SPARC

Special Education Alternate Route to Certification

A Program of ON-LINE Courses and Face-to-Face Coaching

For Teachers and Ed Techs with a Bachelor's Degree

Seeking Special Education 282 Certification

Partially Funded Through a

Transitions to Teaching Grant, US Department of Education and a

SPDG Grant, Maine Department of Education

SPARC: Special Education Alternate Route to Certification: The Right Resources at the Right Time

School districts throughout Maine continue to cope with a severe shortage of special educators.  The SPARC program is designed to help individuals and districts meet this challenge in effective and efficient ways:  on-line courses and face-to-face coaching.

WHICH 24?  Maine requires 24 credits of coursework for special education certification.   Several leaders in the special education field have come together to design this SPARC program to address the specific skills and knowledge they believe a special educator needs to thrive and flourish. (Interested candidates should also check with the Maine Department of Education Certification Office for additional requirements for Special Education 282 certification beyond coursework. Or click on Part II of Ch. 115 found at the following link http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/chaps05.htm to access Requirements for Specific Certificates and Endorsements for additional requirements).

WHY A PROGRAM? WHY NOT JUST COURSES?  Some individuals will choose merely to accumulate the 24 credits needed for certification. SPARC is designed for those who are looking for cohesion and deeper application. However, individuals who have acquired some of the 24 required credits in other ways will be welcomed into SPARC.  The SPARC program’s foundation is rooted in two major principles:

·         The credits need to be focused on specific sets of skills and bodies of knowledge;

·         Inexperienced special educators need face-to-face coaching to handle both the “real time” issues and legal aspects of working with students with disabilities.

WHAT ARE THE COURSES? WHAT IS THE CONTENT? SPARC offers 8 on-line courses (3 graduate credits each) on a rotating schedule.  Each course is appropriate for K-12 teachers; modifications of assignments will be made based on the grade level each participant teaches.  The courses, as planned now, will include:    

·       SED 504 Collaborative Partnerships Among Individuals With Disabilities, Families And Professionals.  This course focuses on collaboration and teaming strategies among individuals with disabilities, their families, general and special educators, school psychologists, paraprofessionals, and other related service providers in inclusive school and community settings. Assignments and in-class activities require application of teaming and collaboration skills. Participants will also conduct research on collaborative interactions in school and community-based services. Course projects involve co-teaching, staff development, and problem-solving situations.

·         SED 505 Achieving High Standards with Universal Design and Assistive Technology.  This course will explore concepts of universal design and a variety of assistive technology devices which can support students with disabilities and their access to the general education curriculum. Devices from the simple to more advanced will be explored.

·         SED 506 Assessment in Special Education.  Numerous tests in the areas of intelligence, achievement, perceptual motor skills, adaptive behavior, and behavior will be examined. Participants will work with children in their area of specialization or interest. The course emphasizes assessment, teaching, and development of education programs and strategies.

·         SED 507Curriculum and Instructional Programming for Students with Disabilities.  Students in this course will explore basic principles of curriculum development and instructional programming for students with disabilities. Participants will focus on how to develop clear instructional goals and objectives for Individual Education Plans and how to construct daily instructional programs to accomplish these goals and objectives.

·         SED 508 Classroom and Behavior Management of Students with Disabilities.  Students will explore basic principles of classroom and behavior management from prevention of problems through the development of a variety of positive responses to chronic misbehavior in special education and regular classroom settings. Students will develop and conduct a number of classroom application projects designed to improve the behavior of individuals and groups of students. Students will also review current research on effective classroom and behavior management.

·         SED 509 Understanding and Applying Maine's Special Education Rules and Regulations.  Students in this course will understand the federal and state laws and regulations that have an impact on how educators design and implement programs for students with special needs, how to organize and conduct pupil evaluation team meetings, how students become eligible for special education services, the procedural safeguards involved in all aspects of special education from referral to termination of services, develop skills in writing individual educational plans and linking these plans to daily instruction, record keeping, and evaluation, as well other critical issues in special education.

·         SED 510 Teaching Decoding and Spelling Skills to Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities.  This course is designed to provide information on methods and materials for teaching literacy skills to students with disabilities or other at-risk conditions. The course will cover the five skills listed in the report of the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

·         SED 511 Mathematics Instruction for Students with Disabilities.  This course focuses on research-based methods and strategies for teaching mathematics to children and youth with disabilities, preschool through high school. Areas addressed in this course include: current issues of concern; major curriculum thrusts, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards; Maine’s Learning Results; promising practices; methods to differentiate instruction; linking instruction with assessment; accommodations; modifications; and assistive technology. 

·        SED 512 Advanced Practicum in Special Education.   This is a supervised practicum. Participants will identify, plan, carry out, and reflect upon a variety of instructional improvement projects focusing on overall classroom management, positive behavioral support/behavior management, academic instruction and related topics. They will also participate in regional discussion groups and non-evaluative, in-class coaching sessions in support of their course work and professional growth. Please call for prerequisites.

WHAT IS THE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF COURSE OFFERINGS?  A tentative schedule for the 2007/08 school year is given here for individuals who wish to begin planning.

2007-2008 Course Costs.  For courses offered through Summer 2008, costs per course are:

Tuition:   $918

 Fees:      $114

  Total   $1,032

2008-2009 Course Costs.  For courses offered Fall 2008 through Summer 2009, costs per course are estimated to be:

Tuition:    $981*

 Fees:        $121*

 TOTAL:   $1,102*