what is a teacher special assignment

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Teacher on special assignment

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2014-06-07

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Tech TOSAs 101: 10 Tips for Teachers on Special Assignment

• in Teaching Strategies
• March 19, 2019

What exactly IS  a Tech TOSA? We are lucky to have two former Teachers on Special Assignment in our community of Ozobot educators, Amanda Taylor and Christina Whitmire, who sat down with us to explain the role in their own words and provide tips and tricks for new or aspiring Tech TOSAs.

Amanda Taylor began her education career in Texas, where she taught family consumer sciences at the high school level for eight years. She then moved to California and found a job working for the technology services department of Saddleback Valley Unified School District. A TOSA, Amanda says, is a teacher working in a training capacity with other teachers, but it’s important to understand that they aren’t administrators.

“TOSA is a regional term,” she says. “If I were to say TOSA in Texas nobody would know what I was talking about! Other states do hire ‘Instructional Technologists’ that work in a similar role as a TOSA does, but not everyone calls it a TOSA.” All of these roles, she says, specialize in instructional technology and training teachers.

Besides varying by region, TOSA roles can vary from district to district. At Amanda’s district, one instructional coordinator oversaw three TOSAs, whose jobs were completely focused on training. In other districts, TOSAs might serve as domain administrator for .edu accounts or manage grade book setup. “I probably spent 50% of my time in classrooms with teachers,” says Amanda. “What people love about the role is that you don’t have your own classroom to take care of, so on the best days, you get to be like a fairy godmother and float from class to class showcasing the best of your work without papers to grade.”

Christina Whitmire  has spent the majority of her 25-year teaching career in the Oakley Union Elementary School District, which has about 5,000 students. She chalks her transition into serving as a Tech TOSA up to her district’s aspirations to become more technologically advanced and aware. “When the district decided to provide a lot of Chromebooks and have our students use Google,” she says, “they also decided that they needed training for Google and created the TOSA position, which I applied to and got.”

Christina acknowledges her credential in technology and computer applications probably helped. She says her district “wanted someone who would be able to understand computers and Google, work with the tech, and be the go-between between the Technology Department and Ed Services Department and help each understand what the other was doing.” Her district, like many others, was looking for someone to bridge that gap  and teach the teachers.

“We needed help on many levels,” she says, “but the main two were (1) teachers who needed training on actually using the tools and computer, such as ‘click there, double-click here’ basics. But (2) we also needed to show teachers how to go deeper than that to integrate technology, transform learning, then connect it with standards.”

Amanda and Christina both experienced great success in their TOSA journeys. Below you’ll get their tips and advice for other educators thinking of taking the leap.

Tips for Becoming a Tech TOSA

1. get as many certifications as you can..

As the Chromebooks rolled into Oakley Union ESD, Christina took it upon herself to get certified with Google as a Trainer and Innovator. Through that training, she heard about our Ozobot Certified Educator program.

These certifications—Ozobot Certified Educator, Google Certified Educator Level 1 & 2, and Google Certified Trainer & Innovator—can be more impactful than a Master’s degree for consideration in applying to this role. “If your district is using Google or G Suite,” Christina says, “become a Google Certified Trainer. My district never required me to have the certification, but I felt far more prepared to train other people after having it.”

2. Gain experience in adult education.

Past successes working with and training educators prove more influential in TOSA hiring decisions than only having taught a classroom of students. “It’s not always the teacher with a Master’s in educational technology who becomes a TOSA,” according to Amanda. “It’s the teacher who has decided they want to work with other teachers. A misconception is that a TOSA is all about the tech, but working with adults is a really challenging piece, as they can be even more apathetic or disgruntled than high schoolers.”

3. Attend education conferences, and present at them!

Presenting at conferences is a great experience to add on your resume and exhibit evidence of your proficiency evangelizing tech and teaching it to the masses. There are plenty of edtech specific conferences to choose from—from London’s BETT, with almost 35,000 attendees from 130 countries, to Philadelphia’s ISTE 2019. Christina leads by example for us here, as she just presented at Spring CUE 2019 last week about becoming Google certified!

Who is going to join me? Let’s talk about How (and Why) to Become a Google Certified Trainer and/or Innovator! See you there! https://t.co/lLsyvyp8of #CUE19 #WeAreCUE @sched pic.twitter.com/fqbhmFjg0g — Christina Whitmire (@EdTechChristina) March 14, 2019

4. Search  EDJOIN , district job boards, and social media.

Amanda gave us some other names for TOSA-type roles in other states and districts, to help with your job search, including Instructional Technologist, Educational Technologist, Instructional Technology Coach, and Site Tech Coach.

Also nowadays, there are especially active educators in Facebook groups and on Twitter, so don’t be shy about looking around for districts posting job listings or even posting yourself in your target district’s page asking for a tech-focused teaching role!

Experience can be a major factor in terms of applications requirements, with most districts looking five years or more. Grade level, however, is less important. “I taught high school,” says Amanda, “but as TOSA most of my work was in elementary school classrooms.”

5. Introduce tech and share ideas in your current role.

School administrators who witness teachers naturally sharing technology lessons in class are more likely to create new opportunities within the district. Amanda expands on her experience with becoming a TOSA:

“All the people I’ve known who have stumbled into TOSA or instructional technologist positions have very different paths. Some start as a teacher leader, someone who stands out as wanting to see change happen. They’re the teacher who will have a small group of fellow teachers in their room, showing them something they just learned themselves after coming back from a conference, bringing knowledge and sharing it. Signs of a teacher who won’t be as successful of a TOSA: if they’re someone to hold all their knowledge and resources to themselves, then that’s just not the definition of a trainer. A TOSA should have a teacher’s heart for everyone.”

Advice for Serving in the TOSA Role

1. work with your district’s resources and administrators..

Before planning your initiatives, get familiar with the WiFi bandwidth available. This will help you understand just how many devices and new types of tech you can implement. Christina suggests to keep trying new things and proposing them to your administrators:

“Keep being open. Really work with your district or the district where you want to go to figure out the logistics of things. WiFi, bandwidth, can you add devices, what devices are okay, and keep asking the questions: ‘ How can I add more devices? Can I use more of the bandwidth? Can I spend this money on that, or can I get any money for funding?’ ”

2. Tailor your approach to each type of teacher.

Know the continuum and theory of your ‘early adopters’ versus ‘late adopters’ . Then, Amanda recommends the gradual release model  for working with the late adopter teachers. For the first classroom visit, she would show the teacher how to use the new tech by doing it herself (“I do it”). Then, for the next classroom visit they would use the tech together (“We do it”). Finally, she’d come back again and the teacher would use the tech by himself or herself (“You do it”), with Amanda there just for support and troubleshooting. Amanda said this method worked wonderfully when her district was introducing Ozobots in their classrooms. She and her fellow TOSAs designed a three-day training program, so that by the third day teachers felt comfortable integrating Ozobots into one of their lesson plans alone.

The @SVUSDedtech Tosa Team is killing it with the HyperLearning with HyperDocs session. I might be a tab biased, but I think they are amazing! #cue2019 #Hyperdocs pic.twitter.com/YweHNaWIwI — Amanda Taylor (@TeacherAndGeek) March 15, 2019

3. Create online training for teachers to do at home.

It can be challenging to find subs or get district approval to host professional development (PD) during regularly-scheduled school days. Christina found success using a non-conventional training method. “I created tech academies to roll out Chromebooks and introduce teachers to Google. It became so varied, because some teachers could just take off and wanted to learn more at a more advanced level, others were still frustrated with turning the device on or getting it to project. From there, I created a gamified online training system for our staff, so they could look at modules they needed or had interest in. We earned badges and ran a friendly competition to keep learning going.” Research your district’s policies on time spent outside of class hours before going this direction.

4. Make your own training materials, embracing your style and comfort zone.

“Our beginning staff members felt much more comfortable hearing a voice and seeing a face that they recognized,” says Christina, “so I made a lot of my own training videos. They didn’t feel comfortable enough to seek out a lot of outside resources on YouTube, even though there’s a lot out there. The most effective training tools were still the ones that I created. Whether it was my podcast or my weekly videocast, I could have been sharing very similar information, but it really seemed to help when I could make the training materials match the exact same screenshots that the teachers will look at on our district’s devices.”

5. Train teachers by training students first!

Our TOSAs suggest overcoming one of the most common objections from teachers—that tech training is just “one more thing they have to do”—by getting them to see their kids’ excitement, and witnessing the value that tech adds to learning retention and engagement.

Christina spent a lot of her time going into classrooms and modeling different tech devices, and she found that one of the easiest ways to train the teachers is to train the students:

“There are so many of those ‘A-ha!’ moments. One of the best things about being the Technology TOSA is that you’re always the fun person. Even as I go in and give a lesson, I break up some of the monotony or routines that students are used to. We forget kids live by the bell too, so having something new and different is always exciting. People are excited to see you. Either you fix something that’s broken and they’re happy, or you show them something new and they’re happy. Lots of times students with behavioral problems shine in the area of technology, so they feel good about things. It’s just a very feel-good role,” Christina concluded.

A HUGE thank you to Amanda (@TeacherandGeek)  and Christina (@EdTechChristina)  for sharing their insights into this exciting opportunity to spread STEAM learning and teach tech throughout school districts everywhere!

Are you currently a Tech TOSA (whether your district calls it by another name) or looking to become a teacher of technology? Let us know in the comments below!

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A teacher who is serving in a capacity outside of day-to-day instruction. The duties required for a position will drive the need for a TOSA. This may require a Local Assignment Option (LAO). 

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What New Special Education Teachers Need to Succeed

What’s Key to Retaining Special Education Teachers?

Winning the burnout battle.

Premium Resource

1. Play to Their Strengths

Varied responsibilities mean that special educators spend a lot of time pulled away from working with students, which is their passion..

• Academic content . Some special educators are well ­prepared to support student academic learning in specific areas such as in reading, math, or writing.
• Behavior support . Whether it’s identifying the root cause of a student’s outbursts, conducting a functional behavior assessment, or helping classroom teachers prevent ­problematic behavior before it happens, some staff want to focus on addressing students’ behavioral needs.
• Case management . Some staff thrive on managing the IEP process, from assessment to writing the IEP to scheduling meetings and ensuring full compliance.
• Pedagogical coaching . Some staff are well suited to build the capacity of their general education peers by showing them how to modify instruction, design accommodations, and scaffold content.

2. Streamline Meetings and Paperwork

Identify the most efficient iep writers on staff and ask them to be an “iep paperwork mentor” to support newer team members., 3. ensure access to a special education leader, reflect & discuss.

➛ Special educators: What aspect of your role brings you the most fulfillment, and how can schools better support you in focusing on that strength? ➛ Principals: What’s an immediate step you could take to ensure the special educators at your school are receiving the support they need?

Nate Levenson , a former district superintendent, is president at New Solutions K12 and the co-author of It’s Time for Strategic Scheduling: How to Design Smarter K–12 Schedules That Are Great for Students, Staff, and the Budget (ASCD) .

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

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From our issue.

Teaching in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Reimagining Activities and Assignments in Preservice Special Education Teacher Education Programs

• John M. Jameson

Artificial intelligence (AI) text generators, such as ChatGPT and Copilot, have been used for various purposes such as creating written content, writing or debugging computer code, answering questions, providing information, and improving written communication. This robust functionality of AI text generators along with the high rate of use reported by college students highlights the need for instructors in special education teacher preparation programs to contend with the impact of AI on teaching and learning. The purpose of this article is to provide examples of how teacher educators might reimagine assignments and activities in the era of AI text generators. Specifically, the authors explore ways that AI applications might be intentionally incorporated or, conversely, intentionally restricted in the design of course assignments and activities.

• Johnston et al. (2024)

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Copyright (c) 2024 Susan Johnston, John M. Jameson, Breda V. O'Keeffe, Ashley Raines

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

The Journal of Special Education Preparation ( JOSEP ) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that features research-to-practice information and materials for special education faculty in higher education settings. JOSEP brings its readers the latest on evidence-based instructional strategies, technologies, procedures, and techniques to prepare special education teachers and leaders. The focus of its practical content is on immediate application.

ISSN: 2768-1432

JOSEP is published in partnership with and funded by Ball State University Libraries and the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Azj-Kahet Special Assignment Hidden - Complete 2 World Quests In The Zone to Fix

Comment by literallyuser.

Aw man can't wait to open 3rd chest in tier1 delve

Comment by Axarax

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke...

Comment by AthDrav

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really.

Comment by mrlogato

I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked

Comment by mobhunter

I don't have that special assignment. I have "Bombs from Behind." Unfortunately, it seems bugged. I can start in the skiff, but it immediately returns me to town after it starts.

Comment by SlowMissiles

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... Either this is recency bias or you've not being in a lot of launch

Comment by DotOrg

completed 4 world quests, didn't show. Had to relog after and now it's up!

Comment by MaximusPM

I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked Took me 3 as well, on two characters.

Comment by the9tail

"they were locked behind forming a Pact with the Severed Threads, which was unavailable" How do I do this?

Comment by nearlysober

Aw man can't wait to open 3rd chest in tier1 delve .... you could just save them til Tier 4 and higher delves unlock.

Comment by Skribbalz

I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked Took me 3 as well, on two characters. Depends on if you did the special assignment in the other zone. If you did, you only need 2 WQ.

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really. Have a look at all the bugs Wowhead is posting. It's a lot.

Comment by polksc33

Comment by yina.

Can't even see WQ's in that zone, not sure what to do to unlock those first.

Comment by Grapenut

Can't even see WQ's in that zone, not sure what to do to unlock those first. Compete Of Pacts and Patrons and choose a pact. Once selected the WQs show up.

Comment by Gatreya

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... someone hasn't played Legion and BfA launch and it shows...lol

Comment by RandomGamerChick

I can't get ANY "Special Assignments" to show up in any zone even if I did the world quests! I've relogged so many times in the area where the cache is and outside nothing works. I see the quest in my log that says 3/3 world quests complete but there is no abandon or ability to TURN it in! When I first log in I hear the "failed" sound and I see a yellow chat that says the quest has failed and I don't understand lol.. so I just submitted a ticket that I have to wait for 3 days apparently to get a response. I'm hanging in there but I'm a little annoyed. I've tried to fix it and I'm just stuck, it sucks.

Comment by Pythagoras

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... I don't think you understand what any of those words mean.

Comment by Zorbius15

Took me three.

Comment by Rhyennard

I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really. Have a look at all the bugs Wowhead is posting. It's a lot. You're lucky you weren't playing when warlords of draenor or legion were released, the last two expanction are perfect compared to past.

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“English Teacher” Is an After-School Special with Edge

Consider the plight of the reluctant idealist. Evan Marquez (Brian Jordan Alvarez), the titular character in the new FX comedy “English Teacher,” is an exemplar of the type. Under different circumstances, he might have been content to snark from the sidelines—when a colleague identifies him as a “proud gay man,” he’s quick to respond “I’m not that proud”—but, as one of the few outspoken progressive adults at a school in Austin’s less-than-liberal suburbs, he finds himself forced into the role of the unlikely scold or the even more unlikely crusader. Despite the thanklessness of the task, following his ex’s lead and taking a cushy gig in the city’s booming tech industry would be unthinkable. “I need a job that means something to me,” Evan explains, “which I hate.”

This earnestness feels necessary in an environment where the students are getting “less woke,” parents complain about “lewd content” in “ The Great Gatsby ,” and Evan himself gets nicknamed Fruit Loop by the meathead gym teacher, Markie (Sean Patton). Even the principal, Grant Moretti (Enrico Colantoni, whose rapport with Alvarez is a highlight of the series), tries to disabuse our hero of his high-mindedness. When Evan attempts to broker peace between the jocks and the social-justice warriors, Principal Moretti schools the teacher in his work philosophy: “You just have to listen to them complain. You don’t actually have to do anything about their problems.”Evan insists on doing something anyway—and, predictably, chaos ensues. Soon, he’s coaching football players on the fundamentals of drag.

“English Teacher” was created by Alvarez, who’s perhaps best known for a recurring role on the “ Will & Grace ” reboot and for spearheading the critically acclaimed 2016 Web series “The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo”—a project that was once dubbed “ ‘Will & Grace’ on speed.” Often, the new show feels like a hybrid of the two: a traditional, three-act sitcom with a spiky online sensibility. Much of Alvarez’s cast comes from a similar viral-comedy pipeline; Stephanie Koenig, who also appeared in “Caleb Gallo,” plays Evan’s co-worker bestie, Gwen, and Jordan Firstman, who broke out as an early-pandemic Instagram sensation, plays his ex, Malcolm. “English Teacher,” informed by those origins, takes a one-for-them-one-for-me approach to humor, such that an offhand reference to the dirtbag-leftish podcast “Red Scare” and a teen’s withering aside about the obsolescence of Tumblr coexist with broad, sketch-comedy-esque scenarios. Tonally, it veers between the cynicism of Max’s industry satire “The Other Two” and the sincerity of Quinta Brunson’s “ Abbott Elementary .” The balancing act doesn’t always work—but when it does it yields something at once smart, heartwarming, and appealingly irreverent.

Despite superficial similarities—both are workplace comedies in which a try-hard educator strives to push the institution forward and an indifferent principal gets in the way —“English Teacher” isn’t “Abbott.” Whereas Brunson, the daughter of a retired public-school teacher, conceived of her show as an insidery love letter to the profession, Alvarez uses his setting as a heightened joke vehicle. The staff members are considerably less noble than their counterparts on “Abbott,” as are the pupils: if the “Abbott” kids are (mostly) innocents, the high schoolers of “English Teacher” are old enough to have agendas and psychodramas of their own. The teens offer a way into an array of hot-button issues, from social media’s impact on kids’ mental health—one funny bit involves a girl self-diagnosing with “asymptomatic Tourette’s” in pursuit of clout—to the hazards of guns on campus.

Mostly, these teachable moments come with an ironic twist. When Evan gets roped into explaining the concept of a nonbinary gender identity to Markie’s class, he quickly discovers that the kids who requested the lesson had only wanted to film Markie’s inevitably inane description and post the footage online. But at other points the need to counter bigotry feels all too real, as when the mother of a former student, unhappy with her son’s coming out, tries to get Evan fired for “encouraging” homosexuality in the classroom.

The series is at its best when channelling the sense of besiegement that teachers today must feel from all sides, albeit filtered through the softening lens of a sitcom. “English Teacher” ’s innate sympathy with their dilemma—particularly that of gay educators in an era of conservative fearmongering—lends it a distinctiveness, even a sense of purpose, that papers over its faults. And, in the six episodes provided to critics, the characters deepen in surprising and satisfying ways. One of the most pleasing turns comes when Markie, for all his insensitivity in other arenas, is revealed to be an adept observer of the ins and outs of teen-age female friendship. His exhaustive play-by-play of the gamesmanship that led to one girl’s “rapid ascent to the upper echelon of popularity” is both entertaining and oddly touching for the care it implies. I didn’t mind that it was all a little too good to be true. ♦

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High school teacher forced young students to staple shut screaming cat’s open wound while it was awake in sick surgery

• Brandon Cruz , News Reporter
• Published : 0:56, 2 Sep 2024
• Updated : 9:51, 3 Sep 2024

A TEACHER reportedly made students staple a screaming cat's open wound in class sparking fury in the community.

Emily Marie Benner, an agriculture teacher, was arrested after her bizarre alleged lesson struck a nerve with her school.

Benner, who was seen smiling in her mugshot, was booked into an East Texas jail on Sunday and was released later that day on a $7,500 bond.

In footage obtained by KYTX-TV , Benner was seen instructing students to grab the cat and lay it down on a table.

Despite the cat being awake, crying, and resisting, the students -under Benner's guidance - held the animal down and turned it on its back.

The cat can be heard screaming as students proceed to staple an incision on the cat’s body, following Benner's instructions to do so.

Read More News

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The video concludes with cheers from the students in the classroom after the procedure.

It is unclear what the lesson was supposed to be for the students.

According to the school district's website, Benner serves as the agriculture animal teacher for Westwood ISD in Palestine, Texas.

It has been confirmed that the cat survived and is currently under the care of a local veterinarian.

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Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.

Benner, who received her Texas Educator Certificate in 2022, is certified to teach agriculture, food, and natural resources for grades six through 12.

Her certification is currently valid until 2027.

However, after this latest incident, there may be a possibility that Brenner's license could be revoked.

THE SCHOOL RESPONDS

Westwood ISD Superintendent, Wade Stanford, issued a letter to parents, students, and the community, acknowledging the "deeply troubling incident" during the class.

The letter did not mention Benner by name.

However, Stanford emphasized that the behavior witnessed in the incident amounted to nothing more than animal cruelty.

"This behavior is not in line with the values and standards we uphold within our district," Stanford said.

"We are committed to taking immediate and decisive action to address this issue," he continued.

Westwood ISD's public relations coordinator, Britni Calzada, declined to comment, noting that the incident is an ongoing investigation being handled by the proper authorities.

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Teacher Education Undergraduate Program, Tenure-Track Faculty – Inclusive Education

Elmira College (EC) is seeking applications to fill a full-time tenure-track faculty position in the area of Inclusive / Special Education (1-12) with appointment beginning January 2025. This is an on-site position.

Teaching assignments may include methods courses, practicum-based instruction, student teacher supervision, and other classes in the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program. In addition to teaching, faculty at EC advise students, and engage in service-related activities including, but not limited to participation in departmental, college, and university committees and professional organizations. Faculty also initiate research activities leading to scholarly presentations and publications.

Appointment at the Assistant Professor rank is anticipated; higher ranks will be considered.

Essential Functions:

• Teach core Undergraduate Teacher Education courses within the area of Inclusive / Special Education.
• Demonstrate a genuine desire to teach and participate fully in a liberal arts environment that emphasizes close student-faculty interaction.
• Participate in academic and career advising and engagement in scholarly activities.
• Create new courses and participate in the development of new areas of concentration.

Qualifications:

• Expertise and Teacher Certification in Inclusive / Special Education.
• Preferred qualification of additional Teacher Certification in Childhood Education.
• Doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) or ABD status with conferral date no later than June 30, 2026;
• At least 4 years of teaching experience in K-12 setting; and
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, organizational and time management skills.

Members of historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

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• A letter of interest;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Graduate transcripts (unofficial);
• Statement of teaching philosophy; and
• Names and contact information of references.

Materials should be sent to [email protected] .

If you require alternative methods of application or screening, please contact the Office of Human Resources directly by emailing [email protected] , or by calling 607-735-1810.

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Elmira College is a private, residential, and coeducational liberal arts college that has a student population of approximately 800, with students from 29 states and 11 countries (Fall 2021). Situated on 55 acres of property in the small city of Elmira, New York in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the College opened in 1855 as the first college for women with a course of study and degree requirements comparable to those at contemporary men’s colleges. An independent and non-sectarian institution, Elmira College became co-educational in 1969.

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The Elmira College Teacher Education Department views schools as sites of transformation, empowerment, and intellectual development where all students attain the understanding and critical skills necessary to be contributing members to a democratic and pluralistic society. To that end, the department prepares teacher education candidates who approach the teaching profession with intellectualism, creativity, and an ethic of care in order to help manifest a socially just society. Their professional dispositions toward learning will include a lifelong pursuit of deep content knowledge and a constantly evolving and multifaceted pedagogical skill set. Teacher education candidates will be prepared to deliver lessons that engage a diversity of learners and be imbued with a respect for their positions as the custodians of democracy. In that service, candidates will provide meaningful learning experiences that give students the concepts, tools of inquiry, and collaborative problem-solving skills that help ensure student success.

Work Location : Not remote. Elmira College, 1 Park Pl, Elmira, NY, 14901.

Compensation : In exchange for your skills and experience, Elmira College will provide you with:

• Tuition waiver for you and your dependents;
• College-paid Short-term disability Insurance;
• College-paid group term life insurance;
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Options;
• 15+ paid holidays including the entire week of Thanksgiving and Winter Break/New Year’s;
• Generous Sick and Vacation time accruals;
• Free counseling for you and your family through the College-paid Employee Assistance Program;
• A base starting salary of $58,000-$60,000

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.

Elmira College is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to increasing the diversity of its community. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, gender identity or expression, disability, or sexual orientation in our educational programs and activities or our employment practices

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Sudanese teachers and shopkeepers join the fight against rebels in nation’s civil war

Leila Molana-Allen Leila Molana-Allen

Jorgen Samso Jorgen Samso

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/sudanese-teachers-and-shopkeepers-join-the-fight-against-rebels-in-nations-civil-war

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Amid brutal civil war, Sudan’s VP defends refusal to participate in U.S.-led peace talks

International aid groups issued a joint declaration that the hunger crisis in Sudan is of historic proportions. For nearly 18 months, the country has been embroiled in a civil war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. With support from the Pulitzer Center, special correspondent Leila Molana Allen spoke with some of the men fighting the war and looked into the powers funding it.

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Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

International aid groups issued a joint declaration today that the hunger crisis in Sudan is of historic proportions. For nearly 18 months, the country has been embroiled in a civil war, a war that's killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more.

In the fourth report from Sudan's front lines, supported by the Pulitzer Center, special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen met some of the men fighting this war and looked into the powers funding it.

Leila Molana-Allen:

Elated, defiant, united. These Sudanese Armed Forces soldiers want to show they're ready for a fight.

In reality, most haven't yet been on a battlefield. They're fresh recruits, part of the government's drive to grow the army's ranks in the fight against a rebel militia, the Rapid Support Forces. A shopkeeper, an engineer, and a middle school English teacher, a year ago, these men couldn't have imagined fighting.

Now they gather at this repurposed soccer stadium for basic training, some still wearing sneakers and jeans, waiting for their uniforms.

This is the first time you have ever been in the army? And, Ahmed, you are an English teacher, and now the first time you are serving as well.

It will take our lives to defeat the rebellion.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mohamad Awadallah came here to Qadarif two months ago after the RSF burned and pillaged his home state of Sennar.

Mohamad Awadallah, Sudanese Armed Forces Recruit (through interpreter):

In Sennar, I saw death. There were rapes. The RSF were killing anyone they found in front of them. The situation in the country is getting worse, and we're afraid of being displaced again to another state.

In peacetime, he runs a market stall. These volunteers aren't paid to serve. The community does what it can to support them.

Mohamad Awadallah (through interpreter):

The meals are regular but there is no salary. Our relatives outside Sudan send us money to help us.

They don't underestimate the enemy they're fighting. Once a militia armed by the country's former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, to fight rebels in Darfur and responsible for mass slaughter of civilians there, the RSF was absorbed into the army in 2013.

They fought here and abroad, building up strength and experience. Bashir used them to crack down on popular protests in 2019, after he fell from power, his other elite army units were disbanded, making the RSF all-powerful. In 2021, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo with army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan to seize power in a military coup.

When war erupted between them last year, the RSF quickly seized major territory like the capital, Khartoum, and much of Darfur. This year, having rallied the troops, the army has managed to seize some of that territory back, and the army is now purportedly buying weapons from Iran and Russia.

But it's a long, hard, fight, much of it street-to-street urban warfare in densely packed residential areas. The impact on civilians is devastating. Up to a 150,000 people have already been killed, and over 11 million displaced from their homes. The RSF has been recruiting too, but forcibly.

We met several child soldiers kidnapped from their families to serve the militia when it swept through Khartoum. Bilal is just 15. We're protecting his identity for fear of reprisals. He was arbitrarily arrested by militiamen from outside his home and held by the RSF for months.

Bilal, Escaped Child Soldier (through interpreter):

The RSF beat us every day, insulted us, and made us clean their military vehicles. They would force us to help them steal from houses and take boys to fight with them in battles.

Finally, his chance came.

Bilal (through interpreter):

They were drunk when I escaped. We were carrying flour sacks, and they were distracted. I ran to the main road and found a bus passing by. I knew the driver. He was from my neighborhood.

After hiding with neighbors for two weeks, Bilal snuck across the river by night to SAF territory. He still doesn't know the fate of those who helped him.

I'm very worried about them and hope they get out.

A loving reunion with his relieved father. But these are the lucky ones, their stories of escape miraculous. They say many more are still stuck in RSF territory.

Foreign actors are staking a claim in the conflict, too, sending a steady flow of foreign weapons into the country. The United Arab Emirates is accused of sending weapons to the RSF to be smuggled in via Chad. The United States is one of the leading arms traders to the UAE.

Dotted around the burned-out battleground, Emirati armored vehicles, Russian tanks, some from the Cold War. These battlefields are awash with foreign arms, some newly imported, some legacy weapons from the wars that have plagued this continent for decades. Many of the guns now being used in Sudan come from Libya's civil war in 2014.

We found evidence of Emirati and Russian weapons systems as well, Turkish and Serbian munitions as well as U.S.-manufactured small arms. This is an American-made M47 Dragon anti-tank missile launcher. The Sudanese Armed Forces say they found many of left behind when they pushed the Rapid Support Forces back.

It's a 20-year-old model, so there's no telling where it's been between then and now. The serial number, the best way of tracking how these weapons entered the company, has been carefully removed. Critics say the UAE wants control over Sudan's Red Sea ports and rich mineral mines. The Emiratis deny supplying and funding the RSF, but have engaged in talks to determine Sudan's future.

Sudan's U.S. envoy, Tom Perriello, invited an Emirati delegation to failed talks in Geneva in August. The Sudanese army says it will not negotiate with a foreign power that's arming its enemies. Arms dealing is legal in the right circumstances. But countries who trade have a responsibility to track where and how their weapons are used.

And these weapons are being used to massacre civilians.

Brian Castner is a weapons investigator for Amnesty International.

Brian Castner, Amnesty International:

Modern ammunition does terrible things to the human body, breaks bones, can take off legs.

You have to look at priorities. You have to look at whether your priority is making the most money in however way possible. And what are your responsibility when it comes to human rights? What's your responsibility is when it comes to stopping crimes against civilians, when it comes to stopping civilian casualties?

It's not just foreign weapons, but foreign fighters playing a role in this war. Mercenaries from nearly a dozen countries have been spotted fighting alongside the RSF. Last month, Emirati passports were found in an area where the militia had been pushed back.

We negotiated rare access to interview some of the RSF mercenaries the Sudanese army has captured at a nondescript intelligence base just meters from the echoing gunfire of the front line.

Loul, from South Sudan, says he never even made the choice to fight. He came to work in Khartoum because, even in wartime, he had more chance of earning money than back home. In January, he was kidnapped from his cigarette stall, and told he would be free once he helped the RSF win back Omdurman.

He arrived at the front to discover he and the other young fighters were little more than cannon fodder.

Loul, Mercenary From South Sudan (through interpreter):

There weren't many soldiers, and no one could use the weapons. The few people who did fire bullets killed themselves or others in the group by accident. They were children, too young to fight. I was afraid, thinking, will I survive or not?

It was the only battle Loul would participate in, and it didn't last long.

Loul(through interpreter):

On the way to the battlefront, clashes broke out and I was shot in the leg. The driver fled. I was shot again and fell to the ground with some others. I lay on the ground for four hours. The people with me died.

Loulmanaged to crawl to an abandoned house, where he was eventually found and arrested by the Sudanese army. He's been held here since March.

I still don't understand anything that's happening. Will they let me go or not? No one tells me anything. Will I go home to my family or to prison?

Zakaria is just 16. When an RSF recruiter came to his destitute village in Chad in early February offering cash to fight, he jumped at the chance to help his family.

Zakaria, Mercenary From South Sudan (through interpreter):

They said they would pay us when we reached Sudan, $600. But when we arrived, they didn't give us any money.

Like all the others here, he never saw a penny. By April, he'd been captured by the army. He's been locked up in Omdurman ever since.

Prisoners of war must be treated humanely under international law. On camera, the boys said they were being treated well. But while setting up the interview, they whispered to the "News Hour" team that they were being starved and begged for help to get out.

Every member of the group was severely emaciated. Like Bilal, these are just young boys too, victims of a vicious conflict that spares no one. It's an cycle of corruption and abuse that threatens to drag Sudan's neighboring countries, already unstable and dealing with multiple crises, into the abyss of war along with it.

And this is the impact of that war, a thriving regional capital in ruins. Omdurman market used to be the bustling heart of this region. Millions of locals would come from all around to buy provisions, to socialize, and for anything else they needed.

Now it's abandoned. Soldiers say they're still digging through the rubble, finding bodies under these charred shop fronts. And those escaping Khartoum across the river say the devastation there is even worse.

The country's foundations lies in ruins too. The economy has collapsed. Children haven't been to school in over a year. Fear and hunger rule the land. When this war does end, Sudan's road ahead is full of pitfalls. It's just five years since popular protests toppled the country's longtime dictator.

But then army snatched power from the people. While many here support it in fighting the RSF, if they win, the next battle will be for democracy. The military junta claims it will hand back power when there is peace.

Leaders of civil society resistance committees are skeptical.

Abdulrahman Mohammed Ali, Port Sudan Resistance Committee (through interpreter):

I do not believe that the army has no interest in ruling the country. All the evidence shows the army is interested in staying in power. The future of the youth is in great danger because, after the revolution, many hopes were built. And what's happening now is a complete destruction of everything.

And whoever leads the country, building back from this devastation could take a decade. So much has been lost, lives, homes, dreams. In the midst of such suffering, hope for the future, so vibrant just a few years ago, is turning to dust.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Leila Molana-Allen in Omdurman, Sudan.

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Leila Molana-Allen is a roving Special Correspondent for the Newshour, reporting from across the wider Middle East and Africa. She has been based in the region, in Beirut and Baghdad, for a decade.

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