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.

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
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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

12. THANKYOU

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