Special education across education programs nationwide is an incredibly high-need teacher shortage area, and mentoring can make a profound difference in teacher retention and effectiveness. Within this handbook, mentoring partnerships will be guided through the first year of a new special education teacher from start to finish. A month-to-month resource for both mentors and mentees, this resource focuses on self-reflection cycles of growth and goal-setting, including self-care strategies. Additionally, the handbook focuses on evidence-based practices in special education tying resources to the High Leverage Teaching Practices (Council for Exceptional Children) providing templates to be adapted to local school districts for K-12 special education program use. The framework of this handbook is to provide evidence-based practices to promote inclusive special education programs where all K-12 students have equity, access, and achievement. New and experienced special education teachers will learn how to effectively promote and integrate inclusive special education programs, emphasizing that special education is not a "place" but instead a "service" comprised of intensive support, collaboration, and accessibility.
Tara Mason, PhD is an assistant professor of inclusive education with over 20 years of special education and assistive technology teaching experience. She directs the Master of Special Education Program at Western Colorado University, where she teaches and advises students in the special education program. Her special education public school background encompasses self-contained and resource classrooms working across K-12 special education and working as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and district-level assistive technology specialist. Her research interests are accessibility, and student empowerment using strength-based frameworks; technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL); trauma-informed teaching practices; writing interventions, neuroplasticity, historically responsive literacy instruction within special education; and best practices in special education teacher preparation. She has presented over forty sessions and workshops in the past several years, along with publications regarding teaching new teachers how to write IEPs, trauma-informed instruction, and assistive technology. Dr. Mason believes we need to celebrate student strengths and identities to facilitate student growth. We can achieve this by having tough conversations with teacher candidates about diversity and inequity in our schools, thereby empowering future educators to be student advocates and teacher leaders in their buildings.
