain period of education under supervision and pass an assessment. They are then given a provisional license, which becomes a regular license after one spends one to two years working under the supervision of a licensed teacher.

It is extremely important for elementary and preschool special education teachers to be understanding and empathetic with their students. They need to be patient and accept the special requirements of each child. They should be able to inspire their students. Creativity is important as elementary and preschool special ed teachers may have to devise new ways to teach their students.

Nature of Work

Elementary and preschool special ed teachers use special strategies and methods to enhance the growth of cognition, language, recollection and sensory skills of special children. They instruct using techniques of repetition, phonetics and multi sensory learning to reinforce learning and to fulfill the pupils’ varying interests and requirements. They teach behavior which is socially acceptable and employ methods of constructive reinforcement and behavior alteration.

Elementary and preschool special ed teachers work with children who are disabled. The job can be physically and mentally taxing, but it can also be very rewarding as well. Many elementary and preschool special ed teachers work for ten months like other teachers, but some may be required to work throughout the year.

Elementary and Preschool Special Ed Teachers Jobs and Outlook

The number of jobs of elementary and preschool special ed teachers is expected to increase by twenty percent in the next ten years, according to data from 2006.

The average annual salary of elementary and preschool special ed teachers was $51,230 in 2007.

Job Numbers and Growth

There were about 219,000 elementary and preschool special ed teachers across the US in 2008. Unemployment for workers was considered very low in the recent past, relative to other occupations. The percentage of employees unemployed in 2008 was 2%.

Area Job Conditions

The cities with the most employees per capita are Hinesville (Georgia), El Centro (California), and Waterbury (Connecticut), while the worst cities are Santa Cruz (California), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Huntsville (Alabama).

The highest salaries for elementary and preschool special ed teachers are in and around Visalia (California), Bethesda (Maryland), and Nassau (New York). The lowest-paying areas are Morristown (Tennessee), Iowa City (Iowa), and Prescott (Arizona).

Training and Education

Education or job training for workers typically involves a bachelor's degree. At least 87% of employees had a degree of four or more years. About 8% of elementary and preschool special ed teachers had some college below a bachelor's degree. An estimated 5% of workers had just a high-school diploma. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

An estimated 10% of elementary and preschool special ed teachers work part-time.

Elementary And Preschool Special Ed Teachers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anniston	$48,000	80	+30%
Auburn	$54,000	60	+1%
Birmingham	$50,000	390	-49%
Decatur	$51,000	100	+37%
Dothan	$45,000	60	-25%
Florence	$48,000	50	-29%
Huntsville	$52,000	90	-71%
Mobile	$50,000	200	-24%
Montgomery	$47,000	180	-26%
Tuscaloosa	$47,000	150	+17%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Flagstaff	$38,000	160	+108%
Kingman	$39,000	90	+42%
Phoenix	$44,000	1,850	-32%
Prescott	$39,000	40	-46%
Tucson	$41,000	420	-20%
Yuma	$41,000	60	-21%

Arkansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Fayetteville	$56,000	250	-18%
Fort Smith	$43,000	150	-16%
Hot Springs	$44,000	40	-15%
Jonesboro	$43,000	90	+43%
Little Rock	$46,000	430	-19%
Pine Bluff	$47,000	40	+3%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bakersfield	$70,000	440	+12%
El Centro	$69,000	150	+123%
Fresno	$64,000	500	+3%
Hanford	$53,000	90	+103%
Los Angeles	$62,000	5,410	-14%
Modesto	$62,000	250	+9%
Oakland	$63,000	1,320	-15%
Oxnard	$60,000	200	-56%
Riverside	$67,000	1,570	-16%
Sacramento	$58,000	930	-31%
Salinas	$78,000	130	-45%
San Diego	$72,000	1,240	-39%
San Francisco	$56,000	980	-36%
San Jose	$65,000	740	-47%
San Luis Obispo	$67,000	140	+6%
Santa Ana	$76,000	1,180	-48%
Santa Barbara	$71,000	210	-16%
Santa Cruz	$56,000	90	-27%
Santa Rosa	$65,000	210	-19%
Stockton	$57,000	380	+21%
Visalia	$73,000	170	-14%
Yuba City	$63,000	60	+19%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Colorado Springs	$47,000	470	+23%
Denver	$55,000	1,520	-22%
Grand Junction	$54,000	90	+15%
Greeley	$51,000	130	+28%
Pueblo	$43,000	160	+105%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$72,000	560	-14%
Danbury	$68,000	110	+16%
Hartford	$66,000	930	+5%
New Haven	$68,000	460	+11%
Norwich	$69,000	370	+107%

Delaware

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Wilmington	$57,000	520	+5%

District of Columbia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Washington	$75,000	3,880	+3%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Fort Lauderdale	$44,000	60	-94%
Orlando	$54,000	1,040	-34%
Sarasota	$50,000	580	+56%
Sebastian		60	-6%
Tampa	$58,000	1,820	+3%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$50,000	180	+111%
Athens	$59,000	210	+112%
Atlanta	$52,000	5,690	+58%
Augusta	$50,000	260	-16%
Brunswick	$49,000	50	-8%
Columbus	$50,000	230	+44%
Dalton	$52,000	150	+59%
Gainesville	$44,000	200	+106%
Macon	$53,000	200	+55%
Savannah	$49,000	350	+59%
Valdosta	$49,000	120	+79%

Hawaii

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Honolulu	$50,000	1,070	+58%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$40,000	400	+1%
Idaho Falls	$36,000	70	+11%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bloomington	$53,000	180	+83%
Champaign	$39,000	50	-66%
Chicago	$59,000	5,010	-14%
Danville	$45,000	80	+131%
Peoria	$43,000	250	-1%
Rockford	$36,000	390	+89%
Springfield	$43,000	280	+80%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson	$46,000	100	+100%
Bloomington	$48,000	70	-28%
Elkhart	$54,000	160	+2%
Evansville	$46,000	140	-45%
Fort Wayne	$46,000	300	-2%
Gary	$53,000	420	+3%
Indianapolis	$48,000	1,040	-25%
Kokomo	$50,000	60	+17%
Lafayette	$47,000	50	-53%
Muncie	$43,000	30	-51%
South Bend	$50,000	90	-52%
Terre Haute	$45,000	80	-16%

Iowa

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cedar Rapids	$47,000	200	-2%
Davenport	$53,000	290	+4%
Iowa City	$42,000	40	-60%
Sioux City	$40,000	80	-22%
Waterloo	$50,000	230	+89%

Kansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Topeka	$50,000	180	+13%
Wichita	$49,000	270	-38%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Elizabethtown	$47,000	120	+102%
Lexington	$48,000	270	-26%
Louisville	$52,000	1,040	+11%
Owensboro	$47,000	130	+104%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Alexandria	$43,000	210	+136%
Baton Rouge	$51,000	800	+40%
Monroe	$49,000	200	+86%
New Orleans	$50,000	950	+16%
Shreveport	$47,000	200	-25%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bangor	$42,000	170	+101%
Lewiston	$44,000	130	+90%
Portland	$48,000	370	+23%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore	$61,000	2,190	+8%
Bethesda	$68,000	630	-29%
Hagerstown	$48,000	120	-14%
Salisbury	$65,000	90	+23%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Barnstable Town	$61,000	220	+54%
Boston	$58,000	4,300	+59%
Brockton	$62,000	270	+110%
Framingham	$55,000	540	+123%
Haverhill	$60,000	290	+149%
Lawrence	$66,000	170	+107%
Leominster	$58,000	140	+109%
Lowell	$60,000	240	+37%
New Bedford	$69,000	150	+67%
Peabody		280	+91%
Pittsfield	$76,000	60	+43%
Springfield	$56,000	910	+101%
Taunton	$53,000	100	+67%
Worcester	$58,000	710	+87%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Ann Arbor	$61,000	180	-28%
Battle Creek	$51,000	100	+42%
Bay City	$60,000	50	+19%
Detroit	$70,000	870	-16%
Flint	$62,000	140	-27%
Grand Rapids	$49,000	390	-33%
Holland	$52,000	130	-6%
Jackson	$66,000	40	-39%
Kalamazoo	$52,000	140	-30%
Lansing	$52,000	270	-9%
Monroe	$53,000	70	+46%
Muskegon	$59,000	60	-22%
Saginaw	$56,000	60	-48%
Warren	$61,000	1,020	-39%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Duluth	$52,000	220	+16%
Mankato	$48,000	110	+43%
Minneapolis	$57,000	3,230	+17%
Rochester	$49,000	220	+49%
St Cloud	$51,000	260	+89%

Mississippi

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Gulfport	$46,000	180	+16%
Hattiesburg	$43,000	90	+14%
Jackson	$44,000	300	-22%
Pascagoula	$45,000	90	+45%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Girardeau	$33,000	200	+235%
Jefferson City	$34,000	90	-14%
Joplin	$42,000	180	+61%
Kansas City	$49,000	2,180	+38%
Springfield	$47,000	240	-16%
St Joseph	$41,000	50	-28%
St Louis	$53,000	2,200	+6%

Nebraska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lincoln	$68,000	210	-12%
Omaha	$47,000	780	+8%

Nevada

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Las Vegas	$52,000	580	-56%

New Hampshire

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Manchester	$50,000	160	+7%
Nashua	$54,000	170	-16%
Portsmouth	$49,000	100	+26%
Rochester	$51,000	170	+132%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlantic City	$57,000	310	+45%
Camden	$56,000	1,890	+134%
Edison	$63,000	3,410	+114%
Newark	$67,000	2,490	+60%
Ocean City	$65,000	110	+101%
Trenton	$63,000	530	+55%
Vineland	$56,000	200	+141%

New Mexico

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albuquerque	$58,000	430	-27%
Farmington	$48,000	150	+124%
Las Cruces	$66,000	340	+282%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$55,000	850	+22%
Binghamton	$57,000	210	+28%
Buffalo	$58,000	1,790	+110%
Elmira	$61,000	160	+218%
Glens Falls	$57,000	180	+153%
Ithaca	$60,000	140	+157%
Kingston	$70,000	220	+164%
Nassau	$83,000	4,070	+107%
New York	$68,000	13,770	+70%
Poughkeepsie	$69,000	940	+152%
Rochester	$54,000	1,710	+119%
Syracuse	$60,000	880	+84%
Utica	$55,000	420	+130%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Asheville	$46,000	220	-17%
Burlington	$44,000	180	+131%
Charlotte	$46,000	1,780	+34%
Durham	$48,000	630	+50%
Fayetteville	$43,000	390	+111%
Greensboro	$45,000	1,110	+104%
Greenville	$43,000	50	-47%
Hickory	$44,000	710	+227%
Raleigh	$50,000	1,380	+73%
Rocky Mount	$42,000	230	+189%
Wilmington	$40,000	300	+49%
Winston Salem	$43,000	380	+20%

North Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bismarck	$47,000	90	-1%
Fargo	$53,000	170	-5%
Grand Forks	$45,000	110	+69%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Akron	$56,000	460	-6%
Canton	$49,000	300	+21%
Cincinnati	$53,000	1,350	-14%
Cleveland	$54,000	1,350	-15%
Columbus	$51,000	1,700	+19%
Dayton	$57,000	530	-10%
Lima	$54,000	90	+27%
Mansfield	$55,000	60	-15%
Steubenville	$44,000	150	+172%
Toledo	$51,000	460	+3%
Youngstown	$50,000	500	+46%

Oklahoma

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Oklahoma City	$51,000	800	-10%
Tulsa	$43,000	610	-8%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Eugene	$48,000	180	-13%
Medford	$55,000	100	-9%
Portland	$53,000	810	-49%
Salem	$58,000	150	-32%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Allentown	$58,000	750	+41%
Altoona	$53,000	60	-29%
Harrisburg	$62,000	340	-31%
Johnstown	$56,000	150	+95%
Lancaster	$60,000	400	+13%
Lebanon	$50,000	60	-2%
Philadelphia	$59,000	3,310	+11%
Pittsburgh	$53,000	1,650	-7%
Reading	$59,000	510	+105%
Scranton	$55,000	320	-19%
State College	$49,000	90	+3%
Williamsport	$55,000	90	+28%

Rhode Island

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Providence	$62,000	1,200	+39%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson	$45,000	80	+3%
Charleston	$47,000	240	-45%
Columbia	$51,000	460	-14%
Florence	$46,000	150	+34%
Greenville	$41,000	410	-10%
Spartanburg	$47,000	270	+61%

South Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Rapid City	$48,000	120	+36%
Sioux Falls	$38,000	180	-12%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chattanooga	$48,000	400	+16%
Clarksville	$45,000	200	+81%
Cleveland	$44,000	50	+12%
Johnson City	$45,000	90	-11%
Kingsport	$47,000	200	+13%
Knoxville	$46,000	470	-8%
Memphis	$51,000	980	+3%
Morristown	$43,000	40	-35%
Nashville	$47,000	1,260	+10%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Amarillo	$46,000	170	+10%
Austin	$48,000	1,320	+8%
Beaumont	$48,000	210	-12%
Brownsville	$48,000	350	+83%
College Station	$43,000	130	-2%
Corpus Christi	$47,000	260	-2%
Dallas	$53,000	2,310	-29%
El Paso	$51,000	360	-13%
Fort Worth	$50,000	1,680	+25%
Houston	$53,000	3,180	-22%
Killeen	$48,000	200	+6%
Longview	$45,000	120	-13%
Lubbock	$44,000	150	-19%
Mcallen	$55,000	390	+13%
San Antonio	$54,000	1,020	-25%
Sherman	$49,000	40	-27%
Texarkana	$44,000	70	-6%
Tyler	$46,000	100	-23%
Waco	$45,000	60	-58%
Wichita Falls	$44,000	40	-47%

Utah

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Logan	$48,000	60	-6%
Ogden	$50,000	320	+7%
Salt Lake City	$51,000	240	-74%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington	$58,000	170	+5%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Blacksburg	$49,000	80	-5%
Charlottesville	$56,000	140	+14%
Lynchburg	$45,000	140	-2%
Richmond	$54,000	1,110	+17%
Roanoke	$52,000	240	+4%
Virginia Beach	$59,000	1,310	+12%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bellingham	$55,000	70	-33%
Bremerton	$57,000	100	-15%
Kennewick	$58,000	100	-31%
Longview	$50,000	40	-6%
Mount Vernon	$58,000	70	+18%
Olympia	$57,000	140	-2%
Seattle	$59,000	1,030	-53%
Spokane	$55,000	230	-25%
Tacoma	$56,000	380	-5%
Wenatchee	$52,000	30	-41%
Yakima	$52,000	60	-50%

West Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charleston	$43,000	180	-16%
Huntington	$44,000	340	+105%
Parkersburg	$46,000	170	+79%
Wheeling	$43,000	140	+55%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Appleton	$54,000	120	-28%
Eau Claire	$47,000	90	-14%
Fond	$47,000	60	+5%
Green Bay	$58,000	260	+4%
La Crosse	$52,000	60	-40%
Madison	$46,000	420	-19%
Milwaukee	$57,000	600	-53%
Oshkosh	$43,000	100	-20%
Sheboygan	$49,000	70	-9%
Wausau	$64,000	40	-57%

Wyoming

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cheyenne	$53,000	110	+95%