Program Information
The Education Specialist Credential in Extensive Support Needs (ESN) prepares highly qualified teachers using research-based curricula and pedagogy to provide quality educational services to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The program has as its foundation the assumption that educational services for students with disabilities should be implemented in the least restrictive environment; and the goal of those services is to teach skills and arrange educational and social settings to increase the students’ ability to participate fully in school, home, and community environments.
Credential candidates in this program must demonstrate their competence in providing quality educational services to students with extensive support needs including access to standards-based academic curricula and the use of systematic, data-based approaches to instruction and models of curricular adaptation and social belonging. Competencies in supporting students in inclusive settings, interacting effectively with families, and in developing educational goals using a transdisciplinary team approach are also essential components of the teacher preparation program. In addition, a three-semester sequence of supervised fieldwork ensures that teacher candidates are able to apply the knowledge and skills acquired through course content and assignments to the instruction of students with extensive support needs in urban school settings.
The ESN program offers a combined Credential and a Master Program and also allows you to enroll in the Intern Credential Program. Most students who come into our program work as a para-educator. The classes are scheduled between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to which allows students to work while they get their credential and M.A. degree.
The commitment to the mission of the Extensive Support Needs Program to prepare reflective and highly effective educators committed to inclusive philosophies and practices is reflected in the following four program elements:
Element One: Preparing Effective Educators
Our program prepares special education teachers and clinicians who have the ability to:
• Use student and family-centered assessments to identify high priority, quality of life goal areas for individual students;
• Use targeted quality of life goal areas to anchor and drive the development of IEP goals, in collaboration with students’ families and other educational team members;
• Develop academic goals for students that are personally relevant and aligned with grade-level Common Core State Standards;
• Provide systematic instruction using evidence-based practices and assistive technology to teach academic content and functional skills that address quality of life goal areas;
• Provide opportunities for instruction in contexts that promote the application of knowledge and skills to the students’ everyday lives;
• Develop and support the use of multi-modal AAC systems that allow students to communicate their needs, engage in social interactions, and share information and ideas;
• Implement social supports to facilitate the development of positive social relationships and friendships between students with disabilities and their peers;
• Conduct functional assessments for students who present severe problem behaviors and implement multi-component, positive behavior support plans for the students based on an in-depth understanding of why they are engaging in those behaviors;
• Facilitate the development of self-determined behavior and provide opportunities for students to engage in these behaviors; and
• Develop and implement practical and effective systems to monitor student progress on acquiring knowledge and skills targeted by the goals on their IEPs.
Element Two: Facilitating the Achievement of Students’ Valued Life Goals
Our program prepares special education teachers and clinicians who have the ability to:
• Provide students with access to inclusive school, community, and vocational settings;
• Teach skills that increase students’ independence and self-determined behavior;
• Teach skills and arrange educational and social contexts to facilitate the development of students’ communicative and social competence; and
• Teach academic content knowledge and academic skills that are life enriching, or increase access and independence in current and future environments, or increase students’ ability to become life-long learners.
Element Three: Establishing and Maintaining General Education Partnerships
Our program prepares special education teachers and clinicians who have the ability to:
• Foster meaningful supports, relationships, and friendships between students with and without disabilities;
• Establish collaborative relationships with general education teachers and related service providers and provide support for maintaining effective partnerships;
• Ensure that students with disabilities are provided with access to the general education curricula and classrooms; and
• Provide classroom and school-wide ability awareness training and outreach in order to facilitate an inclusive school community.
Element Four: Fostering and Supporting Family and Community Connections
Our program prepares special education teachers and clinicians who have the ability to:
• Engage in family-centered IEP development;
• Establish effective communication strategies that demonstrate sensitivity to diversity and anti-racist education;
• Collaborate with parents, family members, community service agencies, and community members involved in the lives of students; and
• Embed community knowledge into the curricula and teaching practices.