The Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education, will provide training on the use of "co-teaching" as a strategy to support general education teachers in their efforts to successfully teach students with special needs in the regular classroom. The training will be available to districts that are currently using "co-teaching" as well as to districts that are interested in developing a program. The training will begin at 8:30 AM and conclude at 3:30 PM. Training dates and locations are:
Little Rock, October 12, 1999, Best Western InnTowne
Ft. Smith, October 20, 1999, Ft. Smith Service Center
Conway, February 16, 2000, UCA, Student Center Ballroom
Ft. Smith, March 2, 2000, Ft. Smith Service Center
These Co-Teaching Level I trainings will focus on the roles and responsibilities of general and special education teachers in a co-teaching relationship, common "co-teaching" structures, lesson planning, scheduling, and strategies for successful implementation. Although geared toward professionals that have not attended a previous training, experienced co-teachers may find it beneficial to attend with new co-teaching partners.
In order to take full advantage of the time available for the training, it will be helpful for participants to have some working knowledge of "co-teaching." To assist participants, a brief informational article about co-teaching will be supplied to registered teams for their review before the training. As in previous sessions, much of the training will be interactive in nature and participants will be asked to develop an implementation action at the conclusion of the workshop.
Districts that choose to participate should send their personnel in "co-teaching" building teams. These teams must consist of a special education teacher and at least one general educator. Since administrative support is critical to the success of this strategy, building administrators are highly encouraged to attend.
The training is provided to districts at no charge. Reimbursement for up to eight substitutes per district will be available if needed. To qualify for the reimbursement participants must attend the entire session. In addition, the building administrator must attend or provide a letter of support for the Co-Teaching project. Mileage will also be paid for one car per district. Any additional expenses will be the responsibility of the participating school district.
There will be limited space available, so reservations will be on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have questions about the training, please contact Rose Merry Kirkpatrick at 1-800-482-8437 or (501) 633-3835 or by email at rkirkpatrick@arkedu.k12.ar.us.
The attached registration form must be completed and returned no later than September 30, 1999. Confirmation notices will be sent to all registered attendees. Send the attached registration form to:
Rose Merry Kirkpatrick
Arkansas Special Education Resource Center
1405 North Pierce, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72207
FAX (501) 663-7363