What You Need to Know About Special Education Preschool Teacher
Job Description & Duties 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.
Special Education Preschool Teacher Responsibilities
- Serve meals or snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines.
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.
- Administer tests to help determine children’s developmental levels, needs, or potential.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to maintain or improve professional competence.
- Attend to children’s basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual education plans (IEPs).
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Skills Needed to be a Special Education Preschool Teacher
When polled, Special Education Preschool Teachers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
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.
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.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Types of Special Education Preschool Teacher Jobs
- Integrated Program Teacher
- Preschool Disability Teacher
- Exceptional Needs Teacher
- Teacher
- Reading Interventionist
Job Opportunities for Special Education Preschool Teachers
In the United States, there were 29,200 jobs for Special Education Preschool Teacher in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 11.3% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 3,300 new jobs for Special Education Preschool Teacher 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 Preschool Teacher are Colorado, New Jersey, and Arkansas. 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.
Do Special Education Preschool Teachers Make A Lot Of Money?
The typical yearly salary for Special Education Preschool Teachers is somewhere between $34,300 and $100,160.

Special Education Preschool Teachers who work in Oregon, Rhode Island, or New York, make the highest salaries.
How much do Special Education Preschool Teachers make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $46,580 |
Alaska | $65,500 |
Arizona | $42,830 |
Arkansas | $46,870 |
California | $47,870 |
Colorado | $56,830 |
Connecticut | $68,130 |
Florida | $50,120 |
Georgia | $52,360 |
Illinois | $57,280 |
Indiana | $50,140 |
Iowa | $49,330 |
Kansas | $55,700 |
Kentucky | $53,420 |
Louisiana | $49,480 |
Maine | $36,070 |
Maryland | $61,210 |
Massachusetts | $64,370 |
Michigan | $64,300 |
Minnesota | $62,810 |
Mississippi | $46,590 |
Missouri | $37,510 |
Nebraska | $55,900 |
New Jersey | $66,890 |
New Mexico | $48,710 |
New York | $83,010 |
North Carolina | $50,490 |
North Dakota | $56,640 |
Ohio | $64,790 |
Oklahoma | $41,390 |
Oregon | $75,600 |
Pennsylvania | $54,160 |
Rhode Island | $70,590 |
South Carolina | $48,110 |
South Dakota | $39,910 |
Tennessee | $48,000 |
Texas | $51,010 |
Utah | $48,260 |
Vermont | $62,520 |
Virginia | $66,470 |
Washington | $63,400 |
Wisconsin | $45,780 |
Wyoming | $64,120 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Special Education Preschool Teachers
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Special Education Preschool Teachers:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Web browser software
- Email software
- Word processing software
- Children’s educational software
- Screen reader software
- Screen magnification software
- Drawing software
- American Sign Language Browser
Becoming a Special Education Preschool Teacher
What education is needed to be a Special Education Preschool Teacher?

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

Where Special Education Preschool Teachers Work

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

References:
Image Credit: woodleywonderworks via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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