Special Education

Here at Fern Bacon we are fortunate to have a wonderful Special Education team that work alongside our General Education teachers.  

Co-Teaching Instructional Model for our Special Ed Students

Co-teaching is an initiative option designed to provide the support necessary to meet the academic, social/emotional and behavioral needs of students with disabilities in the least restrictive learning environment.

What is Co-Teaching?

Two or more professionals who deliver high quality instruction to students with and without disabilities in the same classroom (Friend and Cook, 2007).

When two or more educators co-plan, co-instruct, and co-assess a group of students with diverse needs in the same general education classroom (Murawski, 2003).

Co-teaching is becoming one of the fastest growing inclusive practices in school. Despite this rapid increase in popularity, co-teaching remains one of the most commonly misunderstood practices in education (Steele, Bell, & George, 2005).

As co-teachers, the special education teacher and the general education teacher share the responsibility of educating all students in the class.  Together, they understand the needs of each student, plan effective instruction, exchange roles and responsibilities, and employ flexible teaching practices to create opportunities for student learning (Wilson and Blednick, 2011).

Why Co-Teach?

As compared with typically achieving students, students with special needs are more likely to be retained for at least one year (26%), have a lower graduation rate (41% drop-out rate), are less likely to go to college, have less earning potential, and are more likely to be involved in our penal system (Bowe, 2006).