1. Claire Hughes, Ph.D. Nicki Bushway, M.Ed. College of Coastal Georgia
Starting from Scratch: Building a Dual-Certification Program from the Ground Up
Claire Hughes, Ph.D.
Nicki Bushway, M.Ed.
College of Coastal Georgia

2. Coastal Georgia Community College CGCC 1961-2009

3. College of Coastal Georgia CCGA 2009-present

4. State Support Professional Standards Commission
All new Education programs in Early Childhood
Only 2 existed- included as options
Valdosta State University and??
Certification exam- Dual Certification
GACE Content Area-003
GACE Pedagogy -004

5. College Support New President New Mission Change
1 of 3 Bachelor’s programs- professional focus
Education, Nursing, Business
New/Renovated Buildings

6. Area Support Nearest SOE 80 miles away 5 county region
School districts
Glynn- 2 high schools, 10 elementary schools
Other 4- 1 high school, 3-6 elementary schools

7. CCGA School of Education
4-year baccalaureate program MG
2 content specialty areas, not including special education
Early Childhood
1 of 3 program in the state
All new programs
Integrated, dual-certification program
Early Grades Education- PreK-5
Special Education/ General Curriculum- Grades PreK-5

8. Person Resources Dean 4 Faculty Lines- 2009-2010
Reading/ EC
Math
Special Education
MG Science
1 more added present
MG Humanities
Field Experiences/Assessment Director hired in 2011

9. Financial Resources $0- beyond line hiring Dean hired in 2008
No 325T grant
Dean hired in 2008
Math and Reading professors already teaching classes
No course releases
I was hired in April, 2009
Contract began in August
Began teaching full 4-4 loads in August
Summer work
Conceptual Foundation
Goals, Objectives
Syllabi

10.
New Juniors
16 ECSP
24 MG students

11. 2010-2011 Seniors Juniors 100% retention rate
All but 2 got immediate jobs
Juniors
28 ECSP
22 MG
2 Secondary

12. Steadying 2011-2012 2012-2013 Seniors Juniors 27 ECSP
All but 2 who were looking got jobs
Juniors
28- ECSP
29- ECSP

13. Growth and Steady ECSP program- single cohort program

14. Graduates ½ special educators
Some at middle school
Some GACE into self-contained
½ general educations in inclusive settings
Some GACE into middle grades math

15. Accreditation Issues Portfolio Limitation of resources
Excel v. Livetext
Trying to involve local partners
Aligned with GA-PSC standards (InTASC), NCATE standards, and CEC standards

16. Guiding Concepts Cohort Program
Field Experiences directly connected with the coursework
Professors are clinical supervisors
90+ hours of field for 3 practicums
Seminars
Service Learning
QEP of College
Everything linked to the Candidate Observation Instrument
Syllabi
Projects
Portfolio
COI Linked to GA Teacher Assessment system
Planning
Instruction
Assessment
Environment

17. Cohort Program Full-time Scheduled together
Juniors
Classes MW 8:00-3:30
Field Placements TTh 7:30-11:30
Seniors (fall)
Classes TTh
Field MWF 7:30-11:30
Internship (Spring) + 1 online class
Scheduled together
5 classes + Practicum + Seminars
Directly involved Financial Aid
Mixture of traditional and non-traditional students

18. Field Work 3 Practicums- 90+ hours/ semester
Final internship- Impacted by CRCT
Same place as PIII
“Solo weeks” last 2 weeks in January
PI- General education
PII- Special education resource/ Inclusive setting
Initiated teaming in PII inclusive setting
PIII- Inclusive classroom
Settings
K-2, 3-5, Pre-school

19. Blended Courses
Behavior and Classroom Management
Assessment

20. Blocked Courses
Child Development/ Intro to Special Education/ Law and Ethics
Strategic Instruction/ Assessment

21. Collaborative/ Team Taught Approaches
Curriculum/Child Development
Pre-K-2 Reading/ Assessment
Methods/ Strategic Instruction/ Coteaching

22. Common Across Courses Critical Thinking model Lesson Plan format
Class Journal approach
Projects tied to the Field Experiences
Ex. Case Studies, Lessons

23. Challenges Field Placements Assessment Systems Culture of the College
Limited inclusive classrooms
Assessment Systems
Culture of the College
5-5 teaching loads
Community College mentality
Open Access
Changes in faculty/ leadership
Decreasing financial supports

24. Strengths Placement of Special Education within continuum of teaching
Differentiation and assessment strong skills
Value-added/ growth model-ready
Lack of duplication of content
92-100% passage rate of GACE on first try- compared with 65-70% state-wide
Hire-ability
Continued community support
Recruitment and hiring

25. Limitations Breadth v. depth
Limited exposure to diverse special education settings
Trying something new in the depths of economic crisis

26. Scalability Issues Support “Silo” concepts Stability
College/ Department
State
Local area
“Silo” concepts
Programs
Courses
Projects
Field Program
Stability

27. “I’m cutting stone”, stated the first.
Closing Thought
Two stonecutters were working on the reconstruction of St. Paul’s Cathedral, when Sir Christopher asked each what he was doing.
“I’m cutting stone”, stated the first.
Replied the second, “I’m building a cathedral.”