Career and Education Opportunities
The completion of the program qualifies students for New York State initial certification as a teacher of students with disabilities provided students have successfully completed all New York State mandated external tests, training modules, workshops, and teaching experiences. Students are required to complete 33 credits in total.
Career Options
- Special Education Teacher, Gr 7-12
- General Education Teacher, Gr 7-12
- Inclusive Education Teacher, Gr 7-12
- Resource Room Teacher
- Coordinator
- Advocate
- Consultant
- Professional Development
- Special Education Itinerant Teacher
Gainful Employment Disclosures
This certificate program is approved as a Gainful Employment Program through the US Department of Education and is, therefore, eligible for Federal Student Aid. View Disclosure to learn about this program outcomes.
Top Outcomes for this particular program
The program is designed to foster the ability of teachers to develop the skills, attitudes, and abilities needed to identify and remediate major learning and behavior disorders, ranging from mild to profound, regardless of etiology. Attention is also paid to diagnosis, intervention, program planning and program evaluation.
The program prepares graduates to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of human developmental processes, particularly related to the lifespan development
- Understand a wide range of disabilities and how a student’s disability may impact high school services and post-school outcomes for adolescents
- Identify students’ strengths and needs so as to individualize and modify instruction
- Collaborate effectively with parents, educators, and related service providers
- Create and implement educational programs for adolescents with disabilities using most current evidence-based practices and technology
- Demonstrate knowledge of and competence in adapting curricula for students with disabilities in specific subject matters, such as, reading/language arts, math, social studies, and sciences.
- Assess and evaluate the development and implementation of effective strategies for children with learning and behavior challenges in the classroom setting
- Use, interpret, and analyze various forms of assessment (formal, informal, formative, summative) to gather detailed information, from multiple sources, about student learning
- Use the basic principles and strategies of the science of applied behavior analysis with students who have disabilities
- Understand research in the broader context of special and inclusive education
- Create safe, nurturing, inclusive, and individualized learning environments for student with disabilities, being mindful of how life experiences, culture, ethnicity shape and strengthen students are learners
- Interpret and apply standards from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (inTASC), and other relevant professional organizations
Success Stories
We succeed in graduating excellent teachers, who are caring and sensitive individuals. Our graduates are always sought after by both public and private schools, including a host of Catholic programs.
Our graduates attest to their academic preparation and growth as professionals in the field of special education and inclusive collaborative services
“I felt very confident going into my first year of teaching and practicum this year after completing many of my courses”
Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
“The special education courses provided me with a different lens and particularly allowed the facilitation and continuity of being mindful of each student’s particular needs and style of learning.”
Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
“St. John’s really prepared me to grow as an educator and it prepared me to go out to schools and maintain a close connection with the teachers”
Childhood Special Education Teacher
Program News
Programs in Special Education host a College Immersion Program for Youth and Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to increase inclusive opportunities in Higher Education: Funded Grant Project with the Cooke Center for Learning and Development, New York City (2016- present)