Preparing Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers

1. Preparing Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers Collaborating For Success!

2. Dr. Alice Farling, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Special Services Dr. Mary V. Kealy, Director, Office of Special Education Nicole Conners, Professional Development and Support Services Specialist

3. Federal Mandates:NCLB/IDEA 2005 • Relationship to student achievement? • Impact on low achieving schools? • Impact on teacher quality?

4. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 • All new teachers hired with Title I funds must meet HQT requirements by July 2005 • Highly qualified teachers (HQT) is a cornerstone of the act • By July 2006, all teachers in core academic subjects must be “highly qualified”

5. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2005) • “Highly qualified” special education teachers: • Special education certification (not new) • New as of July 1, 2006: Unless a Title I school, special education teachers who teach in core academic subjects, as the sole provider of instruction, must be “highly qualified”

6. Virginia Requirements to Be a Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher • General Requirements for all special education teachers: • Hold at least a B.A. • Must obtain full state special education certification or equivalent licensure • Cannot hold an emergency or temporary certificate

7. Consultative Teachers • Special education who do not teach core academic subjects • Must meet general requirements only

8. New and veteran teachers teaching core academic subjects • Under general and content specific requirements • May meet requirements in different ways • Veteran teachers (those who have taught for 160+ days) can meet requirements through “a high objective uniform state standard of evaluation (the HOUSSE process)

9. Four Corners Activity • Challenges Prior to HQT Requirements: Your own school system’s challenges for special education teachers prior to HQT requirements • Challenges Meeting HQT Requirements: Challengesfor special education teachers to become “highly qualified” • Possible Solutions: What have your districts done? • Questions to Ponder

10. Teacher Quality: What Does the Research Say? • The research results/findings are mixed • Teacher quality is difficult to measure • Most research studies focus on types of certification, academic degrees, and years of teaching experience Teacher Quality. Retrieved February 6, 2006 from: http://edweek.org

11. Teacher Quality: What Does the Research Say? • Student gains in achievement are influenced mostly by the student’s assigned teacher • Deep content area knowledge appears to have an impact on student achievement especially in math and science • Certified teachers have a greater impact on student achievement in both mathematics and science than those with content degrees

12. Two-layered process for special education teachers • Licensure • Content knowledge in core academic subjects

14. Licensure/New Teacher Professional Development Cohorts for initial special education licensure (university partnerships)

15. Initial Special Education Licensure (University Partnerships) • Special Education Outreach Program at George Mason University (GMU), College of Education and Human Development • Special Education Initial Licensure Program at University of Virginia (UVA), School of Continuing and Professional Studies • Provisionally licensed special education teachers, instructional assistants, or public health training assistants (PHTAs)

16. GMU Initial Special Education Licensure (LD/ED) • Licensure coursework required by Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) • Completion of licensure program leads to professional teaching license in Virginia for certification in K-12 Special Education LD/ED • Four classes per year based on the FCPS school calendar

17. GMU Special Education Licensure (LD/ED) Coursework • EDSE 501 Introduction to Special Education • EDSE 540 Characteristics of Students with LD/ED • EDSE 502 Classroom Management and ABA • EDSE 503 Language Development and Reading • EDSE 628 Elementary Reading and Other Curriculum • EDSE 791 Midpoint Portfolio • EDSE 662 Consultation and Collaboration • EDSE 627 Psycho Educational Assessment • EDSE 790 Internship on Special Education (2 experiences) • EDSE 629 Secondary Curriculum and Strategies • EDSE 792 Final Portfolio

18. Licensure/New Teacher Professional Development Cohort for master’s degree in special education for general education teachers (university partnership)

19. Master’s degree in special education for general education teachers (UVA) • University of Virginia (UVA), School of Continuing and Professional Studies • Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) partnership • UVA Northern Virginia Center • General education teachers earn a master’s degree in special education

20. Master’s degree in special education for general education teachers (universitypartnership) • Required Courses: • EDIS 500:Exceptional Learner • EDIS 504:Assessment Techniques for Exceptional Individuals • EDIS 589:Consultation • EDIS 705:Behavior Management • EDIS 708:Advanced Techniques of Teaching Exceptional Individual • EDIS 713:Secondary, Vocational and Transition Skills • EDIS 785:Seminar: Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education • And one of the following: • EDIS 510:Characteristics of Students with Emotional Disturbances and Behavioral Problems • EDIS 511:Characteristics of People with Learning Disabilities • EDIS 512:Characteristics of People with Mental Retardation • And one of the following: • EDIS 770:Foundations of Reading Instruction • EDIS 772:Word Study: Language Structures and Phonics • And one elective

21. Licensure/New Teacher Professional Development • Teacher Induction Program • Mentoring Resource • Teacher (MRT) Program • Great Beginnings

22. Great Beginnings: Beginning Teacher Induction Program • Great Beginnings: Beginning Teacher Induction Program • Highly rated by beginning teachers, mentors, and principals • Offers strong support during the critical first year of teaching • Teachers form collegial relationships with other beginning teachers while learning from one another. FCPS Instructional Services Department: Great Beginnings Program

23. MRT Focus IS: An additional positive on-the-job support person for first year teachers; an extension of the school-based mentor Built on a voluntary commitment from teachers Available to teachers at their schools and in their classrooms to include support in planning and resources, instruction, assessment, and management Designed on the basis of individual strengths and needs Focused on your reality MRT Focus is NOT: Is not a substitute or replacement for school-based mentor Is not part of any evaluation system Is not a preset plan for all first-year teachers Is not a daily in-house support system Is not created to add pressure, but created to relieve pressures Mentoring Resource Teacher (MRT) Program FCPS Instructional Services Department: Great Beginnings Program

24. MRT Support Cycle • Initial Meeting: beginning teachers, mentors, administrators • Commitment from beginning teacher • Informal classroom visit • Needs Assessment and collaboration • Individual Teaching Plan • Individual Key Services FCPS Instructional Services Department: Great Beginnings Program

25. MRT Program and Special Education Teachers • First-year special education teachers are part of the MRT program every year • The Office of Special Education hires retired special education teachers or teachers on maternity leave to work with these teachers • School Year 2005-2006: 10 mentor resource teachers have been hired to mentor first-year special education teachers with a precedence given to low incidence teachers • MRT Schedule: 10 hours per week • Assigned between 2-4 first-year special education teachers

26. Great Beginnings • Summer Institute • Monthly classes • Coaching support • Themes: • Differentiation of Instruction • Behavior FCPS Instructional Services Department: Great Beginnings Program

27. Great Beginnings: Beginning Teacher Induction Program Testimonials • Attend all Great Beginning sessions because you will gain many ideas, meet other teachers at your grade level, and provide and receive support in teaching. (Miranda Sperringer, Cub Run ES) • I didn’t have to do everything on my own! Use the many resources that the county has provided. (Michelle Morris, Saratoga ES) • Use your mentor to help you learn the nuts and bolts of your individual school. (Amy Pierre, Woodson Center) • Liking teaching as much at the end of the year as I did at the beginning. (Ann Gorringe, Woodson HS) • Learning that next year will be even better than this year because I’ve grown as an educator. (Brian Weisse, Woodson Center)

28. Licensure/New Teacher Professional Development Teacher and Administrator Resources

29. Flexible Model to Meet Needs of Special Education Teachers

30. An Array of Opportunities

31. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge District collaboration to create institutes

32. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge District collaboration: • Meeting Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) 30-hour minimum content institute and high quality staff development requirements • Collaboration with Instructional Services elementary and secondary curriculum teams, Staff Development Office, and Office Of Special Education staff to plan institutes in core subjects

33. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge Sampling of FCPS Institute Offerings: • World History and Geography: Teaching World Studies I and II at the Secondary Level for Special Education Teachers Institute Andrea Parent, FCPS. • Life Science for Special Educators-A Streaming Video Course Linda Chin & Debby Mossburg, FCPS. Four face-to-face sessions + 20 hours online accessing video technology to support content. • Teaching Civics and Government for Special Education Teachers (must also take Fun with Economics and Government for highly qualified teacher requirements) Raleigh and Zack, FCPS. • Elementary Math Curriculum and Content Institute Barbara Kelly and Laura Porter, FCPS.

34. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge University partnerships

35. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge University Partnerships: • Meeting Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) 30-hour minimum content institute and high-quality staff development requirements • Collaboration local universities and colleges to provide college courses/institutes in core academic subjects

36. University Partnerships:Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge • EDSE 597: Teaching Mathematics at the Secondary Level for Special Education Teachers: 3 credit college course that will include basic competencies required to teach pre-Algebra, Algebra and geometry at the secondary level. Instructor: Dr. Barbara Pilling. • EDUC 597:  Chemistry for High School Special Education Teachers 2-credit college course that will include basic competencies required to teach Chemistry at the high school level. Instructor: Jay Calfee, FCPS. • EDSE 597: Teaching English at the Secondary Level for Special Education Teachers: 3 credit college course that will include basic competencies required to teach English for grades 7 – 12. Instructor: Patricia Chalfant, FCPS. • EDUC 597: Elementary Curriculum and Strategies; Dr. JudeIsaacson, FCPS. This course is designed to prepare special education teachersto take the elementary Praxis II content exam (0014) in Virginia in the four core content areas:  English/language arts, math, science, and history. It also reviews the state curriculum frameworks and SOL strands for all four core content areas for K-6 content.

37. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge HQT Electronic Learning (E Learning) opportunities

38. E Learning:Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge • Partnerships outside the school community offer online 30-hour institutes in math and English/Language Arts for elementary teachers • Hybrid E-Learning: FCPS Blackboard courses in biology and algebra content for middle and high school teachers • Hybrid E-Learning: university state- approved institutes in English, algebra, geometry and history/geography, Grades 6-12.

39. Meeting HQT requirements for core academic subject knowledge Informational Website Resources

40. Conclusions/Next Steps • Continuation of initial licensure cohort programs • Continuation of hiring mentor resource teachers and Great Beginnings coaches in special education • Continuation of the development of institutes and courses for core academic subjects to meet HQT requirements

41. Questions??? • Thank you so much for your time • Dr. Alice Farling, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Special Services • Dr. Mary V. Kealy, Director, Office of Special Education • Nicole Conners, Specialist, Office of Special Education