Mentoring New Special Education Teachers: A Guide for Mentors and Program Developers - Paperback

by Mary Lou Duffy (Author), James W. Forgan (Author)

How do you avoid the high cost of turnover and retain high-quality special education teachers in such a demanding field?

Surveys show that 98% of school districts are reporting shortages of special education teachers, and that nearly a quarter of a million new special education teachers will be needed over the next few years. Special education teachers are leaving the field at twice the rate of general education teachers. Why?

Special education teachers can quickly become overwhelmed by the myriad of responsibilities in their jobs-managing IEPs, alternative assessments, paraprofessionals, assistive technologies, complex legislation and paperwork, and the physical and emotional toll of such individualized instruction.

Mentoring New Special Education Teachers will help administrators and other educators develop and sustain effective mentoring programs specifically designed for special education teachers, providing practical, field-tested activities and resources for both the mentors and the mentees, including such critical elements as:

• Effectively identifying, recruiting, and selecting mentors
• Action planning
• Evaluating progress
• Addressing diminishing support
• Dealing with burnout and isolation
• Vignettes of real-life mentoring experiences
• Figures, tables, appendices, Web sites
• A ready-to-use two-day workshop for training mentors

Real-life vignettes and "What If" questions weave throughout the book, and trouble-shooting appendices direct you to additional Web sites and resources for further help. Mentoring New Special Education Teachers provides everything you need to effectively support and mentor your special education teachers, increase their job satisfaction, and keep your retention rates high!

Author Biography

Dr. Mary Lou Duffy is an associate professor of Exceptional Student Education at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Duffy's interest in mentoring stems from her work with pre and in service teachers in the local school districts in South Florida. She has had the opportunity to work with new teachers to help them learn practical ways to solve management and instructional problems. Mary Lou is a participant in Florida's Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) regional partnership, housed at Florida Atlantic University. She and Jim Forgan both have presented workshops and information sessions on mentoring and mentor training.

Dr. Duffy's other interests in special education include transition services for students and young adults with disabilities from school to work. She teaches courses both on line and in traditional format on transition. Her experience with on line courses has helped her become comfortable in teaching using distance technologies.

James W. Forgan, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Florida Atlantic University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. He is the principal investigator for the Southeast Regional Comprehensive System of Personnel Development Professional Partnership and on a United States Department of Education grant to increase the number of master's level minority special education teachers. Dr. Forgan was a teacher of students with learning disabilities and behavior disorders at the elementary and middle school levels for six years in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. His professional interests are in the areas of mentoring, social skills instruction, and assessment.