Co-taught classrooms require deep partnership and collaboration between general education and special education teachers.
These classes are made up of learners with and without disabilities and follow general education standards and curriculum.
And yet, we are often called in by a Special Education administrator to provide Professional Development to their co-teachers. They want to see equitable partnerships, both teachers using their expertise to educate all kids, and both teachers teaching.
From our perspective, when the special education administrator leads the work on their own, co-teaching is perceived as a special education initiative. Even other district administrators can perceive the work as special education training and about special education only. The focus becomes narrow, and not seen as crucial to all teachers and all kids. General education teachers may feel that the work is not really about them and don’t really buy in to the best practices. We hear things like, “My [gen ed] co-teaching partner won’t ‘let me’ teach.”
If we want co-teaching to benefit ALL kids, we need ALL administrators included in the process of learning and planning! If we want both gen ed and special ed teachers to buy in, we need ALL administrators to be passionate about and supportive of this initiative.
Here are some concrete ways this could look:
- Gen Ed and Special Ed administrators co-create a district vision and plan for what they want co-teaching to look like in their district. Using the vision as the guide, all administrators create an action plan with accountability and timelines.
- Gen Ed and Special Ed administrators attend co-teaching PD together so they fully understand the work and are equipped to support their staff.
- Gen Ed and Special Ed administrators co-create co-teaching pairs.
- Gen Ed and Special Ed administrators co-create building schedules, with co-teachers’ needs as a priority. That priority includes ensuring pairs have co-planning time.
- Gen Ed and Special Ed administrators co-teach department, faculty, district level and community meetings.
When administrators take these 5 steps, all teachers understand the importance of the work, and how it impacts all kids. Conversation and critical examination of teaching and learning for all students becomes vibrant and innovative. The benefits for all teachers and students expand.
Administrators, we need all of you!