Career and Education Opportunities
The completion of the program qualifies students for New York State initial or professional 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.
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:
- Understand a wide range of disabilities, including those identified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- Collaborate effectively with parents, educators, and related service providers
- Identify students’ strengths and needs so as to individualize and modify instruction
- Create safe, nurturing and individualized learning environments for students with disabilities, mindful of how life experiences, culture, and ethnicity shape and strengthen students as learners
- Create and implement educational programs for children with disabilities, using the most current evidence-based practices and technological resources
- Use the basic principles and strategies of the science of applied behavior analysis with students who have disabilities
- Use, interpret and analyze various forms of assessment (formal, informal, formative, summative) to gather detailed information, from multiple sources, about student learning
- Understand research in the broader context of special and inclusive education
- Apply standards set by the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (inTASC)
Top three features/qualities of our program:
Our full-time faculty is highly qualified with many years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, and their families, in diverse school and clinical settings, and is also actively engaged in research and professional service. Further, we have a strong supporting Adjunct faculty that brings unique practitioner inputs to our programs. To access information about our Faculty, please visit:
http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/schools-and-colleges/school-education/education-specialties-and-counseling/department-faculty
Our courses are offered across multiple campus sites (Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island) with ample online course offerings. Online courses allow students to learn at their own pace and participate in interactive and creative online learning opportunities
Programs that offer multiple opportunities for engagement in professional activities, academic service learning, and global education consistent with the University’s Catholic and Vincentian mission. Our school’s mission of “Preparing teachers, counselors, and administrators as transformational leaders who honor the dignity of all people” guides our programs and informs our practice each day.
Why is the experience unique at St. John’s ?
Our students complete 150 hours of supervised special education practicum in various settings including self-contained, inclusive, and mainstreamed classrooms. St. John’s program is unique in that it allows students to develop skills to teach exceptional students in schools, clinics, and early intervention settings. Students are exposed to instructors, current researchers, and leaders in the field of special education who have many years of experience and expertise working directly with children in diverse, multicultural, and high-needs urban and suburban school settings.
Our graduates are successful and highly proficient teachers trained to meet the highest professional standards in special education set by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), through rigorous course work based on evidence-based practices, applied observation and practicum experiences, and engagement in student activities, including academic service learning. We are excited to welcome you to join this cadre of effective teachers and global citizens effecting change in the lives of children and youth through education and service.
Our students participate in many online learning opportunities that allow for current and effective use of online resources for research and practice in special education and preparation for careers in an increasingly global and digital world
Our students engage in several professional and networking events throughout their program developing their competencies to effectively communicate and interact with stakeholders in collaborative and inclusive ways. Please visit our CEC Student Chapter page at cecatsju.weebly.com to learn more about the exciting opportunities for professional preparation and student engagement that we offer to our students as part of their overall experience in our Special Education program.
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
“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