Many who work in or with your division's Special Education department feel they do not have all the necessary tools to be proficient at their jobs.
General education teachers are often given “co-teachers'' without knowing what collaboration should look like. Having common goals and outcomes for all students should be the primary focus inside of a co-taught classroom, where both teachers have an opportunity to interact with all students.
Oftentimes, special education co-teachers are used as glorified teacher assistants that make copies or manage the behavior when the main teacher is teaching. This unfortunate classroom model is often taking place in many classrooms throughout several divisions within the state of Virginia.
Facilitate professional development on collaboration between the general education teacher and their co-teachers. This includes identifying key classroom necessities in:
lesson planning
data collection
managing behavior
parental contact
Having this session will allow for the pairs to get to know each other before the school year starts and establish classroom expectations. These expectations will be critical in laying down a solid foundation in the event that planning time is not available as the year moves forward.