News Release: 6/23/2025
June 11, 2025 - Livermore, CA - The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD), in partnership with San José State University (SJSU), celebrates the first cohort of graduates from its innovative teacher preparation and credentialing program, which has been instrumental in addressing the urgent and ongoing need for credentialed special education teachers in Livermore and surrounding communities.
Special education teaching positions have long been considered “hard to fill,” with demand consistently outpacing supply across public education. This imbalance only worsened in the wake of the pandemic, leaving LVJUSD with 17 unfilled special education teaching vacancies in 2022 alone. “We knew we had to not only think outside the box, but do so in a way that would help us stabilize staffing for the long term,” expressed Dr. Tami Turner, LVJUSD Program Specialist and adjunct lecturer. “We were fortunate enough to align with SJSU, which was looking for an opportunity to expand its program and connect graduates to jobs in the industry. It’s truly been a win-win.”
The LVJUSD and SJSU cohort launched in 2023 and included participants with strong ties to Livermore, including LVJUSD paraeducators, parents of special education students, and others already embedded in the community. All had previously earned their Bachelor’s degrees and were seeking meaningful careers in special education. A key component to the program’s success was the ability for coursework to be completed locally. Classes were held both online and in-person on Livermore school campuses in the evenings, enabling participants to remain close to home while advancing professionally. The program also included hands-on classroom experience and mentorship from district program specialists and teachers.
“For me, the best part of the program was being part of a cohort. I made good friends with others who can relate to the process and now have a large professional network that I can lean on for help and support,” shared Andrew Phillips, cohort graduate and Extensive Support Needs (ESN) Teacher at Marylin Avenue STEAM Academy. “This career path has a high turnover rate and can feel isolating at times, but I think teachers from this program will have a higher rate of retention because of the support and connections that are developed through the cohort.”
In total, 11 first cohort graduates have become fully-credentialed teachers for LVJUSD, with another four on track to complete their program in the near future. Graduates earned either a Master of Arts in Special Education with a Preliminary Education Specialist Credential or a Master of Arts in Special Education, depending on their individual paths. “This partnership is more than a program—it’s a community solution,” said Kelly Manke, LVJUSD Assistant Superintendent of Special Education. “We are cultivating our own educators by investing in the people who already care deeply about our students and our schools.”
A second cohort is already underway with even greater student representation from other districts in the Tri-Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), of which LVJUSD is a member. This new cohort includes participants from Livermore, Dublin, Brentwood, Stockton, and Manteca. By broadening regional involvement, the program aims to inspire neighboring districts to follow LVJUSD’s lead in developing robust pipelines of credentialed special education teachers to ensure students across the region are supported by well-trained, locally rooted educators.
If you or someone you know is interested in earning an advanced degree in special education, the deadline to apply for SJSU’s Fall 2025 admission is July 1, 2025. For more information about the cohort program, register for an online informational session on June 20, 2025, or contact Lisa Simpson at [email protected].
Photos courtesy of LVJUSD:
