What does a principal need to know about staffing
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The document discusses what principals need to know about staffing special education programs. It emphasizes that principals should establish a philosophy that integrates special education as an integral part of the school's educational program. It also discusses effective co-teaching models where both general education and special education teachers provide classroom instruction. The document also provides guidance on interviewing and hiring special education teachers, mentoring new special education teachers, supporting new staff through observations and meetings, ensuring teachers meet highly qualified requirements, and balancing student and regulatory needs.
What does a principal need to know about staffing
- 1. Chapter 2 What Does a Principal Need to Know About Staffing Ana Luz A. Fuentebella ADVANCE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP and MNGT IN SPED PROF. Dr. AIDA DAMIAN 1
- 2. As a principal, you need to set the example to the rest of the staff that special education is an integral part of the educational program at your school. The key is establishing a philosophy integrating the special education component into decisions from the beginning, not as an afterthought. Not only do special education teachers sometimes feel disconnected from the rest of the staff, but general education teachers also often feel disconnected from special education teachers. The main idea to get across is that all teachers have more in common than they do differences.
- 3. Managing Larger Special Education Populations by Co-Teaching Co-teaching does not mean that the special education teacher is an assistant in the general education classroom. In the most effective co-teaching model, both the general education teacher and the special education teacher provide classroom instruction. Once students see both teachers teaching, the teachers gain credibility and students are more open to learning and accepting help. For co-teaching to be effective, however, the special education teacher should carry out some or all of the following teaching responsibilities: • Conduct the warm-up activity. • Direct the independent practice activity. • Conduct the review or summary at the end of the lesson. • Assign homework. • Conduct the homework review.
- 4. One approach is to pair a special education teacher with two different teachers at different times during the school day. The special educator can co-teach in one class in the morning while a paraprofessional or instructional aide works with the other co-taught class, and then reverse their roles in the afternoon. In this scenario, then, this subject area would have four different co-taught, inclusive classes throughout the day. This has the benefit of raising the profile of co-teaching and making it a “normal” part of the school’s education delivery process.
- 5. Interviewing and Hiring Special Education Teachers
- 7. 7 No matter what questions you use, be sure you ask the same questions of each candidate; this gives every candidate the same chance to succeed. Having the same person ask the same question(s) also helps to maintain uniformity. When interviewing potential candidates, your committee should not be too large or too small; generally, between three and six people, and representative of your special education staff, your general education staff, and your administration. This does not preclude asking follow-up questions to obtain specific information about an area of experience or expertise that a particular candidate may have.
- 8. 8 Mentoring New Special Education Teachers Mentoring the special education teacher is much different than mentoring a general education teacher. For one thing, your pool of veteran teachers from which to choose a mentor is much smaller. Second, the kind of paperwork and activities the special education teacher is expected to handle is very different from the general education elementary or secondary teacher’s paperwork and activities. Matching the new teacher with a knowledgeable, competent, and friendly veteran is essential to a new teacher’s success.
- 9. 9 How and when you observe new staff is often a matter of style. Whereas some principals believe in letting staff know when they are going to observe a classroom, others believe in the “surprise! I’m here” approach, and some operate under both provisions. Regardless of your approach to classroom observations, our first suggestion is not to do any formal observations in the first 2 months of a new teacher’s placement. Supporting New Employees • the pre-observation meeting • Observation • post-observation meeting
- 10. 10 A teacher’s status as “highly qualified” can change from year to year or even within a school year based on student enrollment, transfer of a student, or an IEP change. For example, Teacher A is assigned to 22 students throughout a day, providing primary instruction in English and science to 15 students and English only to seven students in a pull- out resource environment. Teacher A, therefore, is required to be highly qualified in English and science. During the school year, a new student transfers into Teacher A’s class. The student’s IEP requires the student receive primary instruction in math in the resource room environment; Teacher A is now required to be highly qualified in English, science, and math. Students who do not receive instruction from a general education teacher in a core subject and whose IEP states that instruction in that core area is required must be taught by a highly qualified special education teacher in that subject. If a student in Teacher D’s self-contained class receives instruction in English only from a general education teacher and the IEP states that instruction in all core subjects should be provided, then Teacher D must be highly qualified in math, science and social studies. Highly Qualified Teachers
- 11. 11 As a principal, you have a dual concern: You need to both service students and meet the highly qualified teacher requirements without overburdening any one teacher. By ensuring your teachers are highly qualified in more than one subject, your students will receive more focused and specialized instruction, and you will have more flexibility in scheduling
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