U of M Receives Grant to Promote Special Education Careers
For release: August 20, 2004
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

In an effort to recruit more special education teachers, the Tennessee Department of Education has awarded a total of $75,000 in grants to the University of Memphis and seven other colleges and universities across the state. The funds will provide tuition and books for students who are pursuing a license to teach special education.

The grants were awarded through the Department of Education's "Become a Special Educator in Tennessee" (BASE-TN) initiative, which was formed in response to the state's shortage of special education teachers and related personnel.
The first BASE-TN funds will be awarded this fall. About 70 awards will be available at the U of M.

The program is expected to attract two categories of students - those who hold a bachelor's degree in an area other than special education and are considering a career change, and those who are educational assistants with at least two years of college and who are currently working with disabled children.

"The BASE-TN initiative is a step in the right direction," said Dr. Sandra Cooley-Nichols, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction leadership and director of the program at the U of M. "The state's implementation of BASE-TN definitely will have a positive effect on the special education teacher shortage."

In addition to the U of M, grant recipients include Cumberland University, Fisk University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

For information on the BASE-TN program at the U of M, contact Cooley-Nichols online at smcooley@memphis.edu or by phone 678-1740.

More information about the program is available online at www.k12.tn.us/BASE-TN or www.state.tn.us/education/speced.

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