Supporting Special Education Through Co-Teaching
From coast to coast, the existing teacher shortage has put school and district leaders in very challenging situations. Solving today’s issues with yesterday’s thinking will not stop the desperate need for support. Educators must think outside the box to solve these issues whille simultaneously maximizing student opportunities for success.
Staffing needs are even more complex and challenging when the need for specialists comes into play. One of the areas that this can be seen is inside special education. Anyone that has served in the education space can attest to the fact that special educators need a dynamic skillset due to the depth of student needs and breadth of content areas supported, yet quite often these professionals are pulled in a myriad of ways simultaneously. In many areas, traditional scheduling methods pierced by these staffing needs has created a crisis scenario. We also know that research shows that student outcomes are improved when there is high levels of collaboration between teams, and when students are placed in the most inclusive environments. Teachers also report higher levels of job satisfaction when they are able to work more collaboratively with their peers. In short, both students and staff benefit when more inclusive and collaborative environments are created inside school settings.
One method that districts have worked to achieve this goal is through co-teaching: an evidence-based approach to inclusion where two teachers share the students in one classroom. This structure breaks down traditional silos between regular education teachers and special education students by providing a special education teacher as a collaborator in the classroom. Co-teaching certainly isn’t a new concept in education, but one that over the years has been carefully refined. The notion of co-teaching stems from research, and benefits students and both regular and special education teachers, as working together creates synergy in meeting the needs of all students.
During this webinar, our guests will discuss:
- Creative solutions for managing the special education teacher shortage;
- Strategies for breaking down silos between special educators and classroom teachers;
- How to support an innovative mindset and a culture of collaboration for teachers and administrators;
- Overcoming challenges to build authentic partnerships between teachers, students, and the community; and
- Ways to implement a co-teaching model to support special education programs.
You don’t want to miss the opportunity to learn from experienced educators in how they are better serving the needs of students and doing so more efficiently.
GUESTS:
- Tiffani Brown, Director of Instructional Technology, Grossmont Union High School District (CA)
- Kim Hart-Kindelberger, Special Education Teacher and Consultant, West Hartford Public Schools (CT)
- Dan McDowell, Director of Learning & Innovation, Grossmont Union High School District (CA)
- Kisha Morgan, Chief of Student Support & Services, Springfield Empowerment Zone (MA)
Moderator:
- Thomas C. Murray, Director of Innovation, Future Ready Schools (DC), @thomascmurray
You don’t want to miss the opportunity to learn from experienced educators in how they are better serving the needs of students, and doing so more efficiently.
Please direct questions concerning the webinar to ldossin@all4ed.org. If you are unable to watch the webinar live, please register to receive the video archive directly in your inbox.
