MERHS Co-Teaching Partnerships

1. MERHSCo-Teaching Partnerships School Committee Presentation November 1, 2011

2. MERHS Co-Teaching • Piloted on a limited basis in 2010-11 • Expansion to 13 class sections in 2011-12 • 9th and 10th grade classes • English (Edgerton, Koughan, Lane) • Math (Deluca, Brown) • Social Studies (Tran, Jewett) • Science (Burgess, Nolan)

3. What is Co-Teaching? • Special and general education teachers partner in educating students • Both teachers plan, teach, and assess students • Both teachers support learning of all students by differentiating instruction

4. Advantages of Co-Teaching • Builds teacher capacity • General education teachers learn new instructional strategies and supports • Special education teachers expand content knowledge • Enhances instruction for general education and special education students

5. Other Advantages • Increased student achievement • Decreased special education needs outside the classroom • Lower student to teacher ratios • Decreased referrals to special education

6. Co-Teaching Training • Dr. Kathleen Porcaro, EPSI • Co-Teachers attended half-day trainings in September and October with Dr. Porcaro • Grant funding for additional co-teaching consult and planning in summer 2012

7. Program Evaluation • Observations by Jim Lee, Allison Collins, and Scott Morrison throughout the year • Use of a co-teaching rubric to assess collaboration and partnership

8. Co-Teaching Observation Guide Look for… • Evidence of co-planning • Shared roles and responsibilities • Modifications for struggling students • Reinforcement strategies for learning • Student engagement and risk-taking • All students are appropriately challenged

9. Other Strategies to Assess Co-Teaching • Comparison of student grades from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012 • Comparison of special education and SAT referrals from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012