Special Education and General Education Co-Teaching Partnerships. The Bellevue School District is committed to an inclusive approach to meet the needs of all students. Inclusion means equitable access to a welcoming classroom and school community with grade level peers. Instruction is strengths-based and provides access to grade-level content through a setting that best meets student needs as determined through a collaborative shared decision-making process. The District and the Association acknowledge that strong partnerships between educators are key to best outcomes for students in co-taught classrooms. Aligned philosophies, understanding of students, educator buy-in, and complimentary approaches are necessary for successful inclusion of all students within a class community. To best establish and support these conditions, the District and Association believe administrators and educators must have a shared trust in one another and a common vision of inclusive settings developed through shared decision-making and followed up with strong, consistent, and active support. The District and the Association believe that providing the best environment for successful inclusive partnerships requires educator empowerment and choice, time to develop shared understanding and goal-setting, and resources to meet the additional demands necessitated by co- taught classrooms. In order to best support the need for empowerment and choice, educators must be offered the choice of whether to enter into a partnership for co-teaching based upon their understanding of individual teaching styles, compatibility with the partner teacher, and understanding of student needs within the classroom. In order to provide adequate support for those conditions that ensure the best established and prepared classrooms, educators who elect to participate in formal co-teaching partnerships will participate in eight (8) hours of paid professional development to develop shared understanding of best practices for a co-taught classroom and up to eight (8) hours of paid collaboration time before the start of each school year. This time is intended to allow partner educators to develop a plan of action for important factors such as scheduling, expectations, classroom procedures, grading, and communication. In order to ensure continued success, development, and growth, educators at the secondary level who elect to participate in formal co-teaching partnerships will receive, at minimum, one common planning period. This will be a top priority in the creation of the mas...
Special Education and General Education Co-Teaching Partnerships. The Moraga School District is committed to an inclusive approach to meet the needs of all students. Inclusion means equitable access to a welcoming classroom and school community with grade level peers. Classroom instruction is strengths-based and provides access to grade-level content through a setting that best meets student needs as determined through a collaborative shared decision-making process. Strong partnerships between educators are key to best outcomes for students in co-taught classrooms.
