Elizabeth “Liz” DeVitto ’14 (ED), ’15 MA, a special education teacher for the past eight years at Roaring Brook Elementary School in Avon, Connecticut, had a goal to write a children’s book before she turned 30. When she looked for a book to help her students deal with emotions, she couldn’t find anything appropriate. Since she couldn’t find the right book, she decided this was her chance to fulfill her goal by publishing a book, Finding a Safe Spot, to help her students when they become overwhelmed with emotion.
Tracy Sinclair, an assistant clinical professor of special education at the UConn Neag School of Education, told CT Examiner that while paraprofessionals could be a great support, they shouldn’t replace special education teachers.
“I love the support of paraprofessionals and they can really just help students blossom in so many ways … but they do not have the level of training that special education teachers do,” Sinclair said. “I think sometimes districts … look at that cost benefit analysis and say, well, we can get three paras or four paras, whatever the cost is for one special education teacher, and see that as more bang for their buck almost.”
“I think when you have a greater understanding and a greater awareness of what type of disability it is, I think parents are asking those questions of their pediatricians or even school personnel,” says Tracy Sinclair, an assistant clinical professor of special education at the UConn Neag School of Education. “Better diagnostic tools allow doctors to diagnose children with autism as early as nine months — allowing these children to receive services as soon as possible.”
Special education teachers are at heightened risk for stress and burnout, which negatively impacts their effectiveness and well-being. With a new five-year, $4 million grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences, Penn State and Georgia State University (GSU) researchers are teaming up with school districts in Georgia to develop and test an adaptation of the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) professional development program to support special education teachers. Tamika La Salle, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Connecticut, will advise the team on culturally responsive education practices.
“My hope is that [Right to Read] continues the trajectory of [the Connecticut Literacy Model],” said Michael Coyne, department head of educational psychology and a professor of special education at the Neag School. The establishment of the center, Coyne explained, is to also coordinate existing efforts and state initiatives related to reading literacy. So instead of reading supports coming out of a district’s turnaround, academic or special education departments separately and independently, this new center at the state education department will align all those efforts together.
“Our special education candidates are very well prepared,” says Michael Coyne, department head of Educational Psychology at UConn’s Neag School of Education. “It’s incredibly important and one of the critical skills that teachers need to have.”
Dr. Fumiko Hoeft, director of the Brain Imaging Research Center at the University of Connecticut and faculty member at the University of California San Francisco, and Roland Hancock, associate director of the Brain Imaging Center at the University of Connecticut, conceived the app in 2014. Hoeft, along with Devin Kearns at the University of Connecticut, John Gabriell at MIT, and the Dyslexia Center at the University of California San Francisco, are leading the project, which is currently in the final validation phase.
“Teachers and parents often hear about intervention programs through advertising and promotion,” says Devin Kearns, co-author of the article and an associate professor of special education at the Neag School of Education. “However, it can be difficult to judge whether these programs are supported by reliable research – especially for students with dyslexia.”
Current UConn student Reuben Pierre-Louis ’17 (ED), ’18 MA is set to begin his senior year in the Neag School’s five-year Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s (IB/M) program with a concentration in special education. In addition, he will be serving as a resident assistant this coming academic year in UConn’s new ScHOLA²RS House Learning Community.
Neag School of Education Professor Orv Karan, PhD, is using his more than 40 years of experience as a rehabilitation psychology and special education specialist to help medical, educational and social service providers in Turkey successfully transition youths with intellectual and developmental disabilities into the community.
